“I have a family.” I stare at him in shock.
He nods. “Are you okay about that?”
“No.” It comes out honestly.
He nods like he expected that. “Come here.”
I melt into him before I can think. His arms wrap around me, strong and protective, his chin settling into my hair. And fuck … I didn’t know how badly I needed this.Needed him.
“I’m here,” he murmurs, lips brushing my temple. “Whatever you need, whatever you feel, there’s no wrong way through this, D.”
My fingers grip the back of his shirt like it’s the only thing keeping me upright. “I don’t know what I feel,” I whisper. “Ithought I was free. What if this … pulls me back into something I’ve spent my whole life running from?”
Charlie pulls back just enough to cup my face in both hands.
“Look at me.”
I do.
His eyes are steady. Fierce. Like he’d fight the entire world for me without hesitation. “You’re not going back,” he says firmly. “You get to decide everything from here on out. Your story. Your choices. Your family.”
A tear escapes before I can stop it. He wipes it with his thumb, slow and gentle.
“You’re shaking,” he murmurs.
“I’m terrified and overwhelmed.”
“I know,” he whispers, leaning in to kiss my forehead. “Let me take care of you tonight.”
My chest caves in.
I nod.
Charlie leads me to the bedroom and helps me get undressed, it’s not lustful, but it’s something stronger than that. He undresses himself, too, till we are in our underwear, then he pulls me into bed, and wraps his body around mine from behind, his arm banded around my middle as if cocooning me from the world.
There’s no sex.
Just warmth.
Breathing.
His fingers trace slow circles on my skin until the shaking eases.
“I’ve got you,” he whispers against my neck.
And eventually, in his arms, I fall asleep.
74
DERRICK
Iwake before Charlie. The room is still dim, soft morning light bleeding around the curtains, and for a moment I don’t move, afraid the world will crash back in if I breathe too hard.
It does anyway.
The letter.
The names.
