Christine tried to push the thought out of her head as she went into the room across the hall from hers which used to be Steven’s. The cabin had three very small bedrooms, so the girls had always had to share, but Steven, as the only boy, got a bed to himself.
However, none of the beds were bigger than a twin except her own. That was all that would fit into the postage stamp sized bedrooms on this side of the hall. After she had finished putting fresh sheets and blankets on her son’s old bed, she measured it against the enormous Monstrum and realized that he was never going to fit. Her daughters’ old room was even worse—Christine had managed to find a second-hand bunk bed for the two of them and there was no way Roarn was going to be able to cram his muscular bulk into either bunk.
“Um…” She frowned up at him. “I guess I’m going to have to put you in my bed tonight.”
He frowned and made a low rumbling questioning noise in his throat, clearly not understanding.
“Come with me,” Christine led him across the hall to her own bedroom, which was what passed for the “master suite” in the small cabin. That basically meant it had a fireplace and enough room for a queen-sized bed instead of a twin. She still remembered when the kids had been small, having all three of them pile into bed with her to sleep warm and cozy on winter nights. Now the bed seemed too big and empty for her alone.
However, she estimated, it would probably just barely fit the big Kindred. His feet might still hang off the end if he stretched out, but at least the bed was broad enough for him to roll over if he wanted to.
“Here you go,” she said, motioning to the bed, glad that she made it up neatly every morning. Of course, she would have liked to put fresh sheets on it, but she only had one pair at the moment, which she washed once a week when she stripped the bed and did other chores. Hopefully the big Monstrum wouldn’t mind. He had seemed to like her scent when he smelled her hair and neck, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
Roarn looked at the bed and then looked at Christine and pointed.
“Chris-teen’s?” he said, raising black eyebrows that matched his long black hair.
“Yes, but don’t worry about it,” Christine told him. “I can sleep in the other bedroom—it’s not a problem.”
Of course, it was going to be considerably colder, since there was no fireplace in Steven’s room and she didn’t have an electric blanket, but there was no helping that. She wasn’t going to offer to share the bed with the big Monstrum—not after that display he’d put on in the kitchen. He might get the wrong idea and Christine didn’t think that would end well.
“Go on,” she told him, making a shooing motion with both hands. “Get it and get some rest. You look like you could use it.”
When Roarn still hesitated, she went across to the bed and pulled back the covers, revealing the sheets beneath. After a little more coaxing, she got him to climb in and then she was able to pull the covers up to his chin.
He made a positively enormous lump under all the quilts and comforters and his feet did indeed stick out from the end of the bed at first. However, he pulled them up and curled into a ball on his side, as though he was protecting himself from some real or imagined threat.
His protective posture tugged at Christine’s heart for some reason. She remembered how sad he had gotten earlier when she’d asked if he had anyone who was waiting for him. Clearly he had lost someone very important to him—someone he loved dearly—and it had affected him deeply.
She had the sudden urge to smooth his hair away and give him a kiss on the forehead, as she always had with her kids when they were little. Despite his size, the enormous warrior seemed so vulnerable—so hurt. He called out to the healer in her and Christine longed to answer that call.
But he might not like it if she kissed his forehead, she told herself—or he might take it the wrong way. Reluctantly, she decided not to do it, though she did give him a gentle pat on the head.
“Well, goodnight,” she told him, tucking the blanket around his broad shoulders. “Oh, and if you have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, it’s just down the hallway to the left,” she added, pointing.
She wasn’t sure if Roarn understood her or not, but his golden-green eyes looked at her sleepily for a long moment before closing completely. And then his big frame relaxed into sleep.