Page 25 of Renegade Kings
“I didn’t want to interrupt,” I started, then flushed with embarrassment at how awkward I felt. This was my palace after all, even if it felt strange to be back in the rooms which had once been my parents.
“You’re not interrupting. We were just talking about our next steps. How we’re going to get enough information about this world that we won’t just be stumbling from one problem to the next,” Maddox told me, smiling at how I snuggled in to get comfortable in Dean’s arms.
I was here now. I might as well make the most of it.
“Have I mentioned how pretty these are?” Dean asked, gently trailing his fingertips across the royal mark that I had tattooed across my neck and shoulder.
My toes curled as he followed the caress with his lips, totally uncaring of who else was in the room.
Maddox just watched with a grin on his face, but I caught the way his grip tightened on the arms of his chair.
I felt Tank’s kiss against the top of my head before I’d even realised that he’d followed me out of the bedroom. “We need to get you some food as well.”
I cleared my throat, hoping my head would follow. “Well, information I can help with, but food we’re going to have to go in search of.” I went to stand, but Dean just held me tighter. “You’re going to need to release me, I’m afraid.”
He growled, settling back in his seat and pulling me with him. “Not yet. I didn’t get cuddles last night, so I’m calling in my time now.”
“Oh really. Your time?” I laughed, grateful that even if just for a moment, we could have some time that wasn’t about fighting and running for our lives.
“Yeah, I might need it to help me heal and shit.”
“I hope you’re not thinking about shitting right there. That chair looks all kinds of fancy,” Ryder quipped as he walked out of the bedroom.
Like Tank, he strode to my side and kissed the top of my head. It was an act of familiarity that I wasn’t used to yet. Something between us all had changed. It was a level of comfort and acceptance that hadn’t been there before. I couldn’t say I hated it, though.
Dean grumbled at Ryder, but while I was still sitting in his lap, he seemed happy to be the reluctant butt of the joke.
“We should probably check out that wound of yours before we do anything,” I said, hoping to get us back on track and away from the idea of just spending the day snuggling with my mates, which was quickly forming in my mind.
“No need,” Dean mumbled. His fingers had threaded through my admittedly quite gross hair and were playing with the lengths. “I’m fine.”
“Considering that you would have told me you were fine as a knife was being wrenched out of your gut, you’ll have to excuse me for not being completely happy to take your word on that.”
“Are you questioning me?” The smirk on his face had my lower stomach tightening. That idea of snuggling was morphing into all manner of different things.
“She has a valid point,” Ryder said, finding a chair of his own. He gave me a strange look, and I realised that me sitting here in Dean’s lap probably looked a bit weird.
Which made me think we might need to address some things that were growing between us.
Yey, awkward conversations. What better way was there to start the day?
“So… yesterday was… a lot.” Definitely not winning any awards for this, but hopefully someone would take pity on me soon.
The awkward tension was a bit more than I could take, so I shuffled forward on Dean’s lap to give myself space to examine his side. It wasn’t an easy task. Apparently Dean’s wolf was a cuddly fucker.
Eventually, I’d freed myself enough to run my fingers over his bare torso and once he felt that, he was more than happy to give me room so I could explore his body. I might have got a little distracted over his abs, but I eventually made it to the pink puckered scar on his side.
“Incredible. This scar will probably fade over time as well,” I said, more to myself than anyone. When I looked up, it was to find Dean’s smirk right in my face. “What?”
“I’m just enjoying you calling me ‘incredible’.”
I wanted to argue that wasn’t what I’d said, but when I thought about it, technically, he was right. Infuriating, to say the least. But credit where credit was due, this level of healing was something I’d never seen without some sort of intervention before.
“Do you all feel the magic?” I asked. When they looked at me in confusion, I remembered that we’d not actually talked about this last night. “You all contain more magic than… well, anyone else I’ve ever encountered. Shifters have a latent amount, but nothing like what you hold inside. It’s completely unprecedented, as far as I’m aware.”
“I don’t really feel any different,” Tank admitted. “No. Maybe?” Tank’s forehead crumpled in confusion as he thought about it.
“Well, I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel, just that it’s really fucking cool,” Ryder added. “The wolf is there, at the edges of my mind, and I can feel him growing closer.”