Smoked

I finally fell asleep. I don’t know how long it was before another nightmare jarred me awake. Instead of being about getting shot, in this one, Smoke and I were in a terrible row. I opened my eyes, and the man himself was sitting in a chair beside the bed, studying me. I sat up and pulled the bedclothes up to my neck.
“Another nightmare?” he asked.
I nodded, still unable to marry the man in front of me with the person in my dream.
“You’re trembling,” he said, reaching out to put his hand on my leg. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“Was it the same one you had last night?”
“No.”
Smoke stood, walked around the bed, and lay down beside me. “Come here,” he said, gently pulling me into his arms. He stroked my cheek with his finger. “It might help you feel better if you talk about it.”
“It was about you,” I whispered.
“It upset you.”
“We were in a terrible row.”
His grasp on me tightened, but he didn’t say anything.
“Smoke? Did we argue a lot?”
He let out a deep breath. “Sometimes.”
“I hated it. I never want to feel that way again.”
“Neither do I.”
“Promise me it won’t be like that between us.”
Smoke shifted and put his finger on my chin. “Look at me, Siren.”
I stared into his dark brown eyes.
“You and I…we have a lot of passion between us. Can you feel it?”
“I can.”
“As intense as it can be when it’s good, it’s equally so when it’s bad.”
“What did we fight about?”
He smiled. “Everything.”
“Give me an example.”
He was quiet for several moments. “We both like to be the boss.”
I laughed. “I can see that. What else?”
“We’re both very stubborn.”
I shook my head. “I’m not stubborn.”
He laughed, and so did I.
“If we do have a row, I want us to make up right away.” I rested my cheek against his heart. “I hate the idea of being at odds with you.”
Smoke kissed the top of my head. “I feel the same.”

9
Smoke
It was only Dr. Mansfield’s warning about Siren’s emotional state that kept me from confessing everything to her. My throat and chest hurt as I swallowed my deceit deeper with every word I spoke.
Most, if not all, of what I’d said to her was true, but underlying everything was an enormous lie.
As I rode out on the ranch earlier with Zeke, my first instinct had been to put the word out that I was ready for another mission. They’d always come easily to me. Once anyone heard I was available, my phone immediately began ringing.
This time, though, I couldn’t run to a place where danger eclipsed the voices in my head that I didn’t want to hear. I couldn’t escape the things I didn’t want to face, by burying myself in the world’s problems rather than my own. I had to stick around, be here for Siren, help her heal, and have her back, just like Hammer said I should.
Thinking about Hammer reminded me that I had no idea what he had set up for Siren this week. Mansfield had said he’d see us on Tuesday, but I felt as though she should see someone before that, at least to make sure her incision was healing properly.
When Siren began to softly snore, I thought about easing out from under her, but having her in my arms felt too good. Who knew how long I’d be able to do this without her going back to wanting to claw my eyes out?
I smiled, thinking of the glimpses I’d seen of her old self when she woke up in the hospital outside of London.
If there was something Siren could call me out on, she’d never hesitated to do so. Like when she’d told me she hated it when I answered her question with a question.
Before she was shot in the von Habsburg op, I’d done it on purpose every chance I got, and, man, did it make her mad. I stopped myself from laughing, thinking about the look she’d get on her face, in fear I’d wake her.
I closed my eyes and rested my head against the pillow as I ran my fingers up and down her arm and thought about last night. Desire coursed through my veins from remembering how her hot, wet pussy had clenched my fingers. And the taste of her, God, it was like the sweetest honey. I adjusted my jeans where my cock was straining against the denim fabric.
Siren shifted and put her right arm around my waist. When she slowly moved her hand down to my zipper, I realized the minx was awake.
She squeezed my bulge, and I grabbed her wrist.
“Be careful, little girl,” I warned when she tried to twist free of my grasp.
“I know why we fight.” She pouted and I released her.
“You seem to forget that you just underwent major surgery.”
“You can touch me, but I can’t do the same to you? What a load of bullocks.”
“When you meet with the doctor, we’ll ask. How’s that?”
“You want to ask the doctor when we can have sex? Minus craic,” she muttered, rolling so her back was to me.
“Oh yeah?” I wrapped myself around her and pressed my steel-hard cock against her ass.
“You’ve made your choice, Smoke. You’ll not be getting any from me until you’re on your knees, begging for it.”
When I was certain Siren had once again fallen to sleep, I eased out of bed and went into the kitchen.
“I’m puttin’ the finishing touches on dinner, if you’re hungry,” said Ms. Wynona.
“Is that country ham and biscuits?” I put my arm around her shoulders when she nodded. “Why don’t I spend more time at home?”
“Maybe now you’ll have more of a reason to.”
I took a step back. “Siren will only be here until she’s recovered.”
Ms. Wynona pointed to one of the chairs at the kitchen table, and I sat down.
She put a plate of ham and biscuits in front of me. “Your mama raised you with manners, so you eat your dinner