“He’s got a point,” River murmured, the corner of his mouth twitching with a smile. “You two are hardly inconspicuous. But that’s enough for tonight, I think. Wesley, mate, it’s damn good to have you back.”
River stepped forward, clasping Wesley in a brief man-hug and clapping him on the shoulder. I always found those man-hugs a bit awkward, but seeing a display of affection from River for one of his team sort of drove home just how badly Wesley’s temporary death had affected all of them. I’d been selfish in my glass house of emotion; I could see that now.
“Everyone get some sleep,” River ordered us. “We can check out the book in the morning.”
One by one, the guys all gave Wesley their own version of River’s man-hug before heading inside, until it was just the two of us left on the veranda. For ages, we just stared at one another.
“You look exhausted, sweetheart,” he said eventually, cocking his head the side. “Something more has happened, hasn’t it?”
Incapable of words, I swallowed and nodded. Vali was right in what he’d told me. There would be plenty of time for tears later; now was the time for strength and justice. It took a few shaking breaths before I could utter the words.
“Simon... killed Jonathan.” Saying it aloud was like being punched in the gut, and it left a sour taste in my mouth.
Wesley looked stunned and held out a hand to pull me closer to him. “And Simon?”
“Dead. For real this time.” I nodded to the burnt patches on the grass. “Vali made sure of it.”
“Good.” He wrapped his arms around me tightly, and we just stood there like that for a while. “Would it be okay if we stayed out here for a bit? I doubt I can sleep any time soon, and I just want to stare at the stars for a bit.” It was asked with the same old shyness he’d always had, and I smiled.
“Of course we can. Come on, I have your suitcase in my room if you want to get changed first,” I replied, looking pointedly at the thin, basic, cotton shirt and pants he wore with no shoes. It was a cool night, and he was already shivering a little. He nodded and took my hand as I showed him the way up to my beautiful purple room.
When we stepped inside and closed the door, Wesley looked around with a small, satisfied smile on his face. “They did well with this,” he commented, and I frowned in confusion. “The decorating, I mean. I had my doubts about how those manly men were going to pull off a woman’s bedroom, but maybe they took my suggestion and hired a decorator.”
“You knew they were buying this house before...” I trailed off. Even though he clearly wasn’t dead, it was taking my fragile emotions a little bit to catch up. “Of course, you said before that you drew up the contracts. Was I the only one out of the loop on that one?”
“We wanted to surprise you, sweetheart,” he told me with a smile. “But yeah, we were discussing it that week you and I were in Ireland. I really thought they’d fuck it all up, but they did well. Better than I could have done, anyway. If it had been left up to me, you would have really cool technology and no furniture.”
I snorted a small laugh. “That’s probably true. Here.” I tossed him the hoodie that I’d been wearing earlier in the day, which was draped over my dresser. “I’ll grab the rest; hang on.”
Disappearing into my walk-in closet, I dragged out the suitcase, which I hadn’t let the guys unpack. When I set it down on the bed in front of him, Wes reached for the hem of his shirt, and a sudden wave of awkwardness enveloped me.
Blushing, I turned my back on him and headed for the door. “I’ll, um, leave you to change. Although your room probably has stuff in it too; I’m not sure. I haven’t been in there.” Jesus, Kit, quit rambling like a weirdo! “So, um, I’ll go make us more coffee?”
“Sure,” Wesley chuckled. “I’ll be down soon. I might actually shower. Caora was a little behind the times with modern plumbing.”
Biting my lip to keep from picturing Wes in the shower, I made my way back down to the kitchen, where I brewed a new pot of coffee and poured two huge mugs.
“Got enough for one more?” Caleb asked, appearing in the doorway, and I nodded, fetching another mug.
“Can’t sleep?” I guessed, handing him his coffee.
“Didn’t bother trying,” he admitted, following me out to the veranda and taking a seat in one of the seven wicker armchairs. “Do you mind if I hang out for a bit?”
“Not at all,” I murmured, sipping my hot drink and relaxing back in my own chair.
Neither of us spoke for a long while, and when Wesley rejoined us, looking fresh from the shower and dressed in his customary crumpled T-shirt and hoodie, he simply took his coffee and joined us in silence.
One by one, the other guys all trickled back out to the balcony carrying their own mugs of coffee or—in River’s case—tea. Each of them just silently took a seat in a matching armchair and stared up at the stars with us.
So much for us all getting some sleep.
But I guess sometimes, just being physically present was more important than words, and that was all we really needed in that moment.
To just be.
20
Despite all the coffee I’d consumed and my claims that I would be unlikely to sleep, I must have passed out the second my head hit that pillow. I didn’t even remember Wesley joining me, but when I woke up, I was wrapped in his warm embrace and feeling bittersweet.
“Morning, sweetheart,” he murmured from behind me, kissing my neck and sending shivers scuttling across my skin.
“Hey,” I whispered back, not bothering to open my eyes as I snuggled into his embrace. “How are you feeling this morning, you know, being back on Earth?”
Wesley chuckled softly, his warm breath stirring my hair. “Better than I ever imagined. There were some days I wondered if I would ever get back.”
“Will you tell me about it? Caora?” I asked, and he sighed as he kissed my neck.
“Later?” he offered. “I want to know about what happened after… you know, after you thought I had died.”
I groaned and rolled over to face him. “Later?” I echoed him. “I’m not really ready to revisit all of that. Let’s just enjoy the fact that we’re both here now. Alive.”
He smiled at me. “Sounds good. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be anyway.”
Wrapping his arms around me, he pulled me tight, and I snuggled my face into the crook of his neck, taking a surprising amount of joy from just cuddling him. It wasn’t long before we were interrupted though, but that was the way of my life these days.
“Kitten,” River called out, tapping lightly on my door, then opening it just a crack. “Bridget has resurfaced. We thought you might like to know straight away.”
“What?” I scrambled out of my giant bed and snatched a bra from my floor. I never had been amazing at putting my clothes away. “I’ll be two seconds!”
“Bridget?” Wesley asked me with a frown, “The twins weren’t able to track her down this whole time?”
“Nope.” I shook my head, hooking my bra and tugging a purple tank top over it. “She just dropped off the face of the Earth for a while there. We tried reaching her at that hotel she told me she was staying at, and she’d left a message for me. It just said she had gone out of town but would be back soon.”
“Let me guess, the guys installed a tracker, but it’s probably a pretty basic one...” He trailed off as he yanked his own T-shirt back on, covering the stunning crow tattoo on his torso. “I will check in with the crows to see if I can get eyes on her, but that only helps if she is outdoors and within sight of a crow when I scan. So as well as that…” He started murmuring under his breath about wire taps and hacking the hotel’s security system, and I knew I’d lost him.
“Come on,” I said, opening my door and hurrying downstairs to where the guys were already up and preparing breakfast. “So, what’s the news? Did she call back?”