Chapter 9
Tyson snapped awake feeling like shit. He’d slept only a few fleeting moments here and there because he was too afraid of falling asleep and taking the chance of Cersi’s pain meds wearing off.
Cersi was still tucked up tight to his body. Letting all his senses come alive, he simply enjoyed the moment. She was warm and soft, and without the scent of emotion polluting her fragrance, he could drink her in as deeply as he wanted. He did. Several lungs-full of her brown sugar and buttercream scent had Monster stretching inside of him.
He remembered her agony from last night and glanced at the clock. She had another hour before she needed to take more pills, so he settled into her nearness. She fit the cocoon of his body perfectly like she’d been made for him and that had him wondering if God made mates for Monsters. That had him thinking about The Hunt, and once his mind went there, his thoughts grew dark as he planned his revenge on The Council.
He didn’t know how long he’d been brooding when Cersi sniffed and drew him from his plans of revenge.
“You’re…on my side,” she chuffed through a laugh.
Her attempt at humor didn’t deter him from scenting her now that she was awake. Her emotions would start to kick in, and they’d tell him whether she was in pain or not. So far, there was no hint of the agony she’d been in last night.
“Tough,” he replied and pulled her body tighter into his. “Goddamn pillow barrier,” he mocked. “At least in the stories they tried bricks to keep the big bad wolf at bay. Pillows, Badass? Come on.”
She huffed what sounded like a genuine laugh and asked, “That what you are? The big bad wolf?”
Holy shit! He’d been trying so damn hard to gauge her comfort that he didn’t even realize his slip. “Just a metaphor,” he covered.
“Nah,” she disagreed. “Probably more accurate than you’re letting on.”
You have no idea.
“Tell me something,” he prodded, not only in an attempt to change the subject but out of genuine interest. “Tell me something about you.” He didn’t know why he asked that. Maybe having her in his arms, all vulnerable with her guard down, had him thinking she’d give him something.
She didn’t answer though. She stayed quiet so long he asked, “How long you been a Bounty Huntress?”
He didn’t think she was going to answer that either, but finally, she said, “Too long. Not sure why I still do it. The pay is shit.”
She elaborated on how she’d started. She even told him about her first few jobs, and Tyson was mesmerized by her story and by her voice. His fascination faded quickly when the scent of her discomfort blossomed in the air.
When she stopped talking, he eased his arm from under her head. “I want to hear the rest of this, but you need to get cleaned up and take more meds. We need to get breakfast in you too so you don’t get sick from taking medication on an empty stomach.” Jerking his chin toward the door, he directed, “Get cleaned up and changed. I’ll start breakfast. Then we’ll change your bandages before hitting the road.”
Cersi slowly sat up. “Hitting the road?”
“Yeah. We’re going home.” The hand that had been plowing through his hair stilled at the statement. Why in the hell had said it like that? BlackLodge was his home, not hers.
“Home?” she asked.
“BlackLodge. It’s where my…”
She cut him off with an eager expression. “It’s where Vesa is! You’re taking me to Vesa?”
He grinned a half smile, “Yeah. I’m taking you to Vesa.”
Cersi shot off the bed and rushed out of the room. He chuckled at her excitement but made sure not to get so lost in it that he forgot the important stuff.
In the kitchen, he poured a large glass of milk and palmed two more pills before trekking down the hall and knocking on the bathroom door. Inside, he could hear the faucet blasting, and when Cersi jerked the door open, a toothbrush was poking out of her mouth.
“Take these.” He held out the meds and tried to hide his shock when Cersi held up a finger, pulled the door open wide as she crossed to the sink, rinsed her mouth, and returned to accept the pills which she swallowed down with half the glass of milk.
“Thank you.”
For the moment, just the briefest of moments, he’d felt compelled to drop a kiss on her lips before heading back to the kitchen to start their breakfast. He didn’t act on the compulsion though because she wasn’t his. Worse, he was getting too damn comfortable with her and that didn’t make any fucking sense because he’d literally been with the woman for two days plus this morning and she’d been unconscious for most of that time.
Turning abruptly he didn’t respond to her thanks. Instead, he paced the hall to the kitchen and then distracted himself by whipping up omelets and sausage with overcooked toast.
When Cersi came into the kitchen, he was using a butter knife to scrape the burnt off the bread. He tried to hide it by angling his big body between her and the sink, but she said. “Want me to do that?”
Heaving a sigh, he stopped trying to hide the hideous toast from her. What was the point? The air reeked of charred bread.
“I could make more,” he looked at the toast and realized saving it was futile.
“No way.” Cersi took the knife from him and snatched the piece of toast from his hands. “Just because something doesn’t look right doesn’t mean it’s bad. This’ll be fine once you get around the dark parts.”
“You can’t get all the dark parts,” he grumbled.
“You don’t need to.” Cersi held up the piece of toast and beamed. “Sometimes the dark parts are the best parts.”
She took a bite of the toast while inside of Tyson, Monster’s ears were pricked all the way up. She likes dark parts!
No, Tyson admonished Monster. She’s talking about toast. Calm the fuck down!
But Monster wasn’t standing down. No, he was staring at Cersi, unblinking, mesmerized.
Fffffffuck!
Chomping on the well-done toast, Cersi glanced up at Tyson and made to lower her head but did a double-take. He knew he was watching her a little too curiously, so he tried to tear his eyes away it didn’t work until she jammed her burnt toast toward the stove. “Think your sausage is burning.”
“Christ!” Tyson whirled around and jerked the skillet off the burner. “I really do know how to cook,” he tossed over his shoulder, “I’m just…distracted is all.”
“Distracted?” She took a seat at the kitchen island. “Distracted by what?”
You! He didn’t say it though. Instead, he offered, “Thinking about the drive home. It might not be too comfortable with you and your arm, maybe we should wait a few more days.” He’d been kicking the idea around since this morning but didn’t mention it because he wasn’t sure if he was actually trying to be noble or if Monster was trying to trick him into drawing out his time here with Cersi.
“No,” she cut into his thoughts. “I wanna see Vesa.”
He figured as much. Plating up her omelet and a side of sausage, he slid it onto the island then rifled through the drawer for silverware, which he placed on a napkin beside her plate.
“Enjoy.”
Cersi looked at her plate and then the stove. “You aren’t eating?”
“I ate while you got ready. Gonna go get cleaned up while you eat. We’ll hit the road soon’s you’re done.”
Without another word, he headed for the bathroom and the cold-ass shower he desperately needed.