The Key to My Hart

Chapter 8

I had been surprised when Rowan hadn't tried to make a move on me. Instead, he had just wanted comfort. It was a side of him I had never seen before. It made me realize that he had learned how to close off his emotions to prevent getting hurt again, and to save his sister from being the talk of the town. I liked this softer side of Rowan, but I was under no illusion that it would last.

The mosquitoes were too bad to stay up on the roof for very long, so we had made our way inside. The tables had been converted back into bunk beds and both sides. There were eight beds and eleven of us. Rowan stepped away from me to speak to the group. We need to figure out sleeping arrangements.

"I could always sleep in the Jeep." Doc suggested hopefully. A chorus of "No's" rang out. Doc grumbled and took up space on one of the lower beds.

Carlos and Finn followed suit. "We are small enough to fit on a bunk together, but I would prefer to take one of the bottom ones. These are twin beds, and if we fall off, I'd rather it be from a lower bunk." Carlos stated.

"Same goes with Sam and I." Angel grabbed Sam's hand and pulled her to a bunk.

"You'll have to bunk with one of us guys, Atalia. No pressure." Ryder smirked.

Shit. How was I supposed to choose without offending any of them? Azrael and Ryder both took a top bunk.

"We are too big to share a bunk with you." Ryder winked.

That left Chogan, Rowan, and Kaito. "Think I'm going to choose Kaito tonight. I feel like he's the only one who wouldn't try anything with a bus full of people." I sighed.

"Did you forget what happened before we left?" Kaito's eyes glinted with amusement.

I glared at him then snatched up Rowan's hand and dragged him to the last bunk. He just lifted a brow at me. "Why not Chogan?"

"I'm sure you all saw him at dinner tonight. He's not as innocent as he looks." Laughter filled the room. Chogan flushed at my words, but there was a sort of pride in him as he lifted himself into one of the top bunks. Kaito took the last one.

"Get settled in the bed. I'm going to lock the door and turn all the lights out." Rowan made his way back to the front of the bus.

"Shouldn't one of us be on look out though?" Finn asked, worry coating his voice.

"No. We all need the extra rest. I've parked the bus so that it's hidden from view of the highway. I doubt anyone will be traveling at night as it is. If a few biters do show up, we can handle them in the morning. With the reinforcements that were added to the bus, nothing is getting inside." Rowan locked the door and turned off the over head light. "Everyone get some sleep. In fact, I want all of you to take the next couple of days to rest up."

The generator was too loud to run at night for air, so we had opened the windows and placed mesh screens to block out insects. After Rowan cut the lights, I stripped off my jeans, leaving on my tank top and underwear. He easily found out bunk bed in the dark and climbed in after me. He was down to a bare chest and his boxers. I found myself sprawled out over his chest to make room for the both of us. There were whispers of clothes being taken off and hitting the floor.

I had gotten used to sleeping in a room with several of the guys. Embraced in Rowan's arms, his musk filling my nose, I drifted off to sleep.

I woke to the sound of heavy breathing. At first, I though one of the other couples might have been having sex, but then I realized the breathing was coming from Rowan. I lifted a hand and gently placed it on his brow. His skin was cold and clammy. When I felt his body go rigid, I realized he was having a nightmare.