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Stop asking questions. Let it go. It doesn’t matter.

Draven chuckles, a dark one that has my legs clenching of their own accord. “Every night whether I’m attending or not.”

Fuck. That’s a lot of drugs, a lot of sex.

A lot of women getting exactly what I want. “Good for you,” I say honestly. “I mean that. Take pleasure from this world when you can.”

“I do. You should too.”

“Yeah, that’ll go well, I’m sure,” I scoff. “He wants me to start taking pregnancy tests every morning. Shay told me last week that he asks them for my movements every day. Makes sure I’m not flirting too much with Leo or Dane, that I’m spending enough time in Alex’s room. He might not have said it out loud, but I’m not stupid. If I look for any sort of pleasure that doesn’t come from your brother, he’ll know. Tonight was a mistake.”

“Was it?” he asks curiously. “Why? No one saw.”

Someone had to have seen. There’s no way they didn’t. And even still, it sets a bad precedent. “Because it was risky. You might be willing to play with my life, Dray, but I’m not.”

“Your life is safe, little keeper. I’d know if it wasn’t, because it would bemyjob to take care of you.”

The thought almost makes me smile. “So you’ll be my own personal Grim Reaper, huh? That’s poetic.”

“I do like poems.” He tosses me a smile that doesn’t meet his eyes. “But I guess you aren’t wrong. This has been my job since I was fourteen. Some have called me Ephraim Creed’s shadow, but I like Grim Reaper even better. You think a reaper ever takes anything for his own? Or is he just a conduit for bigger entities?”

“Both,” I muse. “He’s a conduit, sure. For whatever god actually exists, or the universe if nothing else. He’s the scythe that sets things right. But why not take a little something for himself? Who, really, would tell him no?”

“Fair point.” Dray bites his lip and looks me over. “What would make you happy right now? And get as crazy or as boring as you want to with your answer.”

My bones are heavy with exhaustion. From life, from the pills, from knowing what I want is an arm’s length away and completely out of reach. “You’ll call it boring, but I just want a little comfort. That’s all. Just a comfortable bed, no one spying on me. Maybe a machine that’ll rub my back for me until I fall asleep,” I huff. “I’ve been stressed out and so tense that I can’t sleep at night, can’t walk through the halls without clenching my teeth. You say my life isn’t in danger here, but I’ve seen what Creed does. I’ve heard the stories. It’s hard to find any comfort at all.”

Nodding, he stands and closes the distance between us, his hand extending out in offering. “I don’t have a back rubbing machine, but I’ve got hands. Let me put you to sleep, and no, that’s not a euphemism. I’m not asking for anything in return.”

I’m too tired to be skeptical. In the morning, when I wake up alone and this all feels like a fever dream, I’ll probably wonder why I trusted him. Men don’t do favors for women, not without expecting something in return. And this isn’t just one. It’s two. The mess he made of me at dinner was the first.

But I do decide to trust him. I let my fingers slot with his and step in, close enough to smell his cologne, feel the heat radiating off of him. And it feels good.

He doesn’t say anything else until I’m lying in bed mostly on my stomach, hugging a pillow like it’s a person.

“Close your eyes, little keeper. I’ve got you tonight.”

Too exhausted to look deeper into his words, my eyes flutter closed as he joins me in my bed, and his hand slides under my shirt. The first touch sends a jolt of lightening throughout my entire body, and when I hear him sigh like he’s as content as I am, I feel my shoulders relax.

I don’t care what the consequences are. This, right now, is the only thing that matters. Wrenching an ounce of comfort from a lifetime of chess games and servitude, a moment that’s just for me.

He doesn’t want anything from me. I’m not owed to him, I’m not trying to pry secrets from his silver tongue.

It’s just... comfort. Tickling, soft comfort.

For me.

And if consequences come for me because of it, I’ll kick them in the fucking teeth.

This is mine. Just for tonight.

This is mine.

MARCH