her, but she wasn’t that far gone. Yet. No matter how good he smelled. Oak and fire, sin and wickedness.
Picking up the plate holding the steak she’d grabbed for him, she waved it under his nose. If that didn’t wake him up, he was truly out for the count and she’d have to do what she could to make him comfortable. But his eyes flicked open. Drawing away the steak before he could lunge at it, she said, “Get into bed.” She wouldn’t usually eat in bed, but she didn’t think anything would entice Kenji to move once he was no longer hungry.
Might as well make sure he was comfortable first.
As it was, she had to tug him up and shove him to the bed—all the while trying not to ogle his body. It was hard. She wanted to bite him. And pet him. And kick him for breaking her twenty-one-year-old heart. He sure as hell had better have a good explanation for his behavior, or she would take her long overdue revenge.
Pushing him into bed, she helped him sit up, hauled a comforter to his waist, then gave him the steak. He stared at the plate for a minute before stabbing the steak with his fork and lifting it up to eat.
Leaving him to it, she grabbed a change of clothes—sweatpants and a tank as well as a fresh pair of panties—and went to the bathroom to get out of her own damp clothes. By the time she came out, Kenji had almost finished his steak. She gave him more food and ate some herself while sitting cross-legged on the bed facing him.
They drank water, since anything else would be a bad idea with Kenji having had a bump on the head. “Feeling better?” she asked after he’d demolished an enormous meal that’d fuel his body’s healing process.
Jaw cracking in a huge yawn, he nodded. “Muscles feel like noodles, though—that fucking wind.” He froze in the midst of sliding down into the bed and, though he was clearly struggling to keep his eyes open, said, “Should I go to my own room?”
“You can stay,” she said, her heart huge inside her chest at the idea of Kenji’s scent on her sheets, on her. “Just don’t try any funny business.”
A sinful, sleepy smile that reminded her of the playful boy he’d been. “No promises.”
Garnet didn’t reply because he was already asleep, his lashes throwing shadows on his cheeks and his damp hair a sleek black.
Oddly pleased at this glimpse of him without any of his usual shields, she leaned over and tugged the comforter to partway up his chest. When she moved to clear away their plates, he frowned in his sleep. “I’ll be back,” she murmured before rising to put the plates on the small table she used as a workspace when she didn’t feel like staying at her office.
Going into the bathroom, she cleaned her teeth, washed her face . . . and admitted she was stalling. Because as soon as she walked into the bedroom, she’d be sleeping cuddled up next to Kenji. Gorgeous, infuriating, strong, and the only man who had ever made her heart go boom.
“He needs you tonight.” She took a deep breath on those words and undid the loose ponytail into which she’d scraped up her hair after rubbing it close to dry with a towel.
Irrespective of what lay between them, what history, what secrets, what pain, tonight Kenji was a packmate who needed comfort. That was all. He’d probably be fine on his own but if he’d been isolating himself sexually for over a year, then the last thing he needed was more aloneness. Scowling at the idea of Kenji hurting himself that way, she went back into the bedroom and crawled under the comforter.
He moved in his sleep, curving his body around hers until he was spooning her, one arm around her waist, the other thrown above his head. He burned but it wasn’t a fever. It was just Kenji. Sliding her hand over his muscled forearm, she closed her own eyes and snuggled in.
It should’ve been awkward, sleeping with a naked Kenji when they’d never done anything like this, but she fell into a deep, sweet sleep, her wolf curled up next to Kenji’s heat. It felt like coming home.
Chapter 8
Kenji woke feeling better than he had in forever. Nothing hurt inside him, nothing ached. Nuzzling against the warm skin of the packmate curled up with her back to his