He smirks and takes another drink of his beer, “That morning you came home and acted like you didn’t know who she was, you already knew her didn’t you?”
Tilting my head to look at the floor, I slowly nod, “Guilty.” With a smile I lift my hand when I look back up to indicate I’m not done, “I just didn’t want you to get all pissy because I had spent the night with her the night before, neither one of us knew who the other was.”
He snorts and looks at the wall across from him, “So that was you that gave her the hickey?” He takes another pull from his beer.
I snort back, “Yep.”
A smile pulls across his face and his beer bottle is frozen in front of his lips, “I was already up when she snuck in with a smile on her face and a hickey on her neck. I enjoyed my five seconds of hassling her before she took off to her room to cover it up.”
I remember putting that hickey on her neck and my cock jumps in my tactical pants. “On that note, I’m going to check on her.”
He gives me a beer bottle air salute as I leave the kitchen.
Taking the steps two at a time, I realize that I’ve never had a woman in my bed in my family home before and I sure as fuck haven’t taken the stairs two at a time to get to a woman. I also realize that I’m smiling, I can’t wait to shower and slide into bed beside her.
I knew when I saw her in that bar that she was different, I just didn’t know why or how. My first indication was that I’ve never felt that kind of pull to a woman before and I felt that as soon as I saw her. The second was that when I woke up and she was gone, I was already planning to find out who she was.
Dim light from the hall shines across my bed. Sloane is bundled under the covers on the side that I usually sleep on, her back to me and her dark hair splayed across the pillow.
Trying to be as quiet as I can, I shower the day off and slide into the bed behind her. She has the giant brace on herleg and a pillow between her knees. I bury my nose in her hair and inhale the soft, floral vanilla scent as I pull her back to my front and settle in.
Her fingers thread between mine and pulls my hand to her chest, “Did you take care of what you needed to?” Her voice is nearly a whisper.
“All except for one,” I whisper back and brush my lips on the spot under her ear that usually makes her shiver, but this time her whole body stiffens. Even though the only light is the little bit of moonlight shining through the blinds, I lift my head to see the shadow of her profile. “What?”
“Which one?”
Oh, she’s worried about the one she stabbed, “You don’t need to worry about him, darlin’, I took care of him first when you were at the hospital.”
Her body relaxes and melts into me, the gesture is small, but it means a lot. She trusts me and I have to make sure I never give her a reason to doubt.
Silence stretches for minutes before she says, “I don’t think I want to know what you mean when you say you took care of him.”
“Then I won’t tell you. Just as long as you know I’ll always be between you and any threat.” This time when I kiss her neck, I get the shiver I was looking for.
“I’m not sure I want to know, but who is the one?”
Taking a deep breath and letting it out, I say, “He’s the one I want to get ahold of most, but of all the threats, he is the smallest. We can’t find your brother; we think he may have been tipped off and skipped town.”
She is quiet for the longest time before she seems to shrink from me, “I think I may have been the one who tipped him off.”
Tightening my hold on her, I bring her flush to me again. I won’t have her pulling away from me every time she’s unsureof how I’m going to react. “Don’t pull away from me, darlin’, I’m on your side. Tell me what you think you did.”
“Well, when I walked to the car after I got that note, he was there and after we drove away, he told me that he killed our parents to get Daddy’s money. I was so mad and hurt that I told him you would be looking for me, I was just trying to scare him, but he made fun and said you were just a bunch of cattle wranglers,” she sighs before she continues, “I told him that you were special forces and he said, ‘then we’re both as good as dead’. He probably went into hiding after his business was done with those men.”
What she thinks is a misstep on her part, only makes me swell with pride, “Darlin’, everyone should know that if they mess with you, they’re gonna get the horns. You didn’t do anything wrong.” I softly squeeze her fingers that are still linked with mine, “And yes, unless you tell me different, he’s as good as dead.”
For the longest time, all I hear is her breathing and I start to think she may be drifting into sleep. When I hear a sniffle, I lift my head again to see if she’s crying before she quietly says, “He’s not anyone special to me, he took everything I had in the world.” She sniffles again, “He did it so easily, too. I’ve been alone for almost four years because of him, I haven’t celebrated my birthday or Christmas.”
My heart breaks for her and I realize how much I take my own family for granted. Setting my chin on her arm, I kiss the soft, smooth skin, “I can promise you won’t be alone anymore.” I’m not good at expressing emotions, but I will make sure that every birthday and holiday is celebrated from now on.
Knowing that she needs more from me, I prop myself up on my elbow behind her and gently palm her cheek so she will turn her head toward me. I can feel the wetness from her temple on my fingers, “You’ve got a lifetime of planningholidays and birthdays ahead of you, and me and my whole family will be there for every one.”
She lightly grasps my wrist with her good hand, her fingers soft and warm, “I’ve been working here for seven months, and I didn’t even know what you look like.”
The jab is warranted and deserved, “I’m not sure what’s going through that pretty little head, darlin’, but I plan to be around. I’m moving back here and, it’s true, I may be gone for a few weeks at a time when I’m working, but I will be coming back here. To you,” I move my hand to her stomach and my palm spans across her hips, “and for this little guy, or gal.”
I can’t see her smile in the darkness, but I can feel it, “Marley says it’s a boy, says she can feel it in her bones.”
