Page 179 of Bitten & Burned

Vael snorted from the doorway. “Sure, you’re not. And I’m Inera’s chosen moonmaiden.”

Quil huffed a laugh into his hand, though his eyes stayed hard on me.“Just… go get ready for bed and come over here.”

I smirked and started undressing, pulling on a nightgown before climbing into bed with him.

Vael blinked. “So you’re still doing that, I see…”

I arched a brow. “Doing what?”

“Leaving a breadcrumb trail of garments through every room you touch,” he said, voice mild but edged.

“I’ll go pick them all up for her,” Quil said, smiling. “Strip away, sweetheart.”

“You’re enabling her bad behavior. You’re a bad influence, Ashborne.”

“You’re genuinely trying to stop our girl from taking her clothes off?”

Vael paused before speaking again. “Not sure I can still call her ‘my girl’.”

“You can,” I said softly. “You just… don’t.”

Vael’s mouth tightened. “Rowena, I…”

“Not here,” I cut him off, shaking my head. “Not now. Let’s just… stick a pin in it. Come back to it later.”

I left the clothes where they fell, and Vael smirked, walking around to scoop them all up and leave them in one place.

I looked around to make sure I had everything, frowning because something was missing. I had my pillows, my pajamas… oh right. Pip.

I hadn’t fully unpacked yet, but he was in my bag, so I hurried out to the living room, grabbing him from the front pocket of my bag, and went just as quickly back to bed.

Quil looked at me quizzically, and I wiggled Pip in front of me. His face split into a soft grin. “You’re adorable, you know that?”

I climbed into bed with Quil, who automatically slid closer. I tucked Pip up on one of the pillows.

His arm curled around me, slow and heavy, pulling me closer like I was a blanket he could wrap himself in.

“I could get used to sleeping like this,” he murmured. “With someone beside me.”

“You’re not asleep yet,” I whispered.

“I’m getting there.”

I felt the slow drift of his breath. The gradual slackening of his grip. His heart was slowing. His body settling into that in-between place—the edge of dreams, the moment before sleep claimed him completely.

He nuzzled into my hair. Murmured something too soft to catch.

And then he stilled.

Quil Ashborne. Hunter. Killer. Monster.

Fast asleep in my bed, wrapped around me like I was the safest thing in the world.

A soft scoff broke the silence. I opened my eyes just enough to see Vael standing at the foot of the bed, shaking his head. “Unbelievable. Out cold already,” he muttered, though his voice was gentler than the words. He doused the lamp, then slipped onto the mattress at my other side.

I lay there a while. Long enough to memorize Quil’s weight, the curve of his arm around my waist, the way his breath warmed the back of my neck in slow, even pulses. And long enough to feel the faint shift of the mattress as Vael finally settled, turned just enough that his shoulder brushed mine.

I let myself drift as well. For at least a few hours. It was so warm. And I was exhausted.