Page 70 of Abyss

Kavi makes circles over my skin with the tip of her finger, her smooth legs slipping between my calves. “I’m sorry for waking you.”

Her lips send tremors down my spine.

“You didn’t wake me.”

A beat of silence passes, and I wonder if she’s moved on to another thought, but then she lifts her head, seeking out my eyes. “Then . . . how did you know I was—” Her gaze shifts, not wanting to admit how I found her, in the grips of her nightmare, just minutes ago. “How did you find me there?”

“I. . .” Damn it. I try to make something up, not wanting to admit I left my room to see her, but doing exactly that. “I came to see if you were awake.”

Her eyes scan my face. “You came to check on me?”

“Go to sleep.” I tuck her face back into my neck, making her giggle.

She finds her way back up to stare at me again. “Were you—”She licks her lips, her heart thumping against my chest. “Did you miss me, Mr. Case?”

“About as much as I miss my dentist,” I respond, hoping my attempt at humor masks whatever this is lingering between us. “I came to tell you about Belinda.”

Kavi gasps. “Oh, my God! She said she was feeling something called Braxton Hicks a couple of days ago. Did she have the baby?”

I grin down at her. “A baby girl.” I reach behind me for my phone to show her the picture of baby Evelyn.

Kavi coos, holding my phone toward her. “She’s perfect. I can’t wait to see her. Maybe I’ll visit her in the next few days.”

I put my phone back, wanting to ask her if she wants kids in the future, but I stop myself. I have no business asking her that.

But for some reason, I’m curious.

She’d make a great mother—sweet, nurturing, and attentive—though there’s no question the kid would be dressed in a line of interesting outfits. And for reasons I can’t explain, the thought heats the inside my chest like an oven. Igniting, burning, and charring.

The thought of Kavi mothering someone else’s baby makes me feel like I’m being boiled from the inside.

Kavi traces the tattoo on my shoulder with her finger, distracting me from my unwanted thoughts. “I hadn’t seen your tattoo until earlier today. Is it armor?”

“Something I had done a long time ago.”

“It’s so intricate, reaching all the way over your heart, like it’s guarding it.”

I don’t answer.

Little does she know, it’s taking a lot more than skin-deep ink to guard what’s under the surface.

“Do you have any more?”

“One of the Earth on my back.”

She nods solemnly. “That makes sense.”

“Are you implying the armor doesn’t?”

She thinks about it, her tone wistful. “No, it makes sense, too.”

The faint scent of warm vanilla fills my nostrils, and I instinctively squeeze her closer, taking a deep breath and shutting my eyes. It’s truly inconvenient that she feels so good in my arms.

I reopen my eyes to scan the silent darkness. “What was your nightmare?”

She stiffens. “Just something . . . irrelevant.”

I tuck a finger under her chin, lifting it. As much as I know I shouldn’t urge, shouldn’t get involved, or further sucked in to whatever this is between us, I can’t help being curious. “You can tell me.”

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