Page 80 of Crucible
An image of a gargantuan bed with a canopy even higher and more ostentatious than Khalil’s, sheer white curtains, satin sheets that cost a fortune, and one stubborn but sexy magnate sleeping soundly within.
And then I imagine what it would be like to sneak inside her bedroom, part those curtains, and take whatever I want.
And I wouldn’t be alone.
I could offer Aurelia my bed, but I won’t. She had the chance to share it but chose Khalil, so now, she can suffer his ego and selfishness.
Okay, so maybe I am jealous.
“Khalil kicked her out,” I explain.
There’s a beat of awkward silence, space for me to fill with the offer or demand for her to warm my bed. Bane destroyed Zeke’s again, and Khalil refuses to build him another, so Seth doesn’t have one to offer. Fleeing my chance to behave honorably, I disappear into the den’s bathroom to store my med kit, and then I drag my feet coming out.
When I do, I find Aurelia in the same place.
“Couch for a kiss,” Seth offers.
“I’ll take the floor.”
Grinning, Seth swings his legs over the side of the couch and stands. Aurelia stiffens, readying herself for Seth’s wrath. When he starts dancing like Jack Nicholson did as the JokerinBatman, hopping onto the footlocker, spinning, and hopping back off, her wariness turns to…well, more wariness.
Seth is unpredictable, and I think Aurelia’s catching on quickly.
Melancholy roots me to the spot as I watch him dance. Seth has never seen any of the Batman movies, which means he’s pulling from Zeke’s memories…again. Zeke was hardcore into comics and Batman was always in heavy rotation solely because of his favorite supervillain—Bane.
Seth grabs the long poker by the fire, and Aurelia tenses again. He twirls it in the air as he dances over to her, and it’s all I can do not to roll my eyes when he tosses it aside to lift her in his arms bridal style.
“What are you doing?” she whispers nervously.
Ignoring her while still dancing, Seth carries her over to the couch and places her on it like she’s some gentle maiden he’s sworn to protect.
One of the many blankets Sheriff Kelly’s wife crocheted for us over the years is draped over the back of the couch. Seth takes the folded brown and blue blanket and snaps it open with a flourish. He then drapes it over Aurelia and sketches a dramatic bow.
“Sleep tight, Sunshine.”
Before she can settle on a suitable reaction to his antics, Seth pries the bedroll from her and unrolls it with a snap of his wrist. He lays it out on the floor between the footlocker and couch before lowering his body onto the bed roll.
“You sure you trust her to be sleeping so close?”
Aurelia gives me a withering look before getting comfortable under the blanket and turning her back to us both.
“I trust that she’s not dumb enough to try twice in one night,” Seth says. “I just figured you two losers would sleep better knowing she’ll have to get past me to get to you.”
Except there’s one problem with that theory.
Seth is a disturbingly deep sleeper.
When the nightmares overtake him, it’s almost impossible to wake him. He’s also twice as dangerous if you succeed because he always wakes up thinking he’s back in that hellhole. It’s the reason Khalil installed those lights in his bed. They sleep in there sometimes when we need to restrain Seth or when Zeke’s afraid of being alone.
Waking up in the dark can be confusing for them and catastrophic for us.
Now, it’s Aurelia who’s in danger with this new sleeping arrangement.
I consider warning her, but she looks exhausted and traumatized enough without me adding to it, so I tell myself it will be fine as long as the light doesn’t go out.
The fire will die eventually, but there’s a lamp on the side table by Aurelia’s feet. I dim it just enough to keep the room lit with a soft glow, and then I take one last look at her curled up on the couch before I force myself to leave the den. By the time I reach the main floor, my teeth are gritted to the point of pain. I might actually chip one if I don’t unclench.
She’ll be fine, damn it.
