Bound to Earth

14: You Can't Hide Your Secret

The muscles in Alistar's arm flexed beneath my head he gently stroked the skin across my abdomen, dragging me from the darkness of slumber. His chest pressed into my front tight enough for me to feel the shifting in his body from his every breath.

A new pair of sweats hung low on my hips, giving him room to trace the same line from the top of my hip, over my stomach, and to the base of my ribs. Each stoke tugged at me until I was finally able to recognize where he was touching. 

My body stiffened in his arms, my eyes popping open. My hand snapped to his, dragging it away from my scarred abdomen.

His head dipped to my shoulder, where he placed a small kiss. "Sorry."

"It's fine." The last thing I wanted was for him to feel the need to apologize. I turned in his arms to meet his icy blue eyes. The color, so sharp, I had to dip my head into the crook of his neck. "Did you kick Valentino out last night?"

"No one can kick Valentino out of a bed once he's asleep. I slept in the spare room with Malachi."

"Do the others know you're in here?" If last night was Valentino's night, it was a surprise for Alistar to be here. Neither of them had the patience or manners to kindly ask for a turn, so rules had been set. Alistar being here would've given the rest of them free reign to disrupt us.

"I don't know, and I don't care. As soon as Valentino stepped out of the room I teleported in here. He's an idiot for not keeping you to himself for longer." He hooked his ankle around my legs, pulling me to entwine with him until we were squished together.

"How long have you been here?" I breathed through my squished lungs. 

"Only since nine." He sighed, as if it wasn't enough time.

"And what time is it now?" I sucked in a deep breath of his sweet scent, stretching my arms behind him. Ever so slowly, I ran my hands down Alistar's back, tracing the crevices of every muscle I could reach.

"11." His grin curled against my hair. Not an ounce of shame poured from him.

Laughter bubbled from me before I had a chance to smother it. I pulled back enough to see the sparkling in his eyes. "You've been in here for two hours watching me sleep?"

His arms tightened around me, pulling me to his chest again. "I've been in here for two hours holding you."

I sighed. "We should get up." None of them typically let me sleep in this long. If one of them wasn't dragging me out of bed in the morning, then it was their bickering dragging me out.

Neither of us even twitched in response.

Alistar pressed his cheek against the top of my head. His loose hair brushed against my closed eyes, much softer than I imagined. "We can spare a few more minutes."

We sat there, holding one another, when the voices in the living room rose. 

Alistar's grip tightened around me, anticipating my thoughts before I even had them. "They're big boys. Let them figure it out."

I sighed, wiggling out of his grasp. It wasn't often they'd fight. But when they did, if I didn't step in, they could be arguing until Brynjar lost his temper. And then everyone would be unhappy. "I still want to know what they're arguing about."

His grip doesn't falter despite my squirming. "No. I'm comfortable," he whined and coiled further around me.

"I have to take a piss." I poked his side, my movements restricted with his weight pressing on top of me.

He sucked in a sharp breath and winced. "Hold it." The words were a strained hiss through his gritted teeth.

I blinked, my foggy mind taking an extra second to catch up with his reaction. Then a slow, devious smirk pulled at my lips. I poked him again, this time in the ribs where he was more sensitive.