“Because… just because.”
“Okay… Henry,” I said quietly, watching the way his eyes flinched at my use of his name. “It’s time to get you up those stairs over there. I’m going to need you to sit up for me.”
I didn’t think it would be so easy, but with another groan, Henry forced himself upright, making all sorts of grumbling noises as he swung his legs off the sun lounger and let his feet meet the ground; his hands gripping the edge of the bed with white-knuckle force.
“Ugh,” was all he said as he looked up at me through heavy eyelids and ridiculously long lashes, that unexpected vulnerability staring up at me again, drawing me into his complicated darkness. Into a world that promised destruction if I dared to dip my toe in it.
I held my hand out for him to take anyway. “That bad, huh?”
“There are three of you.”
“Focus on the one in the middle.”
“I want them all.” He said it so quietly, I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly.
A cold shiver of warning ran down my spine, followed by a rush of heat to my cheeks and every wanting, aching part of my body. My mouth went dry, and my face turned blank as I stared down at him, waiting for him to laugh or mock me or do something that would make everything fall back into the realm of normality again. Instead, he continued to stare, his expression serious, making me feel drunk when I hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol in hours.
“Shit. I just said that out loud, didn’t I?” he asked, his voice croaky.
“Don’t worry. It’s just the drink talking, right?”
“Yeah. Right.” He pushed up from the bed with all his power, making every thick vein in his muscular arms pop before he swayed to full height in front of me, forcing me to look up at him. “That’s it, Phoebe. I lie when I’m drunk.”
“Thought so,” I whispered, trying not to run my hands through the mop of black hair that had fallen forward.
Henry rubbed his lips together, his eyes soaking me in… until he swayed to one side a little too much and he stumbled to the right.
I caught him with as much strength as I could muster, but thankfully, Henry still had enough of his wits about him to find his footing and correct himself. Still, I held onto his biceps, glancing down at his bare feet to make sure they were stable enough before I looked back up at him.
“Oh, shit,” he half-laughed.
“Yeah, you’re a mess, soldier.” As soon as that last word fell free, I cursed myself internally. Had I really just said that out loud?
“Soldier?” He raised a brow, and goddammit, a small, drunk smirk stole my heart in a single moment, that sparkle in his eyes so new to me, I wanted to cling to it and let it light up the night sky until the sun rose the next morning.
“I don’t know where that came from.” I laughed softly, trying to cover up my embarrassment. Truly, though, I hadn’t. I’d babysat for a few members of my family over the years, always having pet names that came out of nowhere for their kids, but I couldn’t remember ever using the term soldier on any of them before. “I guess I’m just used to seeing you so rigid. Regimented. Formal, like…”
“... a soldier. Fuck, I must really be drunk to find that cute.”
I scoffed. “Please. I’m a hard arse.”
“You’re a smart arse.”
“That, too.”
Henry raised a finger, and he trailed it down my cheek and under my jaw with such delicacy, my entire body exploded with a lust that scared the hell out of me.
“I like that about you,” he said quietly.
For a moment, all I could do was stare up at him while my sedated heart awoke from its two-month coma. “I think we need to get you to your room immediately. You’re starting to sound delirious.” I eventually replied.
He smirked. “Whatever you say, Captain.”
“Oh, no. No pet names.” I pulled back to create some distance between us, even if that meant letting him go on his unsteady feet. I outright refused to become Rhea and Jace. Or worse, Bailey and Andy.
“You don’t like pet names?”
“Henry, we’re not discussing this. We need to focus.”
