“This is Stella. She’s shy but she’s friendly so don’t be afraid to pet her if you want to.”
His voice was almost shockingly deep—rumbly but soft in a way she could feel in her bones. And then without another word he turned and walked toward a doorway she could see a few stairs through. What a strange man.
“Ryker is…unusual,” Hudson volunteered. “But he’s a really good friend and I promise he would never do anything to harm you. You’ll get used to him. And mostly you’ll see Stella with Ryker. She’s like his shadow.”
They gave her a tour of this floor of the loft, Hudson not setting her down even once, showing her the living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom. It was all so open with big windows and brick walls and nice wood floors with big rugs. Pretty and clean. Then there was a hallway with what they called her room, then Hudson’s room right next to hers, and Ian’s next to his.
Hudson sat down on her bed—her own bed!—and cuddled her in his lap.
“How you doing, Cosy? Hungry? Tired?”
A big yawn escaped from her almost on cue. “Tired, I guess.”
“It was a big day for you. Let’s get you tucked in, we can deal with everything else in the morning.”
“Hudson?”
“Yeah?”
Ugh, she felt ridiculous asking after everything they’d done for her—would she never be satisfied? But also if she didn’t ask and then she had a nervous breakdown she’d have only herself to blame and she didn’t think Hudson would like that either.
“Please don’t leave me alone?”
If Hudson or Ian were with her, she felt relatively safe. She suspected without them, she’d feel like Master was lurking in the closet or hiding under the bed, a real life boogie man come to steal her away back to the nightmare of her life.
“Not for a second, teapot. We’ll keep you safe, promise.”