He squeezed my hand three times. “We’ll have to get you new books, then. Start a list, and I’ll drop by the store when I get a chance. How does that sound?”
I squeezed his hand back three times. “I’d love that.”
He winked. “I need the next Montana Man book, anyway. I finished the first book.”
My cheeks heated. “You honestly liked it?”
His eyes widened with humor. “More than I’d like to admit. He’s me, after all, and he has such amazing ‘ducks’!” he joked, like he had over text.
I barked out a laugh, and he watched me as though in wonder of the sound.
“You have the best laugh. I wanted so badly to know what it sounded like for so long, and now it’s my new favorite sound.” His thumb caressed mine in a slow pattern across my skin.
I brushed a joyful tear from my eye and looked back at the TV screen. His comment felt personal, so I hid from it. I pressed my lips together before picking up a handful of fruit, filling my mouth so I wouldn’t say anything stupid in return. His laugh was my new favorite sound, too.
CHAPTER 27
Nash
All my wishes had come true.
It was the first thought that came into my head the next morning. Her sweet scent of chamomile and lavender was around me; her weight poured across my chest and abdomen. I could hear her soft breathing, feel her gentle heartbeat against my chest.
I was on my back, propped up by a mountain of pillows. My arms wrapped around her tiny body, holding it close. Opening my eyes, I found a swath of brilliant platinum hair fanned across my neck. Her knees fell on either side of my middle, legs straddling my stomach. We were chest to chest; her head against my heart.
Her fingers coiled in my hair, holding tight. Her other hand gripped the front of my shirt, right above my left nipple, with similar ferocity to how she’d slept the night before. She was pulling the cotton tight, looking desperate to hold on.
It wasfuckingheaven.
This girl’s craving for human connection was so intense that her body found it for her while she slept. Nothing could make me move right now, despite the very hard and almost painful growing concern south of my waistline. Luckily, her tiny body was small enough to stay in the Northern Hemisphere at the moment.
I felt her ribcage expand and contract with her steady breathing, relishing the feel of having her so close. I wanted her so much it hurt. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do in order to keep her. She was here now; we were together, and if she wanted me, I’d be here forever.
Her story was beautiful. Her heart, her fight—all of it. She was the answer to my mystery, the entire reason I was so drawn to PERL. I’d seen a soul screaming out for mine through her art. I’d felt it in the echo of her brushstrokes, and the colors she painted as though a trail of clues, just for me to see and interpret.
It all felt like a cosmic wink. I was fortified by the idea that I was her chosen guardian, and I would do anything to protect her brilliant and complex mind. The world was full of so many colors she’d never know, but I would show them to her.
One thing I was certain of, however, was that in order to get there, she would need to know my truth. We weren’t about to build our relationship on a shaky foundation. I needed to tell her one way or another aboutBlue, and soon. I had a strong feeling that I was on the verge of understanding the meaning of life, and Sybil was the answer.
The auction was this Friday, and I wanted to invite her. I knew that being out in public like that was tough, but maybeshe’d come if she knew we’d be there with her? Whether or not she knew about the auction, I’d mention it and hope for the best.
She stirred on my chest, halting my thinking. Wiggling and pushing her hips into my stomach, I grunted, once again falling victim to the problem south of the border. Her hair slid across my neck, causing my skin to erupt with goosebumps as she tilted her head up, eyes finding mine before she pressed them closed in a wince.
She grumbled.“Not again.”
The vibrations rippled down my body, an unstoppable ache pulsing through me. My hands followed the curve of her ribs to her sides, hips, and down her thighs until I hooked my fingers behind her knees. I wanted to hold her here, in this moment. Today, she wouldn’t be running away from me.
I chuckled. “I can’t say I hate this.”
She glared, looking up through her eyelashes.
“What?” I protested with a shrug. “I mean, you seem comfortable and well rested.” I motioned to Bill, who was lying across her side of the bed. “He seems comfortable and rested, hogging the bed.”
She laughed as her hand slid from my hair, delighting me with a chill when she set it beside her other hand on my pectorals. Her forehead fell against me, another grumble torturing me with sensation.
Even though she was covered in loose, comfortable clothes, it didn’t lessen the impact. I felt every inch of her body against mine so intensely; she may as well have been bare.
“Sorry,”she mumbled.
