“I can’t sleep,” Hunter grumbled. “I keep thinking about your family.”
He referred to them as her family so confidently that she felt she should make it clear. “I told you they’re not really my family.” They were just wonderful people who’d felt the need to help her.
“As good as,” he replied. “They love you and that’s what really matters. So what’d Parrish do that irked you so much?”
Sneakily drawing a breath of his awesome scent, Jodi tipped her face up. “I actually respect Parrish a lot. He’s bossy, but usually that’s a good thing because he keeps order and sets things right and makes sure people are...”
“Safe?”
“Yeah, that. He’s also generous. Too generous.”
“And that bugs you?”
“Eh, sometimes. When the generosity is aimed at me, I guess. I don’t want him to see me as someone who needs it, you know?” She wanted Parrish to give her the same respect that he gave his sons and daughter. She may as well have wished for a trip to the moon. Parrish—heck, all the McKenzies—knew deep down she was still—
“News flash, honey,” Hunter said, interrupting her thoughts. “Everyone needs help now and then.”
“Unfortunately, I needed it more than most.”
“Through no fault of your own.”
“Actually, that’s not entirely true.” Telling her innermost thoughts while snuggled against Hunter wasn’t nearly as awful as when she had to look him in the eyes. And even then, it was tolerable, at least more so than with anyone else. “I’d gotten in the habit of helping women who needed it, Kennedy especially. She was my first real friend after...” No, she wouldn’t go into her awful ordeal again, so instead, she said simply, “After,” and figured that was explanation enough.
Given the gentle squeeze Hunter gave her, it was.
“It made me feel useful to watch her back, but then some serious stuff went down.”
Hunter stirred. “How serious?”
“People were trying to kill her, mostly because she knew me.” Jodi shook her head. It was all too convoluted. “That guy I escaped? He had a deranged brother who seriously wanted to see me suffer for giving his lousy excuse of a sibling what he deserved.”
Hunter silently watched her now, without censure but with keen interest and a quiet rage. Yup, the rage was an appropriate response, far as she was concerned.
“I didn’t know Kennedy had gone to Reyes for help, and when I found out, I didn’t trust him either.”
Wearing a slight frown, Hunter said, “Trust is an issue for you. I get that.”
“I’m glad, but Reyes sure didn’t get it, and he definitely didn’t trust me. Especially after I sort of tripped them up. None of them liked that.”
“The McKenzies?” he asked.
“Yeah. They were plenty peeved—mostly because they thought I might get hurt.” It still confused Jodi, how total strangers had looked at her and...cared. “It didn’t make any sense,” she whispered.
“It made perfect sense,” he countered, tipping her face up for a too-brief, very soft kiss.
Relishing the warmth of Hunter’s chest and how indescribably nice it felt to touch so much of him, she explained, “They put me in this crazy, posh hotel—a whole freaking suite of rooms, like the penthouse or something—and covered whatever I wanted. Food, different clothes...” She remembered, and wanted to wince because she’d felt so lost. “I swear, I could hear my voice echo, and I had this amazing view out the windows.” A view she couldn’t bear.
“You wouldn’t like that for long.”
Knowing that he understood her, Jodi felt warmed from the inside out. “I didn’t like it at all. Not a single second of it. I didn’t belong there. I didn’t even come close to fitting in with all the swanky stuff.”
“Few people would.”
“I like your house a lot more. Heck, I like my house a lot more.”
Hunter smiled, and she badly wanted to kiss him again. It had to be midnight, they’d spent the whole day together, and it wasn’t enough.
Jodi wondered what would be enough, and when she couldn’t find an answer, it put her on edge. Already she’d shared her deepest, darkest secrets with Hunter...and yet she knew very little about his past. She knew he’d suffered something that made time alone a necessity. He’d cut out his own family, even though she could tell he loved them. But the vital stuff? His deep, dark secrets? He’d kept those to himself.
That could only mean one thing: she was far more invested in their friendship than he was. Dumb. She knew better than to rely too much on others, but somehow Hunter had gotten past her guard, and now she was...vulnerable. Screw that.
“Go on,” he prompted. “Then what happened?”
Tomorrow, she silently vowed, she would keep her distance, even though that decision made her start missing him right now. It was still the smart, safe thing to do. “Kennedy wanted me protected, and her guy, Reyes... He made some good points.”
“How so?”
Grinning, Jodi admitted, “Basically, he shamed me for being so petty, and unlike Kennedy, who is sweet and gentle, he insisted that I had to knock off the stupid shit and care.”
Appearing satisfied, Hunter stated, “About yourself.”
“Yeah.” And she was trying. She really was. “Then Parrish, that overbearing, bighearted, superior king of badasses...” The teasing comment trailed off. She had so much gratitude for Parrish, sometimes she couldn’t find words to cover it. “He showed me a better way to help women, one that would also improve my own life in the bargain.”
“Because,” Hunter stressed, “your life matters.”
He stated that firmly, with so much conviction. Unlike when others said it, she liked hearing it from him. That, too, was dangerous. “Yeah.”
“Jodi...”
With her decision made, she no longer felt like chatting, so she forced a big yawn that turned into the real thing. “I’m wore out. I’ll try to sleep if you do.”
He considered her for a long moment, then reluctantly nodded. Shifting around until he had one leg on the couch, the other over the side, he pulled her higher against him and she ended up half sprawled over his upper body. No problem. In the current position, she was super comfy.
Turbo grumbled, but he repositioned, too, and Jodi ended up sandwiched between them. She heard Hunter’s steady heartbeat under her ear and felt the strength of his chest beneath her palm. His arms were loosely draped around her, his hands at the small of her back. Some of Turbo’s weight rested on her hip, but she didn’t mind.