I'm quiet for a moment. Then I say, "Yeah. You can stay."
"Good." She kisses my chest, right over one of my scars. "Because I wasn't planning on leaving anyway."
And for the first time in six years, the thought of someone staying doesn't make me want to run.
It makes me want to hold on tighter.
Chapter 9 - Jade
I'm fucking happy.
That's the thought that keeps running through my mind as I lie here in Eli's arms, our legs tangled together, his hand tracing lazy circles on my shoulder. After everything, after Mom, after leaving the city, after starting over in a town where I knew no one, I'm actually happy.
Not the fake kind of happy where you pretend everything's fine. The real kind. The kind that settles into your bones and makes you feel like maybe, just maybe, things are going to be okay.
Eli shifts slightly, pulling me closer, and I smile against his chest. This man who wanted nothing to do with people, who built his entire life around being alone, is holding me like he never wants to let go.
"What are you thinking about?" he asks, his voice a low rumble beneath my ear.
"That I'm happy," I say honestly.
His hand stills for a moment. Then he resumes the gentle circles. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." I tilt my head up to look at him. "Are you?"
He considers the question, his gray eyes studying mine. "I think so. It's been so long, I'm not sure I remember what it feels like."
"Well, let me know when you figure it out."
"You'll be the first to know."
I'm about to say something else, something sappy and romantic that will probably make him uncomfortable, when a loud bark echoes through the cabin.
We both freeze.
Ridge.
Another bark, this one more insistent. Then the sound of his nails clicking against the floor as he paces.
"Shit," Eli mutters, sitting up.
"You think he's okay?"
"He's fine. Just not used to—" He gestures between us. "This. The noise."
I feel my face heat. Right. We were pretty loud. And Ridge has probably spent the last six years in a cabin where the only sounds were Eli chopping wood and the occasional grunt.
Eli swings his legs out of bed and pulls on his jeans, not bothering with a shirt. I watch him go, admiring the view: the broad shoulders, the muscles in his back, the way his jeans sit low on his hips.
God, he's gorgeous.
He opens the bedroom door and Ridge immediately pushes his way in, tail wagging but looking slightly anxious. He goes straight to Eli, who crouches down to scratch behind his ears.
"Sorry, buddy," Eli says quietly. "Didn't mean to scare you."
Ridge huffs, then turns his attention to me. I'm still in bed, sheet pulled up to cover myself, and he trots over to investigate.
"Hi, Ridge," I say, reaching out to pet him. "Sorry for all the noise."
