Page 75 of Healer’s Betrayal

“Roll away from me,” I tell him.

Thankfully he does; I can feel it. I take in a deep breath, feeling like I’m able to breathe a little easier with him facing away from me now. “I’m going to touch you now.” I feel the warning is necessary.

“Okay.” His voice is deeper now. I move a little closer, so I can reach him. Then I run my fingers through his hair on the back of his head and massage the back of his head lightly.

“How does that feel?” I ask.

“Really good.”

I smile. “Good.” I continue, switching hands when one gets tired. It’s absolutely quiet in the room, and I keep massaging the back of his head. I thought it would be weird, but it’s not. Of course, it’s also the middle of the night and pitch black. I don’t think it would work near as well if I could see him; I know I would lose my nerve. After a little while, I stop. “Does that still feel good?”

“Yeah.”

I smile at the sleepy tone to his voice and continue what I’m doing. After a little while, exhaustion plagues me; and I can’t hold my arms up anymore. I doubt that he’s asleep, but he doesn’t say anything. I don’t either. I simply lay back on my pillows and close my eyes; sleep claims me minutes later. When I open my eyes again, it’s morning. The sun shines through the cracks around the curtains. I look over at the other side of the bed and see it’s empty. I wonder how long Jackson stayed in bed last night. Did he get up right away? Did he sleep there all night? Did he jump out of bed as soon as he saw me this morning? I push those questions from my mind and sit up and stretch. I look over at Noah’s bed and see it’s empty. I freeze, looking around the room. “Noah?” I’m out of bed a moment later. “Noah?” I pad over to the bathroom, but he’s not in there. I try to keep my panic at bay and remind myself there can be so many plausible explanations as to where he’s at. But I need to find him. I hurry over to the door and throw it open and come face-to-face with Jackson. I jump a foot in the air. “What are you doing?” I ask, putting a hand over my heart.

He shows me the key card. “I was just getting ready to open the door; I felt your panic. What’s wrong?” He says all this while somehow managing to maneuver me back into our room.

“I can’t find Noah.”

“Oh.” His entire face relaxes. “He’s with us.”

Chapter 31

Kayla

I take a shuddering breath, and he continues. “Sorry, I should have left a note or something. Ransom took him down to breakfast, and I just stepped out into the hallway to talk to one of my guys.”

“Lucien?” I ask, remembering that name from last night.

“Yeah.” I want to ask more, but he doesn’t look very happy. “Do you want to go downstairs to get breakfast?”

Coffee’s the first thing that pops into my mind. “Yes. Please. Let me just get dressed really quickly.”

“Take your time. I’ll wait for you in the hallway.”

He leaves, and I spend the next few minutes getting ready. When I packed, I wasn’t really thinking; I just grabbed clothes and shoved them in my bag. So, it’s black leggings and an old t-shirt for today. I run a brush through my hair and throw it up on top of my head in a messy bun. I don’t have any of my makeup with me, so that’s not an option. I brush my teeth and leave the bathroom. I open the door to the room and find Jackson waiting. “Ready?” His eyes run over me.

“I wasn’t really thinking when I grabbed clothes, which is why I look like a bum.”

His eyes soften. “You look beautiful, Kayla; you always do. You’re just missing one thing, though.”

“Makeup?”

“No. My shirt.”

I'm already shaking my head. “I am fully covered; I am not wearing your shirt.”

He shrugs. “I tried.”

I shake my head and don’t try to understand him. “I need coffee.” I start towards the elevators, anxious to lay eyes on Noah. I remember about halfway there what Jackson said about the elevators and turn around and head to the stairs instead. He doesn’t say a word, and I’m glad. My mind is all over the place this morning. Everything feels like too much. I have too many questions, too much I can’t make sense of. As soon as we reach the breakfast area, I see Noah at a table eating with Ransom. I feel like I can finally take a full breath. I can’t hear what Ransom’s saying, but there’s a slight smirk on Noah’s face, like he’s trying not to smile. He looks up and sees me, and I wave and walk over to them. “Hey.” I ruffle Noah’s hair, even as he pulls away. It’s a habit I can’t break; I don’t think I ever will. “Waffles? Yum.” I search his plate. “Where’s the protein?” Ransom groans and shakes his head and then pulls out his wallet and gives Noah a five dollar bill. I eye it and the two of them. “What’s that all about?”

“I told him you would say I needed protein. He said you wouldn’t even notice. He said he’d pay me five dollars if you said something about it.” There’s a smile lurking at the corner of Noah’s lips, and it makes me really happy. I shake my head. “You gotta have protein to balance out all that sugar.”

Ransom scowls at us, but it’s not serious. “He told me that very thing.”

I grin down at Noah. “I’m going to grab coffee; I’ll grab you something.” I’m about to walk away when his voice stops me.

“Do you feel better?” I turn back around and see the worry in Noah’s eyes.