Page 40 of Resisted
I hadn’t even fully gathered my clothes before his chest was rising and falling steadily. A soft snore fell from his lips. He looked content and so absolutely edible that I had to force my eyes away. I snuck off to the bathroom to shower, trying not to wake anyone. When I was done and my hair was tossed up in a bun, I returned to my room to search out my keys.
He was out cold, which was good, because if he’d asked me to crawl in bed with him one more time, I might not have been able to resist the allure. Hell, even now, watching him sleep was tempting. I resisted, barely, and found my keys on the floor by Boyce’s foot, obviously a causality to my carelessness. I grabbed them and my wallet before slinking out my bedroom door, closing it behind me.
I could hear Silas awake, already doing whatever it was he did in his office, and I debated whether I should say something to him and pretend like his crazy didn’t show last night or ignore him all together. I glanced at my watch. I had time. Not a ton, but enough.
I crept to his door and knocked gently, half hoping he didn’t hear me. “Yeah?”
Fuck. He heard me. “Hey, I’m heading off to work.”
“Okay?” He seemed confused, and maybe that was my fault. It wasn’t like I made it a regular thing to check in with him.
“I wanted to see if you needed me to bring home lunch?” I bit my lip, the answer seemingly so much more important to me than I’d realized when I asked the question.
“Do you want to bring home lunch?” He leaned back in the chair, the squeak of it making my eyes nearly twitch.
That fucker. Couldn’t just answer one simple question without making it a complicated thing. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to fucking feed you.”
“Language,” Vince half-heartedly yelled from his room, his voice borderline incoherent. Clearly, he’d been asleep until Silas and I woke him.
“Okay.”
Jesus. “Okay what?”
“Are you getting yourself food?”
Where was he going with this? “I do almost daily.”
“Okay. We’ll eat with you.” What the… I hadn’t said anything about eating together.
“But I—”
He cut me off. “The double cheese burger. Half onion rings, half fries.”
I blinked a few times before I heard Vincent’s slurred words. “Just do it.”
With a sigh, I agreed. “Okay.”
He nodded once, his attention going back to the screen in front of him before he dismissed me with, “Have a good day Belladonna.”
As it turned out,my morning was already predestined to suck. It might have started with that odd exchange with Silas, but my car breaking down four miles from the diner didn’t help at all. The sun had just begun to crest the horizon when my engine made a godawful growl and my car slowed. I begged and pleaded, cursed and praised, but nothing stopped it from coming to a solid stop right in the middle of the road.
“Fuck.” I let my head fall to steering wheel as I tried to figure out what I needed to do first. Logically, I knew I should call Silas or Vincent or Boyce. They would swoop to my rescue, but I also wanted to prolong that interaction as long as possible.
I picked up my phone, dialed the diner, and waited for Lynn to pick up. When her voice filled the line, I felt a bit of relief. At least if I died out here, someone would know I’d broken down. It was the little things in life, eh?
“My car broke down,” I blurted out.
“Oh, darling.” If I were in front of her right now, I was almost positive she would have her hand to her chest. “How far are you? Have you left home yet?”
“About four miles up the road.” I sighed. “I’m going to call Silas next, I just wanted you to know that I’ll be late.”
I heard a rustle on her side before her voice came back on the line. “Well, darling, Rig is right here. He’s already on his way out the door to rescue you.”
Rig. Thank god. As the town mechanic and a member of the alpha’s subpack, I knew the old gruff bastard was trustworthy. “Is he sure? I don’t want to ruin his breakfast.”
“It’s now or later. Besides, who do you think will be called to tow and fix your car?”
She a point. “Okay. If you’re sure.”