I dunked my head under the warm water and then sat back up, pushing my brown hair behind my ears. Being still was dangerous, because it let my mind wander to everything that had happened, and everything that we were about to face. I thought of Rocco, of Johnny Jack, of the man Rogue killed. Plunging my head under the water, I stayed like that until my lungs felt like they were going to burst—then I stayed longer. I waited until my head started pounding as my body begged for oxygen. Just before I knew I’d pass out, I lifted up, gasping for air, but it forced the chaotic thoughts to leave, which was exactly what I wanted. I washed my body and then soaked for a little while longer before finally pulling myself out and draining the water.
After wrapping myself in a towel, I padded into the bedroom, finding Rogue just coming back in with a tray of food.
“Hey,” I said, watching as he set the tray on the bedside table.
Seeing me in the towel, he walked to his closet, coming back out with a pair of his boxers and one of his t-shirts. Taking the corner of the towel, he unwrapped it from my body, and then gently lowered his shirt over my head to dress me. I took the soft boxers, stepped into them, and then he led me to his bed with a hand on the small of my back.
“I’m going to shower. You eat.”
I nodded, watching him curiously as he disappeared into the bathroom. Settling onto the bed, I pulled the tray in front of me while I stretched my legs out. When I saw what was on the tray, a smile spread over my face. He’d brought me my favorite comfort foods. Macaroni, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chips and guacamole, hot chocolate, and strawberries with cream. He remembered it all. I was half tempted to take a photo of it, just to remember the thoughtful gesture.
Rogue came back into the bedroom in record time, his brown hair wet and combed back from his face, only wearing a pair of low slung sweatpants that gave me a fantastic view of his abs and strong arms.
He came to the bed and sat beside me, frowning when he saw that I hadn’t touched the food yet. “You don’t like anything?”
“I love all of it,” I answered, scooting closer to him, like even the few inches separating us was painful. He immediately put a hand around my waist and pulled me against him. “I just wanted to wait to eat with you,” I said.
He hesitated for a second, but then nodded. We ate together without speaking, taking bites of different things, and occasionally, Rogue would pick up a strawberry, dip it in the cream, and insist on feeding it to me. And if I got some cream in the corner of my lips, he’d sweep his thumb over the spot and suck it into his mouth before kissing me gently.
It wasn’t sexual. It wasn’t teasing. It was purely Rogue taking care of me. The love I already felt for him multiplied inside of my chest, like seeds suddenly growing out of the ground and blooming.
When we were done eating, I cuddled into him as we laid down, and Rogue put on some cheesy romance movies that I could fall asleep to. I was nearly asleep, blissful from the way his fingers were running through the strands of my hair, when I heard him speak.
“I was so scared, Scar. When they grabbed you, I—” his voice choked off, and I turned over, holding myself up on my forearms so I could look at him. The torment on his face nearly killed me. “If anything happened to you…”
I leaned up and put my hands on his cheeks, rubbing the pads of my thumbs along the bristles of his facial scruff. “Hey,” I said quietly, looking into his brown eyes. “I’m okay. We’re all okay.”
He put his hands over mine, holding them against him. “I need you,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.
I pushed forward and kissed him tenderly. “I need you, too.” And I did. I needed Rogue so much that it physically hurt to be separated from him. I needed him like air. As long as I could breathe him in, then I knew I would be okay.
He kissed me again, gently, like he cherished me. Like I was the most precious thing in his whole world. But it never went further than that. He pulled away after just a few minutes, leaving my lips swollen and tingling, and then tucked me into the crook of his shoulder. I felt so incredibly safe and loved, that I couldn’t help it when a single tear escaped from the corner of my eye and soaked into his skin beneath me.
Being there, laying on Rogue Kelly with his heart pressed against my ear, was pure perfection. There was nowhere else I’d rather be.
Chapter Thirty-Four
I didn’t want to go to school the next morning, but I had seventeen missed calls from my mama by the time I’d woken up. Rogue assured me that he’d called to explain that we cut class and were hanging out at his house. He’d also promised her an invite to an exclusive charity event that Bonham’s family hosted at the end of the year, which seemed to pacify her some. Guess her worry for her daughter only reached so far.
“Look, I’m glad that you’ve reconnected with your friends, Scarlett Anne. But you have to let me know where you are,” she said over the phone.
Rogue trailed his lips along my exposed shoulder as I held the cell to my ear and listened to her ranting. “Sorry. Something came up,” I replied with a shrug, debating on swatting Rogue away. I couldn’t focus when he touched me like that.
“That’s not a good excuse. You could have at least sent me a text.”
Mama liked to pick and choose when to take on the persona of the overprotective and well-meaning mother. She wore the facade like her favorite winter coat. Slipping into the sleeves only when it was needed, but turning heads with the lavish fur. I was sure that she’d noticed the Heirs had missed class, too, and her reason for calling had more to do with finding out what we were up to, and less to do with genuine worry for me.
“You never cared where I was before,” I grumbled as Luis walked into Rogue’s bedroom, looking freshly showered but still scratched up from the night before. He was clutching a towel around his waist. One wrong move and I’d see his dick. Not that I hadn’t seen it before. Being best friends with four guys meant that there was the occasional dick slip.
With Mama complaining in my ear, I watched as he dug around Rogue’s closet for one of his spare uniforms. “What were you even doing last night?” she prodded.
Luis glanced at me over his shoulder, and with a cheeky smile, dropped the towel just as Rogue nipped at my neck. My eyes immediately dipped to his bare ass as Mama said, “You can tell me.”
I had to cough to cover up my giggles before replying. “Nothing. We just hung out.”
Luis reached around and spanked his own ass, fueled by my amusement and Rogue’s territorial growls. “Y’all can always hang out here,” Mama offered.
“That’s alright. I need to go. See you at school.” I hung up quickly and then burst into a fit of laughter as Luis put on his briefs and crawled onto the bed like a porn star, meowing as he scratched at the sheets, making even Rogue laugh at the ridiculousness of it. He rolled around, kicking his leg up and pointing his toes before bending it like a dancer on stage. I’m sure he meant to cheer me up, but Luis looked sexy as fuck. He could give male strippers a run for their money.
Finally, he positioned himself so that he was laying in my lap and staring up at the ceiling. My conversation with my mama was still festering in my gut, and after a few minutes of comfortable silence, I spoke again. “That woman sure does like to get in a tizzy when it suits her interests,” I said with a frown.