“Huh,” Paul said when I finished. I chose not to ask him what he meant by that.
“Here, let me get out of your way,” I said, fighting a yawn, but it still forced its way out of me. “I’m gonna go lie down. If you want to go, I understand. But if you want to crash here, you’remore than welcome. Tomorrow, we can re-figure out where we are with the case and what we want to do.”
“Really? You’re going to go to sleep?”
“I just came twice. I’m surprised I’m still lucid.”
“Right. I… I think it would be prudent for us to start off the morning with a fresh slate. I’ll wash up, then get some shut eye.”
“Sounds like a good idea. My door’s open,” I said before thinking about it. If showering together was too intimate, too couple-y, then certainly sharing a bed overnight had to be too. And yet I didn’twantPaul to just head out to his big mansion where he’d already lost so much. I wanted him safe with me.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.” I winked at him again, and this time it landed slightly better.
Paul chuckled before dipping into the bathroom, and I hurried to my bed.
Donning an oversized T-shirt and some boxers, I crawled under the covers as exhaustion began to lap at me. My sleep hygiene was terrible, but it had been a long time since I’d slumbered.
Still, as my eyelids grew heavy and my caffeine-induced slumber began to fall, I couldn’t help but wonder who would know anything about an assassin with no emotions, and if the Whisper was going to turn out to bite me in the ass.
I hoped not. Things were just starting to get good.
Chapter 13
Paul
Ducks in a Row
I’d never seensomeone down an energy drink and go straight to sleep, but by the time I got into bed, Cherry was out cold, sprawled on her tummy with one arm hanging off the mattress and her legs splayed. Hudson curled beside her, and I made myself comfortable on the part that was left. It wasn’t long before sleep took me.
It had been peaceful and surprisingly restorative, but that sense of calm didn’t continue once I woke up.
Probably because reality hit me like a sack of bricks.
Not only had Cherry lied about pretty much her entire existence, not only had she put us in danger with the whole Whisper thing, but also… I’d gone and slept with her.
I hadn’t meant to. It hadn’t even been a possibility in my mind. But one moment I was learning the actual definition of oracle and how many different types there were, and the next I was being seen in a way I…
Actually, I didn’t thinkanyonehad ever looked at me the way Cherry did.
It was her drawings, really. I’d spent years trying to curate the image of the immaculate and professional middle child who was never an issue, and it turned out that spending so much timekeeping my feelings trapped behind a veneer of calm capability made them strangers even to myself. Seeing them laid out like that in different shapes and colors and realizing Cherry had been aware of them from the moment she set eyes on me…
It made me feel close to her. Or maybe it was just the leftover thrill from our narrow escape. For whatever reason, I’d done something very, very stupid.
But also very fun.
“Knock, knock? You hungry in there?”
And that was the thought that was on my mind as I stirred. Usually, I only slept for four to five hours at a time except during the new moon, so I was surprised when I was roused by gentle raps at the door.
“You’re already awake?” I questioned, looking around at her room in the morning light. A quick glance at my phone told me it was almost eleven, meaning I’d been out for my regular length. I’d just gone to bed much later than I normally would.
“Oh yeah, I usually sleep in chunks. Three hours, three hours, another two or four hours depending on what my body wants,” Cherry said. She was still in her pajamas, looking quite appealing in an oversized shirt and shorts barely peeking out beneath them.
Stop thinking about that.
Easier said than done. I’d clocked that Cherry was beautiful from the beginning, but now I wasacutelyaware of it. I knew what her breasts looked like when they bounced in time to my thrusts, how her nipples stood at attention while her body flushed pink all the way down. How her mouth fell open when she came and her?—