Page 181 of Under the Bed

Not a room. Acell. I get what he’s saying. I get it better than I would’ve liked.

To him, it was a cell. A cell my father forced him into.

Caged. Tested.

Vilified.

The pressure in my chest intensifies.

He was willing to be sedated, hurt himself, all so he could celebrate my birthday.

Alone.

I won’t cry. My tears would offend him, and I won’t do that. He’s been through enough.

I do something better, slipping an arm around him. Burrowing myself into his body, offering him my warmth.

Kaleb sets the grilled cheese on one of the plates. While my heart shreds into a million pieces.

When people look at him, they see a cold, heartless man. Emotionless. Steely.

They aren’t wrong.

He’s that, yeah. And so much more.

But that soft part of him isn’t meant for them.

Kaleb saves and offers every ounce of his goodness to me.

He becomes kinder, warmer, and softer the more time we spend together. His warmth thaws the chill that had clung to my bones for so long.

Whereas I feel the unhinged parts of me unraveling in his presence. He needs me to be obsessive, possessive and his. I am. Always will be.

We’re our true selves around each other. Like two pieces of a secret puzzle.

“Kaleb.” I snuggle closer to him. It isn’t just a hug.

It’s an apology. It’s my gratitude.

A penance.

Take my body, it says.Take everything you need from me.

“Shiloh.” He squeezes me back. Painfully so.

I close my eyes, breathing him in.

“Worth it,” he deadpans and my eyes open at his no-nonsense tone.

The spatula is no longer in his hand. It’s been set on the counter, leaning against the pan. Kaleb has freed his hand to place two fingers beneath my chin, tilting my face up.

His gold eyes are darker, almost bronze-like. He steals my breath away.

He’s dead serious. “Did you hear me?”

My breath hitches.

“Did you?”

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