Hurting You (Blackthorn Elite 3)

Fuck, she looks good in my clothes. A possessive need to toss her on the bed and ravage her alive roars to the surface, but I tamp it down, knowing her day has been rough enough.

“What’s going to happen next?” She mumbles softly.

“For now, just tell us what happened, and if you’re hungry, we can get some food. After that, we’ll go to bed.”

“I don’t have to sleep with you?”

“Well, you will sleep with me in my bed, but that’s all we’ll do today. No fucking tonight. That’s coming soon though,” Cam grins at her, and I swear all the blood in her face drains. I place my hand on her knee and squeeze it gently, bringing her attention back to me.

“Tonight, nothing happens. Just tell me what went down at the house. Grams is in the hospital, and you’re alive, so who was the person that died?”

Stella sniffles and I wonder if she’s going to start crying again. God, I’m not sure I can handle any more tears tonight. “Our neighbor went in and saved Grams, and we are guessing she thought I was inside too. That’s why she went back in. They couldn’t get her out in time.”

“How did the fire start?” I ask.

“Grams was cooking again and forgot to turn the stove off after.” Tears well in her gray eyes. “The police called me while I was job searching, they came and got me, took me to the hospital. When I got there, they told me…” Emotions clog her throat, and she takes a calming breath forcing air into her lungs. “They said Grams is a danger to herself, me, and others. She needs to be put in a home where she can be watched and cared for around the clock.”

“All that matters is that she’s okay. Like we said, we’ll pay you enough to help take care of her. We’re assholes, but not heartless,” Cam chuckles, but neither Stella nor I laugh.

“I don’t even have clothes. The only things I have are in that bag, it’s what I was wearing the day of the fire.” Avoiding my eyes, she looks down at her bare legs.

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll get you some clothes and whatever else you need as well. We take care of what’s ours,” I tell her, but she doesn’t seem to find much comfort in my words.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” Cameron says, motioning for her to get up. She stands up and starts following him out of my room, but before she gets to the door, she pauses and turns to me one more time. She doesn’t say anything, just looks at me. I can’t for the life of me figure out what the hell she is thinking right now. Then she turns back to Cam and disappears from my room like she wasn’t here at all.

13

Stella

I wake up slowly, from a sleep that has been the deepest and the best sleep I’ve had in a very long time. The mattress feels like a cloud, and the sheets are so incredibly soft on my skin; they feel like silk. But the most comfortable and soothing part of this bed is the warmth like a protective cocoon it wraps around me, protecting me and keeping me safe.

My eyes flutter open, and it takes my foggy mind a moment to realize where the hell I am. The room is mostly dark, only a small sliver of light peeks through the blackout curtains covering the windows.

The mattress and sheets are still soft, but the protective cocoon I envisioned quickly turns into something else entirely when I realize what I’m cuddling into. It’s Cameron’s body wrapped around my own.

Dread replaces the fuzzy, comfortable feeling in my chest. How can I sleep in his arms… in his bed, so peacefully? I should recoil, not lean into him.

I try to inch away from him, but his arm around me seemingly weighs a hundred pounds, keeping me pinned to the bed, and tucked against his chest.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Cam asks, his face so close to my neck that his breath tickles my skin there. A shiver runs down my spine, and he tucks me into his chest even closer. “Are you cold?”

“No,” I whisper. “And I was trying to get up,” I answer his first question.

“And do what?”

“Nothing. I was just…”

“Trying to get away from me?” He finishes the sentence for me.

“Can you blame me?” The words pour out before I can stop them.

“Yes, I can,” he chuckles. “You should know better than to try to get away. Plus, you have no real reason to.”

“Other than you threatening me every day since we met?”

“As long as you behave, nothing will happen to you. You should be glad that we found you last night. Would you rather work at the Night Shift? Sleep in that shithole you called a motel? You should be thankful that you are here, sleeping in a nice bed.”