Page 203 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. One

She squeezes her eyes shut. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” I wring my clothes out before tossing them over the glass wall of the shower so they can air dry. “I’ll grab you a shirt and leave it on the counter.”

“Thank you. I know it’s stupid—”

“It’s not,” I say firmly. “You’re allowed all the privacy and space you need.”

I towel off quicklybefore moving into the bedroom and finding her something to wear. She may have already gone through four shirts today, but I don’t care. This way she gets to wear one of mine. I like it when that happens—whether it’s her, Oliver, or Elliot.

Placing the shirt on the bathroom counter, I say, “I’m going to close the door. Come out when you’re ready.”

She only takes a minute or two, and then she leads me to Elliot’s room with her hand in mine. The lights in the hallway are off, but it’s still illuminated. After Wren’s first weekend here, we bought a bunch of night lights and put them in the halls. That way she can move through the house without getting scared until she gets more used to the light switches.

Elliot is already in bed with Oliver curled up in his arms. The sight melts away some of the anger that’s been consuming me for the past few hours. The whole time, I’ve been focusing on the pain Oliver caused me and Ell. But I can’t deny any longer that he was probably scared, too. He had no guarantee he’d make it out alive, but he did it anyway. For Wren. And I know without a shadow of a doubt that he’d do it for me and Ell, too.

We end up in bed with Oliver and Wren in the middle. She kisses him, and then she leans over him to kiss Elliot. When she settles under the covers, she turns to face me, cupping my cheeks in her palms.

“Thank you,” she whispers. “For everything.”

I fit my mouth to hers in a silent response. I’m too tired to figure out what to say, especially since I don’t want to accidentally make her start crying again. I’m already drawing things out with Oliver. I don’t want to ruin things between me and Wren, too.

She drifts off within minutes, and so does Oliver. Elliot raises his head to look at me, somehow reaching over Oliver and Wren to brush his hand down my hip.

“Sleep well, Rhett.”

I don’t think I will, but I nod. “You, too.”

Chapter sixteen

Elliot

The mattress moves violently, waking me from the light sleep I just found.

What the hell?

When I open my eyes slightly, I’m just able to make out Wren. She’s scrambling into a sitting position, looking at me and Oliver. And then she turns to where Rhett was earlier.

The commotion wakes Oliver. Groggily, he sits up, rubbing his eyes and trying to make sense of what’s going on.

“No,” Wren whispers, patting the mattress like she’ll somehow find Rhett among the folds of the blankets. “Rhett,” she cries. “No, no no no. Rhett!”

“Hey. Hey, it’s okay. Princess, you’re okay.” Oliver wraps his arms around her, gently tugging her into his lap.

Rhett has already stood from the armchair in the corner, and now he’s moving to the edge of the bed. “Sweetheart, I’m right here.”

She doesn’t hear him. “How did you survive? Why didn’t he?”

“Wren, we’re all here. It was just a nightmare.” Oliver strokes her back, keeping his voice calm.

Rhett crawls onto the bed. “Hey. I’m here.”

When he comes into her view, she sags in relief. “You’re alive,” she whispers, reaching out to him. “You’re here.”

“Have been all night, sweetheart.” Rhett snakes his arms around Wren and takes her from Oliver, cradling her body to his.

“But you weren’t in bed. Where… where did you go?”

“I was in the chair, that’s all. We weren’t fitting on the bed. You and I are both sprawlers, and Ell is a blanket hog.”