There’s a look in his eyes like he’s seen me dead, and he probably has for all I know, so I ask, “What aren’t you telling me?”
He looks down at my lips then back at my eyes. “Many things.”
“No lies,” I remind him quietly.
He tucks his chin, parts his lips, and breathes out an exhale through his mouth. “I’m not good at this. I thought you were dying. You were, actually. Dying, I mean.” He raises his hand and scrubs at his hair. “I didn’t think I . . .”
I scowl. “Nix?”
He closes his eyes for a moment then leans forward and brushes his lips against mine. “My feelings for you are deeper than just feelings.”
I smile a little and kiss him back. For a second, I had thought it was something terrible. “You love me.”
He leans away a little and searches my eyes. His brows pinch together.
I add, “Just because you can’t verbally express yourself doesn’t mean I can’t read between the lines. I never needed you to declare it. I already knew.”
He cups his hand over my cheek and rubs my bottom lip with his thumb. “I don’t deserve you.”
I lean into his touch. “You do. You always have. You just think so little of yourself. You think you’re incapable of things when you’re not, and all you needed was someone to remind you that you can have what you want – if you want it.”
“And if all I want is you?”
A small smile plays at the edges of my lips. “I know that too.”
He smirks, a crack in his hard exterior, and reaches for me again. This time the kiss is more demanding, more desperate, and I kiss him back with just as much energy and passion.
I’ve never had someone need me like he does. And I’ve never needed someone like I need him. I don’t know what the universe’s plan is; I don’t know where we go from here, but I do know that wherever life takes us, it’s together.
The kiss lasts a long while until he finally breaks away. With a smile, the one I love so much, he stands up from his seat on my bed. “Where are you going?” I ask as he walks away.
“To get the doctor and tell him you’re awake,” he explains as he heads to the curtain.
Panic rises in my chest. “You’re not going to leave, are you?”
He stops in his tracks then swivels to face me. With a serious expression, he says, “Never.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Feenix Blaylock
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I ask Charlie as we stride toward the police station. There’s at least an inch of snow on the busy sidewalks, but dirty boots and shoe prints mark what should be a perfect blanket of white. For a cold autumn and snowy day, there are many people floating about. It’s easy to forget that people have jobs and lives when Charlie and I have been holed up in my penthouse for the past few weeks.
At first, she didn’t like me taking care of her, but eventually, after a day of scrubbing my kitchen down, she was exhausted. She didn’t need to clean the kitchen – my house cleaner had already been there – but for reasons I didn’t understand, she had to do something other than lie on the couch and watch random TV shows with me.
The only time she actually left my home was when she came with me to the gym in my building. I never had to force her to go. She wanted to build up her strength. I’mglad because, if she had been depressed, like any normal person would be after an incident like hers, I’d have had to force her, and that’s not what she needs right now. Besides the occasional bad dream, she’s more chipper, but that could be because of what we’ve been putting together for our future.
Because we have a future, her and I. It’s full of things I never thought I’d do, going places I never thought I’d find myself.
“I’m ready,” she says and grabs the frosty door handle.
She hasn’t been to the police station yet. She doesn’t know how anyone is going to react, considering how they’d treated her before. She told me all about it, how this was going to be her big break so that people would take her seriously, but none of that matters now.
A thicker woman in a uniform stands behind the desk. A nameplate on the surface of her desk states her name as Genny. She looks like a Genny. Her wild red hair is back in a tight ponytail, and as she looks up from her computer, she frowns. I stiffen because, if anyone is going to give her a hard time, I will step in.
Instead of saying something negative toward Charlie, she gives her a slight nod, and I watch as Charlie’s shoulders relax a little.
I don’t know what happened between them during that exchange, but I get the feeling that whatever just transpired meant more to Charlie than she’d ever admit to me.
