Cardinal

Chapter 17

Several days pass by and I don't hear from the guys at all. None of them come to find me in my room and I'm reeling with disappointment with their lack of concern for me or my wellbeing. Besides Martha who does her job, I actually fend for myself in this big house. Though, surprisingly, there's always food waiting for me at the counter. 

My blowout with Damian must have done some damage because we're all back to avoiding each other now. 

With the time I've had to myself, I've actually had time to relax and do some investigation on the internet with my phone that Julie handed me. I'm actually surprised to find that Julie is active on social media and has garnered a following. I was especially thrilled to find pictures of Damian and Sicily everywhere on social media...like a regular couple. 

I've been pacing back and forth in my room, trying to leave to seek someone out to ask for the plan for tomorrow. 

I'm supposed to start Merc training tomorrow and I'm hesitant to ask anybody for a ride there. 

I decide to finally leave my room and venture out to the trenches of my so-called unit. 

I make my way to Keenan's room to the left of the stairs since he seems to be the most amenable one out of all of them.  

Swallowing my pride and nervousness, I walk with trepidation to the hallway. Hands sweaty, I knock on Keenan's door gently. 

He opens the door and a disheveled Keenan appears in front of me. He's shirtless and only has his boxers on. 

God, I'm literally going to combust being in the same space as all of them. 

I stare at him as he rubs the sleep from his eyes and replies with a grunt. 

"Uhm...who's dropping me off tomorrow?"

He looks at me confused, and I think, still not fully conscious. He looks really tired and I may have interrupted his sleep even though it's already 1 pm in the afternoon. 

"Follow me." He orders me in that gruff, sleep-ridden voice that has my panties wet immediately.  

As soon as I cross the threshold to his bedroom, he pulls me towards him and leads me to his bed. 

"Uh...wait..." 

I try to pull out of his grasp but this man is about 250 lbs of pure solid muscle and will not budge. 

Oh, I don't think I'm ready for anything like this. I try to pull out of his grasp, my hand sweating from anticipation or excitement?

"Sleep." He orders me again and pushes me towards his bed. 

Whew. Okay, sleep only. I may have to wait around until he's fully conscious and ask him the question again. 

I climb into his bed reluctantly and finally take in my surroundings. Unlike my room, his room is dark. No light shines through the window which can be attributed to either the black curtains or the black everything in his room. 

He climbs behind me and pulls me towards his body in a tight embrace. He nuzzles my neck, breathes deeply, and exhales.

"I missed you, maya lyubov', " he gruffs out, his voice still laced with sleep. 

My heart stutters at his words. The connection we have comes to life and I'm itching for the next step. 

"Relax with me for a bit? Everything else will have to be later. I've had a rough couple of days." 

I decide to stop being a pussy and just ask him the burning question that's been produced by the green-eyed monster in my head named Jealousy. 

"I didn't see you guys at all. Where were you?"