Eternal Nights by Patti O'Shea

appearance? She always used that phrase and he supposed it fit.
    But there was a lot more to her than that.
    At her heart, Bug was a warrior. He doubted she realized it herself, but she didn’t back down from much, and when it came to friends, she was fiercely loyal. A man could count on a woman like this. If he could pin her down long enough to make her his.
    He smiled again, but ruefully this time. Wyatt had never thought it would be this hard—he’d thought she would know him the same way he’d known her—but he wasn’t giving up. The soft, warm weight of Kendall in his arms filled him with such contentment, such a sense of rightness, that he knew the work was worth it. His hand stilled mid-stroke and he let his fingers stay tangled in her hair. Her eyes were open, but unfocused.
    “Kendall, are you okay?” He kept his voice low, sure her head hurt as bad as his had when he first awoke.
    Her green gaze sharpened, zoomed in on him, and he let out a quiet sigh of relief. The awareness had to be a good sign.
    “Why’d you let me drink so much?” Her voice was a croak, but he made out the words.
    “You didn’t drink anything, I promise.”
    Kendall’s brow scrunched up. “If I’m not hungover, why does my head feel like someone used it as a bowling ball?”
    Wyatt laughed, he couldn’t help it, and when she glared at him, he laughed harder. It wasn’t until she reached up and gave his biceps a hard pinch, that he forced himself to sober, but he couldn’t quite banish the smile. Especially when he realized she was making no effort to get off his lap.
    “Your memory will come back in a few minutes and then you’ll know why your head hurts.” His lips twitched again and he got another pinch. “Sorry. I’m laughing from relief, I swear. You’ve been out for a while and I was worrying, that’s all.”
    She scowled at him for a moment more, then it eased. “You must be concerned—your drawl is thicker.”
    It didn’t surprise him that she knew him that well. They’d spent a lot of time together since meeting—he’d made sure of that—and if Kendall thought they were nothing more than friends... Well, whatever the hell worked. For now.
    He went back to stroking her hair.
    Her hand curled around his biceps and the feel of her fingers pressing into his muscle made him feel connected to her. It wasn’t only him hanging on to her any longer—she was holding on to him too.
    He knew he should be doing at least half a dozen other things right now, but he didn’t care. They weren’t in immediate danger and he had Bug in his arms. The rest of the world could go to hell. But far too soon, he felt her stiffen and saw her eyes were clearing.
    “They had a popper,” she said.
    “Yep. Told you it wasn’t anything fun like a night out partying.”
    She tightened her hold on him, using his body as leverage to sit up with a groan. “Why aren’t you hurting?”
    “I was—I am—but I’m getting past it now. You gotta remember, I was awake before you and I outweigh you by at least seventy pounds. Not only is the drug going to hit you harder, but it’ll take you longer to recover too.”
    Wrapping her other arm around him, she rested her forehead against his shoulder. “We need to get out of here,” she said, voice muffled against him. “Warn them.”
    “Warn who, Bug?”
    “Major Brody and his wife. They’re going after the obelisks in their rooms and those thieves don’t care if they have to hurt them or their son to get the stones. I heard them talking before they knew I was there.”
    Wyatt digested that. Though she hadn’t filled him in on anything yet, he’d seen enough to make an informed guess about what kind of mess she’d run across. Leave it to Kendall to find a smuggling ring. But from what she’d just told him, it sounded like the bastards were upping the ante, and he knew exactly which obelisks they were targeting.
    He and Brody were on friendly enough terms that he’d received an