I tap my fingers on his chest. “So, what’s the plan now? You said you wanted to go back to California? To your family. Izan. Jenna.”
His brow furrows tightly at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. “I don’t know about Jenna.” He rolls us over so he is on top of me, all of his weight resting on me, which I quite like. “Why the hell would I go see an ex from a million years ago when the woman I’m in love with is right here?”
My heart lurches. I’m not surprised, not really, but hearing it aloud… “You’re in love with me?”
“I thought that was obvious.”
I lose his eye. “You said you were trying to go to California. I figured seeing me was a lucky coincidence. You figured you’d get some then move on to the people you actually want to reunite with.”
He grabs my chin lightly as he regards me with squinted eyes. “I have literally been in your mind, so I know there is no way you are this dense.”
He rolls off of me and sits up. I sit up, too, pulling the blanket up around my chest, not wanting to feel even more vulnerable than I currently do.
His hands cup my cheeks. “Sweetness, I want tovisitCalifornia. Let my family and Izan know I’m alive. But I came backfor you. I was at the train station because I was trying to getto you. You being therewasa lucky coincidence, but because it meant I got to kiss you that much sooner.” He repeats what I said with scorn, “Figured I’d get some. Come on.” He pulls me so close our noses are almost touching. “I’m not leaving you, Lace. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I whisper, feeling appropriately admonished.
“Good.” He kisses me softly. “If you brought me back from the literal depths of Hell and weren’t in love with me, that wouldbe the mixed signal of all mixed signals.”
I laugh. “Well, let me give you something that definitely isn’t a mixed signal.”
Now in mypreviously discarded T-shirt, I slide onto the couch next to Kit with two mugs of the coffee I was brewing earlier in my hands. The coffee tastes like stale diner coffee that has been on the warmer too long (because it has been), but neither of us care.
“Thank you,” Kit says, kissing my cheek. He takes a sip of the coffee and grimaces, but continues to drink it.
“I like that mole on your thigh,” I say back. It’s a small, brown spot on his upper leg that I couldn’t help but press my mouth to as soon as I saw it. I’m sad I can’t see it anymore now that he’s wearing boxer briefs.
“I could tell.” He gives me a cheeky grin. “Listen, baby, I have a lot to apologize for.”
I shake my head. “No, you don’t need?—”
“I do. God, where do I start? I am not going to apologize for possessing you, because that kept you alive, but I do apologize for staying for as long as I did. There were other ways to keep you safe, and you found them without my help. I should have helped you find those ways.”
“You’ve already apologized for that,” I say, my hand on his cheek, turning those navy-blue eyes to me. “I forgive you.”
“No, but I also shouldn’t have taken you to the club and got us that drunk. Or taken you to the haunted old mill with the vengeful spirit. Or, god. The bee! I almost got you killed.” Hecovers his face with his hand. “I was,fuck, everything we did, I was just trying to impress you. Show you a good time. Such a dumbass.”
I laugh lightly, pulling his hand down from his face. “Kitten, I’m not saying you made the best decisions or that I am happy with what you did, but we both walked out of this alive. You’re human. You went to Hell and added me, my sister, and yourself to the list. We’re safe. It’s okay. I love you, and we have so much more to deal with than the things you’re sorry for.”
He brings his lips to mine again. “Okay, well if you ever want to yell at me about all the things I did wrong, you’re welcome to.” He sighs and sinks into the couch. “So, how exactly are we going to get me declared not deadanddeal with the fact that my parents received a payout from my life insurance?”
I suck my teeth. “We need to do some research.” I crane my head to see the clock on my oven. “Shit. I actually have to go to work. My shift starts at eleven.” I turn back to him. “Will you be fine on your own? You can make a list of everything we need to do and everything you need to buy. Like a phone and whatever else.” I stand to go put on real clothing but pivot back again. “Or you can come with me to work? We have tables and comfy chairs. You don’t have to, though, if you’re tired or want some alone time or whatever.”
He grins. “Perfect idea. I’ll come with.”
Kit gets dressedin one of the new pairs of jeans and a T-shirt I bought him and accompanies me to work. I set him up at a table near the back of the store with snacks and water. Food, water,and sleep are things that don’t even seem to be on his mind, so I’m finding I need to remind him to engage with these necessities until it clicks for him that he does need them for survival.
Matthias doesn’t get in for his shift until two, so I spend the next three hours anxiously glancing at the clock waiting for him and wandering by Kit to peek over his shoulder at what he’s researching on my laptop or doodling in the margins of his notebook, or to press a kiss to his head.
I am ridiculously in love.
The store gets busy, so I miss Matthias’s entry.
He pops up behind me unexpectedly. “Okay, I need you to tell me everything about your meeting, because I care about you and your success. But first, I need to tell you that there is a very attractive man at one of the tables researching how to be declared legally alive after being declared legally dead. I sincerely hope he’s writing a book.”
I bite my lip to poorly conceal a grin. “He’s not writing a book. That’s Kit.”
Matthias’s eyebrows scrunch. “That’s Kit? Wait, wait, wait. You mean the…” He looks around and whispers, “The demon?”
