Bound(The Mastered Series)(15)
More male bickering. Amery closed her eyes and tuned them out.
That wonderful darkness beckoned only to be yanked away when someone poked her shoulder. “What?”
“Chaz is taking me home. I have class in an hour.”
She opened a bleary eye and squinted at Molly. “But I thought you were going to stay until the glass guys were done?”
Molly’s gaze darted to the right. “Master Black said he’d be happy to handle it for you. That’s okay, isn’t it?”
“Of course it’s okay,” Chaz inserted. He squeezed Amery’s shoulder. “She’s exhausted and who better to trust her safety with than her self-defense instructor?”
Ronin flashed Amery a wolfish grin that no one else saw.
“Besides, Emmylou is here and she promised to lock up after the new windows are installed. So we’re heading out, okay, sweets?”
Amery was too tired to argue. She closed her eyes when Chaz kissed her forehead. Her mind blanked out the hushed voices until they faded completely and sleep teased the edges of her consciousness.
Ronin’s deep voice roused her again. “You can’t sleep in the chair.”
Dammit. Why wouldn’t everyone just leave her alone? “Fine. I’ll go sleep in my bed.” She mustered the will to push upright. Her feet seemed to be encased in cement blocks as she trudged to the back door that led to her loft. After nearly tripping, she slapped herself in the face to stay focused. Seeing the twisty metal staircase leading to her living space put an extra spring in her step.
A hard hand landed on her shoulder. “Slow down. Don’t want this pretty face of yours smacking into the concrete.”
She wheeled around. “What are you still doing here?”
“Helping you.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Seriously.”
“Seriously. I don’t know.” He encroached on her space, coming chest-to-chest with her. “So will you please cut me a break and let me make sure you fall face-first in your bed and not on the floor?”
Something . . . oddly sweet flickered in his penetrating stare, and her flip comment dried up. “Thank you, Ronin.”
He smoothed her hair from her cheek. “My pleasure.”
Why didn’t it bother her that he touched her with such familiarity? Amery turned away before she did something stupid like face-plant into that amazing chest of his.
He followed her closely up the stairs. That breathing-down-her-neck proximity didn’t change when she cut toward her bedroom. She crawled into the unmade bed and wrapped her arms around the closest pillow with an enormous sigh.
A soft laugh sounded behind her.
Then she felt him unzipping her boots. She wiggled her toes and sighed again.
“Need my help with the rest of your clothes?”
She cracked one eye open and looked at him. “Nice try.”
“I could point out half of what you’re wearing belongs to me and it’s within my rights to demand you return it.”
“Go away, Ronin.”
“I will.” He covered her with her comforter. “But I’ll be back.”
That’s the last thing Amery remembered.