Torn
Page 92

Ren sat on the bed next to me. “You woke up on and off the first night, but once you fell into a deep sleep, you slept straight through yesterday and last night.”
“Geez.” I dropped my hand, clearing my throat. “I didn’t mean to sleep that long.”
“It’s okay. You needed the rest.” Reaching over, he gathered my robe together. The material had fallen open, giving him an eyeful. I hadn’t even noticed. A slight flush traveled down my throat as he found the tie and redid it. His voice was thicker when he spoke. “Everyone understands that.”
“Sorry . . . for crying all over you.”
“Never apologize for that. Ever. You want to cry all over me again, I’m right here. I don’t want to be any place else.”
My gaze traveled over the black thermal he wore and how it stretched over his broad shoulders, and then I moved my gaze up to his full lips that had said such amazing words to me. My eyes met his. There were shadows of worry under them. “You love me,” I blurted out, and then immediately wanted to staple my mouth shut, because that sounded so dumb.
His smile traveled up to his eyes. “That sounds about right.”
Those words wrapped around me like a warm, soft blanket. Ren loved me. That hadn’t been a dream. None of this was a dream.
“You have something you want to say to me?” he asked, tone teasing. “I think there is definitely something you want to say to me.”
A grin tugged at my lips. “I don’t have anything to say.”
His brows rose.
The grin was slow to turn into a smile, but it did. “I love you,” I said.
“That’s what I wanted to hear.” Leaning in, he brushed his lips over mine. I tensed just a little, still half-afraid I’d inadvertently start sucking his life force out of him, but he wasn’t worried. He stayed right there, his mouth hovering over mine. “I do wish you were awake yesterday just to bear witness to what I saw.”
“What was that?” I asked, resting my forehead against his.
He placed his hand next to my leg, supporting his weight. “Tink fashioned some kind of leash for that cat of his.”
“Dixon.”
“Yeah, Dixon. I saw him outside in the garden yesterday. Your window looks down on it. He was walking the little thing, but that’s not the random part,” he explained. “Tink was back to his other size. You know, bite-size height. He was flying and walking the kitten. I’m pretty sure he was also naked. Too far up to make out any details, thank God.”
A giggle parted my lips. “Dear lord, when that cat gets bigger, it’s going to eat him if he stays that size.”
“One can only hope.” He laughed as I drew back. “Just kidding. He’s kind of growing on me. Like a fungus.”
“Nice,” I murmured, relaxing.
Ren kissed my cheek and then leaned back. “You feel up to talking to anyone today?”
“Of course,” I answered at once.
His eyes searched mine. “You sure? You can take another day. I can grab you some food. They got cable in these rooms. We can find some movie and just chill.”
While that sounded amazing and I honestly would have loved nothing more, the world was still churning outside. The prince was still out there. Nothing was going to wait around. “I’m fine. I just need to shower. I feel like I need to wash a layer of sleep off me.”
“You look beautiful,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “I think you need your head examined.”
“Nope.” He paused. “After you shower, we’ll grab something to eat and then we’ll meet up with everyone. Okay?”
His steady gaze snagged and held mine. We still had a lot to cover. There were a lot of details he didn’t know. Details I needed time to come to terms with myself and time to share.
“Okay,” I said.
I closed my eyes as Ren kissed the tip of my nose. He pushed off the bed, and I got up after him. My legs felt a little wobbly as I grabbed the bag Tink had brought me and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.
I wondered if Tink was out walking the kitten naked again.
Taking a quick shower, I stepped out and dried off. I rooted through the bag, finding a pair of worn jeans and a long-sleeved green shirt. I got dressed and then gathered up my wet hair, twisting it into a knot.
Steam had evaporated from the mirror, and I caught sight of my reflection. I stopped right in my tracks. It was the first time I’d seen myself in days. I barely recognized the girl staring back at me.
There was a streak of red still in my left eye, which reminded me of someone infected with the zombie virus. My face was paler than normal, and a bluish bruise stretched along the side of my jaw. I looked . . .
Haunted.
Definitely not beautiful. That was kind of Ren to say, but there was a bone-deep exhaustion in the unforgiving shadows under my eyes, and a wariness in my blue eyes that hadn’t been there before, not even after what had happened to Shaun, Holly, and Adrian. It mirrored the coldness inside me that had dug its claws in.
Now was not the time to think about the cause of all that. I grabbed the bag and pried it open, realizing Tink hadn’t brought any of my makeup. There was no camouflaging this hot-mess express. Maybe I could sneak a trip back to my apartment. I had to. There were not enough clothes to get me through a week.
Ren was waiting out in the room, sitting in the chair, flipping through a magazine when I stepped out. Something occurred to me then. “Did you stay here the entire time I slept?”