He ran the pad of his thumb over a cut at the corner of his mouth that I’d given him. “Fine,” he conceded. “A text, but it will be a burner phone. I don’t want anything traced back to me.”
Mason clasped him on the shoulder. “Finally, you’re thinking like a crew. Let’s see if you can deliver.”
“I don’t like this,” Kaylor said, voice cracking just slightly. “Kreed, if Rusty gets wind of this, if he even suspects Jesse might betray him…”
“You’re scared,” Jesse said gently, surprising everyone. “Makes sense. But don’t worry about me.”
Kaylor blinked at him. “That’s not?—”
“Watch your back, Bubbles,” he said softer as he straightened his shoulders.
I stepped into his line of sight, my arm brushing hers. “I’ve got her back.”
His mouth twitched, not quite a smile, not quite a warning. “Oh, I’m betting you do.”
It was justpast midnight when I heard my door creak open. I wasn’t sure after the whole interaction with Jesse if she would showup. It had been nearly a week since Kaylor and I had slept in the same bed, and every day apart killed me a little more inside.
I didn’t have the strength to stay away from her, but I was trying to do the “nice guy” thing by giving her what she asked for. She had been uncomfortable being back in this house. I got that, but having her across the hall tortured my mind, body, and soul. We both left our doors open at night, and when the twins finally settled down and the house went quiet, I could hear the soft rustling of her sheets as she tried to get comfortable. She spent a good hour or two tossing and turning. And there had been no nightmares…not yet. At least not the ones that had her thrashing, screaming, and crying in her sleep.
She padded across the floor wearing nothing but an oversized T-shirt,mine, I realized with something primitive echoing in my chest. It hung low enough to graze the tops of her thighs. Her light hair was pulled back into a messy knot. In the dark, I watched the line of her collarbone, the slope of her shoulder, and the way the shirt rode up as she leaned over the foot of the bed.
She was looking to see if I was asleep, if my eyes were closed. Now that she was here, I wasn’t going to give her the chance to leave. My hand darted out, grabbing her wrist and yanking her onto the bed so she tumbled deliciously onto me.
A little squeak of surprise left her before she lifted her head, shoving strands of hair out of her face. “I had a bad dream,” she whispered, settling into the bed beside me. She rested her hand on my chest while using the other to prop her head up and glance down at me, our faces close.
I glided my hand up her leg, pulling it to rest over mine. “Did you?”
Her lips morphed into a frown. “Yeah. I wasn’t in your bed.”
“You weren’t in my bed?” I repeated, my brows lifting.
A smile touched her mouth. “It was the worst dream.”
I rolled toward her and wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her flush against my body. She always fit so damn perfectly intome. Her skin was warm and silky soft. I tugged her closer, and she sighed. “I’ve had that same nightmare for a week,” I admitted, my cheek pressing to the soft crown of her hair. “Does this mean you’re not mad at me anymore?” She had been less than thrilled after Jesse left and we’d gone back to class.
“No, I’m definitely pissed,” she retorted, her gaze shifting to my lips. “But I missed you more. And I want a night of good sleep.”
My arms squeezed tighter around her at hearing her say she missed me. Truth be told, I wanted to hear more than that. I wanted to hear her tell me she loved me again. Desperately. My fingers tiptoed down her spine. “Are you sure you want to sleep?”
“Tempting,” she said with a yawn, nuzzling deeper into me. “But I just really want you to hold me before I forget I’m not talking to you.”
“We don’t have to talk, and I can definitely make you forget.” My lips brushed her temple.
Her fingers found the fabric of my shirt at my side, kneading it restlessly. “You shouldn’t be this irresistible.”
“I had the same thought when I first saw you,” I said, letting my mouth skate along the slope of her neck. Goose bumps rose under my lips. “Then I accepted that not everything has to make sense.”
She hummed, torn between amusement and exasperation. “I can’t decide if I should be offended.”
My mouth found the sensitive spot beneath her ear. “Most definitely not, little raven. There hasn’t been a girl before you I wanted in my bed night after night.” My hand splayed across her stomach, drawing her back into me as my voice dropped. “You should be flattered.”
“And what about after me?”
“There’s only you.” It was the closest I’d ever come to saying those three little words I’d avoided since my mother died.
Her breath hitched, her back arching just enough to press harder against me. It was the closest I’d come to saying the thing I’d sworn I’d never let myself feel again. And she knew it.
“If you keep saying shit like that,” she whispered, tilting her head to kiss the corner of my jaw, “neither of us is going to get any sleep.”
