Free Falling

21 Questions, Give Or Take

It had been an hour since she woke up, entangled in the man's arms. Her hands shook as she pressed the omelet down with the spatula in the skillet. Her cheeks were warm, and it wasn't because of the open heat source in front of her.

She was mortified and embarrassed beyond words.

She'd thought that her hatred for the Saints would be enough to overcome her childhood habit. It was why she'd fought so hard to sleep anywhere but next to him since she'd got there. At home, her big, brown teddy bear stayed on her bed and removed on laundry days. Without it, she couldn't sleep. She would toss and turn unless she found something to hold on to.

Maybe it was a result of her being an only child. Maybe it was because she hated being alone. She couldn't figure out the cause, but she hoped like hell that the sleeping bastard upstairs hadn't noticed she'd practically cuddled him to death. He'd never let her live it down.

"Something smells good."

She jumped, nearly burning herself on the skillet, and turned to find Jamien taking a seat at the kitchen island. The grin on his face chilled her to the bone.

"I got hungry." She turned away from him quickly, unable to look him in the eyes. Those stupid bright yet deep blue eyes that laughed at her.

"Not gonna share?" He sounded hopeful.

"Only if I don't finish my food." She snapped. "Don't count on it."

"You sound angry. Another escape attempt gone wrong?"

"No."

"Mmhm." He paused before asking, "How did you sleep last night?"

'Asshole...' "The same as the night before." She refused to bring it up for him.

He made a disapproving noise. "I think you slept better. It's noon, isn't it? You slept longer."

"I guess I did."

"How's your wrist?"

She looked down at it. Despite their attempts to ice it, it was still swollen, badly bruised, and even more tender than she thought it'd be. "About as good as it should be."

"I'm sorry about that." She turned her head to look at him. He'd ducked his head, looking down at his clasped hands.

"You've apologized for it enough already. Get over it."

"I know, but it doesn't feel like you've forgiven me. You won't even look at me. It feels like you're really pissed about it, regardless of what comes out of your mouth."

"I promise you, if I'm mad at you about anything, that damn sure isn't it."

He looked up, watching her as she moved her food to a plate and sat down next to him. Her wrist was too sore to carry her plate over to the chairs by the windows, so she had to sit next to him. "Wait, what are you mad about, then?"

"Being kidnapped? Being forced to stay in a brothel? Being offered a fucking job by maturing pimp with a tracheostomy whose artificial larynx just happens to be auto-tuned?" She tapped her chin with her finger. "Gee, I don't really know which one pisses me off the most so why don't you pick?"

For a second, Jamien didn't seem to know what to say to her. He just stared at her as she ate. "So, you're not pissed that you cuddled me last night?"

She choked on her food. "You were asleep when I woke up. How do you know-"

"Shaundi came over. A really interesting person wanted to speak with me." He leaned towards her. "Three guesses who it was, and the first two don't count."