Page 275 of Sweet Nightmare

thirty-eight

. . .

Gorgeous When Happy

“I love her like the sun loves the moon.” — K

“I can’t breathe.” Artemis’s muffled voice comes from beside me.

“Take the mask off, then.”

I pull mine off, too.

I only wore the thing to keep others from recognizing us because I don’t want anything to ruin this night. I especially don’t want someone approaching Artemis and harassing her in any way.

She turns to me, honey eyes wide and a little weary.

“You don’t mind being seen with me?”

“Baby…” I grin. “The world has already seen me inside of you.”

“Stephen!” She rolls her eyes, and huffs.

With a smile, I tap her nose, and she visibly melts.

Fuck. I’m addicted to her soft side, too.

I gently take her hand and kiss her knuckles.

“A woman like you, with a man like me? How could I ever mind being seen with you? And what happened? The fucking video and images? I don’t give a fuck about what happens to me. As long as you’re okay, I’m okay. And I’m so fucking sorry that this happened to you. I’ll deal with it. I promise.”

Artemis looks up at me, tilting her head slightly.

“I know your culture. Even though the younger generation is more open-minded, I know some people are still very conservative about these kinds of things. Are you really okay?”

Fuck.

She’s worried about me.