Page 40 of Forever: The Companion

FIFTEEN

When Renzo was home—not out on a job somewhere in the world—it was rare that Lucia woke up alone. And by rare, she meant it literally never happened. However, that last morning in Bali, when she blinked awake in the soft sheets, the first thing she realized was how empty the bed felt next to her. Sure enough, when she turned to check, Renzo’s warm body wasn’t next to hers. By the looks of the smoothed sheets, he hadn’t been there most of the night.

She took a minute.

Then, two.

Just to blink away the sleepiness in her eyes and the sensation of dreams still lingering in her mind. She took in her surroundings, stretched out under the white sheets, and breathed in the island air that floated in with the breeze from the window that had been left open the night before next to the bed.

Still, she kept looking to Ren’s side of the bed and how empty it seemed without him being there to wake up with her in the morning. She didn’t like that at all, so as much as she wanted to stay right there in the comfortable bed and maybe get another hour of sleep before she had to start packing to leave the island, she got up and went in search of her husband. After, of course, she made a pitstop in the bathroom to take care of her morning business and splash her face with some cold water to wake her up even more.

Lucia didn’t even bother to take the time to change into something other than the over-sized T-shirt of Renzo’s that she’d stolen the day before to sleep in. There was something she loved about stealing his clothes to wear when she could—they smelled like him, kept her warm just because, and gave her a sense of home like nothing else but him could do. Sometimes, she swore he left her a T-shirt he’d worn for a day at the bottom of their bed right before he left for a job, just so that she would have a fresh one while he was gone.

It didn’t take Lucia long to find her husband on the back terrace, and she wasn’t at all surprised that’s where he’d gone. It seemed to be his favorite spot in the whole house, considering the many things he found to do back here between the pool, the forest he liked to explore, and the many sitting areas.

Including the one he currently used.

A square hammock attached to large wooden beams stretched out from the side of the terrace, hanging over … well, nothing but air, really. Thirty feet down below was the lush greenery of the forest and foliage, but the hammock itself simply hung out into the air, giving the person lying in it the appearance and sensation of free floating.

And that’s where her husband rested.

With an arm flung over his face, turned half on his back and half on his side, one might think he was sleeping because of the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. Lucia knew better, though, because she saw that soft smile curving his lower lip beneath his arm. His grin grew a little wider as she approached him, letting her know he was awake despite his position. She couldn’t help but wonder what about this hammock was more comfortable than sleeping in bed with her.

Not that she was offended.

Ren had strange ways sometimes, and she had simply become accustomed to rolling with the punches, so to speak. He occasionally still slept in a bathtub when shit was extra stressful, or he had something on his mind that he didn’t really want to talk about.

Eventually, she would find him wherever he hid away, and he’d tell her all the shit keeping him quiet and inside his mind. She figured, if that’s what this was, then the same thing would happen. It was something they did time and time again—his thing—and she never complained about it one way or another. That was something she’d learned about love a long time ago, and she thanked Renzo for teaching her that, too.

You had to love the whole person.

Oddities and flaws included.

“Morning,” she said, coming to stand next to the hammock. “The bed wasn’t good enough for you last night or what?”

A chuckle echoed from the man in the hammock. “If only, babe.”

“Hmm?”

Finally, he pulled his arm away from his face to give her a better view of him. He grinned up at her, and Lucia couldn’t help but smile back at him. His arms opened to her, inviting and far too tempting for her own good. And damn … didn’t he look so fucking good below her with that sexy grin, his fingers wiggling to urge her forward? He was like her own personal little devil sitting on her shoulder, whispering about sin and how good it would be.

“Come here, would you?” he asked.

How could she say no to that?

Well …

She couldn’t.

Lucia kneeled down before climbing into the hammock and Renzo’s waiting embrace. She didn’t typically like the sensation of floating that the hammock provided, but while she was wrapped in his arms, nothing else mattered but this right here. The world went away, and so did the rest of the stresses and problems she faced.

She snuggled against his chest, burying her face into his warm scent. The black T-shirt he wore wasn’t what he had gone to bed in the night before, and neither were the black jeans that rubbed against her bare thighs. She didn’t bother to ask about those things because for one, she didn’t care, as long as he was holding onto her, and for two … well, sometimes it was better not to ask when it came to Renzo.

She never knew what the answer might be.

“I wanted to be in bed with you,” he said, his words whispering along her hair after he’d tucked her head into the crook of his neck, “but you know how wants go, huh?”

“No, I usually get what I want, actually.”