Pieces Of Me

Chapter 28 Eve

"A dragon prince. THE dragon prince. Destroyer of legions, eater of souls, bathes in the blood of his enemies, batshit crazy, the feral PRINCE!" I blurt.

"Only to the rest of the world." He shrugs with a smile.

"Hooollly shit!" I laugh.

"Is that ok?" He asks gently.

"Why? Are you going to eat me if I say no?' I joke, striding towards my hospital room to collect my things.

"Only if your offering..." He trails off, his double meaning clear. I cough suddenly, choking on my own saliva in surprise. I freeze on the spot, suddenly realizing I am very, very naked again. The tension in the room goes up.

I walk over to one of the chairs, where a hoody is draped across the back, and swiftly pull it on. Sighing in relief as it falls to mid-thigh. Hulk's scent immediately engulfs me and I can't resist bunching it up to my nose and taking a big whiff. They all smell so divine.

I glance up to see Hulk smiling knowingly at me. I release the material from my nose quickly. Stupid bond.

"My clothes look good on you." He winks. I roll my eyes and go over to pack up. Then realize I don't actually have any belongings here. I sigh and flop on the bed while the guys collect their own belongings.

"Baby! Catch!" Reece calls out. I sit up on reflex, hands out, only to have his satin boxers land in my face.

"Reece what the hell!" I splutter, pulling them off.

"Pants baby. Can't have you walking around without any. You bend the wrong way and I'm going to have to beat up any randoms that sneak a peek." I roll my eyes but stand up and put them on, rolling the waistband to keep them up on my bony hips.

Reece finishes packing his bag and glances at me.

"Your gears coming. I packed you a bag before we came, it's at the camp. One of Darius's men is bringing it over." I nod, glad I will be able to wear my own clothes again after so long without them.

Once they are packed, we look expectantly at Garret.

"So where to your highness?" I ask him sweetly, batting my eyelashes at him. He frowns at me.

"Just Garret, Angel. No highness's in your presence. My place...? Or do you guys have other plans?"

"No 'just Garret'," I say with a snicker. "We can't have you living in squalor, can we? Your room will be fine." He side-eyes me with a grin.

"What are you? Twelve?"

"Five, thank you." I laugh, opening the door.

"Good to know." He chuckles.

"So, where's your room? Penthouse suite in one of the castle towers?" I ask. He shakes his head.

"I wasn't allowed in the castle much. Everyone was too terrified of me and I swung off the handle too easily. I actually have a house down by the lake. "

"Thank God! The castle is a bit intimidating and I have no idea who I'm supposed to curtsey to." I say with relief.
"

You bow to no one," Garret growls lowly.
Garret leads the way out of the castle gates and down toward the lake, where a couple of isolated houses dot the landscape.

As we head downhill, I find my strength waning, and my muscles, or rather lack of them, begin to ache. I stumble a few times and Darius, walking beside me, is quick to halt my potential tumble.

By my fourth stumble, I growl in frustration, before putting on my big girl pants, sucking in a steadying breath, and shoving my hand in his, to help me make it the rest of the way. He freezes and checks to make sure I'm ok, before getting closer and guiding me down the rest of the way, to the flatter land.

When we reach the bottom of the hill, I leave my hand in his as we continue to walk towards the lake, see if I can take one for the team. Garret points at a dot a quarter of the way around.

"That one is where we are headed. "

Closer to the lake, the ground is rocky. Hulk turns to me.

"You don't have shoes; do you mind if I carry you?" He asks warily, already fearing the expected rejection. I sigh but slowly nod. It is the logical thing to do. He smiles the biggest smile in the world.

Even though Garret has the most fearsome reputation, Hulk is intimidating period. That something so simple as touching me could bring so much happiness to this muscle-bound giant, who's smiling like a kid at Christmas, warms my heart just a little.

I really do want to get to know him better. I feel bad for the way things happened and now that I know I won't lose Reece, I really need to let this big guy in a bit. Reece and I have a history. Garret and I have forged a careful bond in captivity. Poor Hulk has been left on the outskirts.

I have run from him, denied him and he has been through the wringer. Trying to find someone he didn't really know, after narrowly surviving a bloody battle that he had fought beside me. He deserves more. I must try to lower my walls. Let's face it since I had returned, I had been a grade-A bitch.

He carefully bends from his imposing height and gathers me in his arms bridal style. He pretends not to notice my muscles tense or my flinch and heads after Garret and Reece at a faster pace, now that I'm not slowing him down.

The rocking motion of his movements is soothing and I find myself relaxing, yawning, and tucking my head into the crook of his neck, to breathe him in and doze off.

This is nice. This feels safe.

I am still going to kick his ass for marking me without my permission, but he can have a stay of execution for now, since it has worked out in our favor.

Go Hulk, you made some headway!
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