Page 18 of Deck the Skulls

“That’s better,” he mumbled, shutting his eyes.

“You find the strangest positions comfortable,” Anatoly marveled. He knew from experience that Zan could fall asleep in almost any configuration.

“As long as you're part of my bed, it’s perfect,” Zan said.

Anatoly started petting Zan’s soft, curly hair. “Then I'm the happiest piece of furniture to ever support you.”

Zan huffed out a laugh but didn’t say anything as he sank into a light sleep. The situation wasn’t perfect. Anatoly would much rather the three of them be in a bed together, but he’d accept this as a temporary solution.

All they needed to do was earn Rissa’s trust and love. It shouldn’t be too hard. They already loved her.

***

Rissa

Waking up with a throbbing headache wasn’t unusual for Rissa. She’d spent more than a few holidays and birthdaysgetting herself drunk because staying sober would include way too many dark thoughts.

What didn’t make sense was her surroundings. When she finally forced her eyes open, she saw nothing familiar. This wasn’t her place.

Sitting up, she found Anatoly in a chair next to the bed, head lolled back and sound asleep. Sitting next to him on the floor was Zan, equally asleep. His head was in Anatoly’s lap, almost like an overgrown child. The pair was adorable.

Moving to the edge of the bed, she tried to remember what had happened. The last thing she could recall was taking her break and chatting with the guys while having a drink.

Or maybe it was a couple of drinks? How much expensive whiskey had she consumed?

Rubbing her forehead, she stifled a groan. Apparently, she’d drunk enough to pass out! Not a smart move, especially with how sleep deprived she was.

She was impressed with the guys’ restraint. They could’ve easily stripped her down and gotten into bed with her. Instead of waking up and finding she’d been violated, she was still fully dressed with two gorgeous men asleep next to the bed instead of in it. This earned them a lot of gentlemen points with her. Maybe she should do something nice for them, like find a nearby coffee shop and bring back some fancy lattes.

What time was it anyway? Reaching back, she found her phone tucked securely in her back pocket. Tugging it out, she saw it was only seven in the morning. Way too early for anyone who worked late into the night on a regular basis.

Moving carefully to keep from waking the guys, she got off the bed and found a bathroom. After gingerly shutting the door like she was in a heist movie, she turned on the light and winced. Not only was it bright, but her reflection in the mirror was startling.

“You’re not going to be winning any beauty contests,” she muttered to herself. Saying that made her think about Zan’s anger yesterday. He’d been genuinely upset when she’d called herself fat. It was second nature for her to put herself down, but maybe it wasn’t a good habit. She’d always operated under the assumption that if she insulted herself first, it meant others couldn’t do it to her.

Maybe it was time to change her thinking. What did she care if others saw her as fat? She was smart, fierce, and capable. She was also damn sexy! Wasn’t this the era of body positivity? Why was she clinging to what she was told growing up?

“I’m fucking fabulous,” she whispered into the mirror. Then took a closer look at her messy hair, rumpled clothes, and haggard face. “Well, maybe not fabulous at the moment, but all this is fixable.”

Her head still hurt, but she felt better after her self-administered pep talk. It was a life hack she’d learned early on. It was hard to find people to talk you up, so it was better if you could do it yourself.

Now to deal with her appearance. A search through the drawers found a package of individually wrapped toothbrushes, toothpaste, hairbrush, and a washcloth. There were also some skin creams, but they all looked expensive, so she left them alone.

After washing up as best she could and brushing her teeth, she did her best to style her hair despite the lack of products. In the end, she still looked a little pale and tired and definitely needed a change of clothes, but she felt much better.

Too bad she hadn’t found any painkillers; her head was still throbbing.

Opening the door to the bathroom, she found Zan standing just outside, tapping on his phone. He smiled as he looked up.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he purred. “Do you want to sleep more or have breakfast?”

She blinked a few times. How had this man gone from being sound asleep in an incredibly awkward position to being awake and cheerful in the short time she’d been in the bathroom? It was unnatural!

“Are you a morning person?” she asked, eyes narrowing. Morning people were the worst!

“I’m an all-the-time person!” he answered, eyes sparkling with humor. “Morning, noon, night: it’s all my time.”

She shook her head, then looked past him to see Anatoly still asleep in the chair. “Should we wake him up so he can lay down in the bed? He’s going to wake up with the worst pain in his neck if we leave him like that.”