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We collapsed into a pile of sweaty limbs, arms and legs and bodies still entwined. “That was…”
He kissed my forehead. Answer enough.
I snuggled against him, shivering slightly as my sweaty body cooled. His eyes narrowed, and he frowned. “You’re cold.”
“I’m perfect,” I murmured dreamily. I never wanted this moment to end. Mostly because it was perfect, too. But also because I had no clue what happened next. It was exhilarating and terrifying, but in his arms, it didn’t seem as scary.
For a few minutes, I lay there, tracing his tattoos with utter fascination. Lach detangled himself from me and pushed onto his feet. I was about to protest his sudden absence when he scooped me into his arms. He carried me to my room, laying me across the bed before disappearing into my closet, and I sprawled across the sheets, still shivering but hardly caring. Lach reappeared with a silk robe. He beckoned me to sit up. I groaned and pushed myself up, my languid limbs resisting the request for movement. He chuckled softly as he helped me into it and cinched the sash at my waist.
I climbed back into the bed, burrowing under the covers, but he remained standing.
“Stay,” I said softly.
He hesitated.
“Unless I wore you out,” I added dryly.
He snorted. “You just let me know when you’re ready. I can go all night.”
All night? I might test him on that.
Lach circled the bed, slipping in beside me. He rolled on his side, and I followed suit. For a moment, we just stared at each other, our hands creeping closer until his fingers swept over mine. His thumb paused on my ring. “Should I be jealous of whoever gave you this? You wear it all the time.”
It was a tentative, guarded question, but something more than curiosity laced it.
“Nope. Unless you find dead women intimidating.”
“Actually…” He flashed me a smile.
“It was my mother’s. It’s all I have from her. Gran told me to never take it off. The woman who took me in when I was a teen,” I explained at his questioning look. “Other than Channing, she’s the closest thing I ever had to a family. I kept it hidden in a bag before I came to live with her, but I think she knew I needed to finally feel safe enough to wear it. It’s hard to explain.”
“It wasn’t safe to wear it?”
Another careful question. I took a deep breath, wondering if I wanted to wade into such deep waters tonight. But Lach had opened up to me. He had trusted me. He’d earned the same. “Before Gran, I’d been placed in a lot of homes. Once I hit my teens, I started staying out, getting into trouble, and it got harder to find someone who would take me. But somehow they found another family who was willing. They seemed completely perfect when I moved in.” I drew a shuddering breath as unwanted memories resurfaced. Lach went very still, and I forced myself to continue. “I’d been in some rough situations before, but there was something about him that creeped me out. I thought if I just caused some more trouble, they would send me away like everyone else did. But when they found out, he decided to show me what happened to girls like me. He said I was asking for it. His wife found me after, begged me not to tell, but I told a teacher the next day. She didn’t believe me, but she had to report it. They removed me to investigate and discovered the woman had covered up her husband’s past.”
Lach’s breath sawed out of him, his eyes blazing. “What happened to him?”
“He went to jail for a while. He got out a couple of years ago. They felt the need to inform me.” My voice cracked a little, and Lach pressed a hand to the side of my face, solid and reassuring.
“I’ll kill him.”
I knew he meant it. I swallowed, waiting to feel fear or resistance, but I felt nothing. I shook my head. “I made peace with it a long time ago.” I had, but I’d never been the same. I bit down on my trembling lower lip before forcing my eyes to meet his. “No one in my life knows. Not Channing. No one. I don’t want it to define me.”
He remained silent for a moment, and I surged ahead, sniffing a little. “My case worker told Gran what had happened when they called to find a new placement for me. She made them bring me straight away. When I arrived, she took one look at me with such understanding. Later that night, she showed me to my own room with my own dresser. She tried to help me put my things away, but…that just felt too permanent. But something made me trust her—I think she might have been the first person I ever trusted—and eventually I showed her the ring. This one small thing I had left of my parents. Someone had taken it from the scene of the accident and sent it to the hospital with me.” I swallowed. “Gran said I could choose to see it as a reminder of what I’d lost or proof that I had survived. I knew she wasn’t just talking about the accident. And I decided to wear it.”
A single tear slipped down my cheek. Lach caught it with his thumb, and I forced a smile that felt too fragile to trust with anyone but him.
“After that, I stopped getting in trouble, scared that I would get sent somewhere new, somewhere that I wasn’t safe. Then Channing showed up and turned our world upside down, but it almost felt like having a family. I focused on school and got a scholarship. I spent my first two years of college reclaiming my body, deciding who I wanted to share it with.” I paused. “That probably sounds stupid.”
“Not at all,” he said softly. “I’m honored you told me.”
I scrunched up my nose. “Did I kill the mood?”
“No. You did not. I guessed, but knowing…” He stroked a thumb across my cheek and up to wipe away another tear. “I want to know if I cross a line.”
I turned my face into his touch, kissing the palm of his hand and finding it salty with my tears. “I will, and you haven’t.” I meant it. I drew a deep breath. We were teetering on the edge of something serious again—something that required me to trust him no matter how much it scared me. “I feel safe with you.”
He tensed. “You are, even if we met in unconventional circumstances.”