Page 57 of Stormhold

Instead of heading down to my loft, where I usually slept, I entered my bedroom and stepped straight into the shower. The hot water beat down on my back, the drain turning a muddy red as the dirt and blood of the day left me one last time.

Although I took out every ounce of my untamed rage on Timothy Walters, his death didn’t satisfy me. Because my brother was still fighting for his life.

After the shower, I found myself back outside Bella’s room again, my knuckles thumping on the door. “Bella, it’s me.”

Footsteps approached before the door groaned open, and those wise brown eyes found mine. I wasn’t the only one who showered.

My eyes lingered a second longer on the drops of water from her wet hair falling over the thin white robe she wore. Thankfully, it was large enough to cover her small frame and came well over her knees. But it still didn’t stop my pulse from quickening at the thought of not knowing whether she was wearing anything underneath.

I didn’t miss how a faint pink crept over her cheeks as she assessed me, taking in exposed arms from my black tank.

“I came to ask if you want something to eat?”

“I want to.” She yawned, dropping her head on the doorframe. “But I’m too tired.” It looked like she was fighting to keep her lids open.

“When was the last time you slept?” I asked again, softer this time.

A wide smile split her lips as she looked up at me. “Fifty-five hours ago.”

“Very specific,” I repeated my words from earlier today, or was it yesterday?

I watched as a small chuckle broke out of her lips, and I couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Are you drunk on your lack of sleep? I’ll leave you to rest, then,” I said.

She nodded with the same wide smile while her heavy lids blinked up and down before they closed completely, and in the next second, her forehead slumped to my chest, and her body went slack against me. In an instant, I wrapped my arms around her small shoulders to keep her from falling.

“Bella.” I frowned, shaking her. “Bella, are you alright?” My fingers curved along her cheek as I lifted her chin toward me. Her long lashes fanned over her flushed cheeks, and her lips pursed in deep sleep.

Fuck, how tired was she to pass out sleeping in the enemy’s arms? Did she really trust me that much? She shouldn’t, if she knew what was good for her, and I didn’t know how I felt about that.

I lifted her into my arms, and my eyes wouldn’t stray away from her beautiful face. She looked so small, so trusting, with a flair of innocence in her peaceful expression. Almost as if there was nowhere in this world she’d rather be. Somehow, I didn’t want her to be anywhere else either.

I carefully laid her on the bed. She didn’t even stir as I slid off her bath slippers and tucked her inside the sheets, and she curled comfortably, breathing even deeper in her slumber.

For a moment, I didn’t care to move as I stood there by her bedside, watching her sleeping face.

If it wasn’t for her, I might not even be here right now. But then what if this was all a farce to make me soften up to her? What if everything was just another lie? A trap that I fell into, only to never make it back up again.

With her, I could never guess what she really wanted at the end of the day. Though the bigger question was—was I willing to trust her when I never extended the same courtesy even to my closest allies?

Looking at her face, I knew I wasn’t supposed to, but I wanted to. I really, really wanted to.

Why?

I guessed I’d never know. I would need a lot of patience and time to understand someone like Bella. But something told me I would love every second of learning her.

CHAPTER 17

ARKANE

Bella slept for the next twenty hours straight with no care in the world. It was understandable, since she had been awake for more than three days, hanging on to a tree branch just because I told her to get me something. Only we got more than something, alright.

My sleep lasted barely five hours, fractured with restless energy. By the time I jumped out of bed, I was more tired than rested. But then, I was used to it. Insomnia had been my forever friend.

“Hey,” Bella said hoarsely, wiping the sleep out of her eyes as she entered my office. She eyed Mikhail, who sat in his usual seat and was filling me in on new updates. There wasn’t much, but Marcus finally woke up, which was more than enough for me. He was doing fine and would be out of the hospital in a couple of days.

“Sleep good?” I asked dryly, leaning back against the chair. Her hair was a wild mess, her face and lips pink and puffed. Even then, she was breathtakingly beautiful to look at first thing in the morning, or more like late at night, as it was way past midnight now.