Testing her limits, I dip my digit under the material, feeling the firm mound of her breast before a strangled gasp leaves her lips.
I feel her lock underneath my touch, and I know I’ve gone too far. Choking back a groan that vibrates my larynx, I reluctantly pull away, letting my hands drop from her burning skin to hang limply by my sides.
Her disappointed exhale echoes around the kitchen as she drops her head to her lap.
I know she’s trying, and this is fucking hard for her, so I shove down that asshole part of me that wants to push, and I grip her hand. “I love you, angel.”
I can’t see her through the curtain of hair covering her face, but I can hear the light sniffles she’s trying to breathe in. Using the tips of my fingers, I lift her head so that I can stare into her cocoa-colored eyes. “Why are you crying, my love?”
It takes her a moment to meet my gaze, but when she does, my heart breaks at the moisture swelling over her eyes. “I’m trying, and it just… I just…” She sighs, unable to finish her statement.
Today has been a rough fucking day for her, and I want to do anything I can to make it better.
“Come on,” I say, grabbing her by the waist to get her off the counter.
“What are we doing?” she asks as I lead her into the living room. I don’t answer her question right away, leaving her pondering as I grab Shadow’s leash from our bedroom.
Shadow spots her pink leash in my hand and charges at me from the corner of the room, bouncing excitedly up and down my leg, making it more challenging to connect it to her matching collar.
“We gotta get momma outta the house, huh, girl?” I whisper, dodging her panting tongue as I secure her on the leash.
I almost trip over her little black body as she runs circles around my feet, rope tangling around my legs as we shuffle through the living room.
“We’re going for a walk?” Amira asks, her smile looking a little more genuine than before.
Nodding my head, I take her by the hand and follow Shadow to the door, letting her lead the way once I get us outside.
At seven at night, the sun set a long time ago, washing us in darkness with only the streetlamps to guide our steps. As always, it’s fucking cold out, making me regret not getting us sweaters before leaving. It isn’t too late; we could turn around and go inside to grab some really quick, but Amira is too fucking happy for me to go back now.
“I love these walks… all the houses, light poles… the random cars that drive through the street remind me we aren’t in isolation. I love it.”
One of my favorite things about going to her house when I was a teenager was the secludedness of her home. There were no neighbors, no one banging on her door at two in the morning, telling her father to shut the fuck up and stop yelling at his kids…
And then everything turned to shit.
I saw exactly what her isolation bought her.
Pain.
Abuse.
Trauma…
My girl was traumatized in the solitude, but never again. I’ll never let her be hurt again.
Shadow trots in front of us, her paws dancing happily on the concrete as she turns the corner.
I steer her away from the house on our left, knowing the neighbor has a rottweiler that isn’t fond of our small French bulldog.
“I took her out to pee the other day, when you and Ash were out, and his dog almost attacked us. She didn’t even flinch.”
“She fears nothing.”
“Or she isn’t scared to die.”
Her response catches me off guard, making me stumble in my steps as I walk over a loose stone.
“Why would you say that?”
