Page 56 of Scarred Sins
“I’ll feel a ton better if you stay.’’
A laugh comes from me, though it resembles more of a snort. With his thumb, he rubs the inside of my wrist, soothing my inner turmoil. The impact this man has on me is insane.
“I’m being serious,’’ I chuckle. “You’ve been shot. Does it hurt?”
He lifts a shoulder. “You can always kiss it better.’’
“I’ll pass. Anything else I can do for you?”
He pouts, then grins. “Stay.’’
It’s the easiest decision I’ve ever made. I don’t care about the consequences or the fact that the nurse came in to tell me my time was up. I didn’t care how it must look to anyone that decides to drop by, and I don’t care that it’s one of the most illogical things I’ve ever done.
For the first time, I listen to what my heart tells me, and I stay.
Because I finally found someone worth living for.
SIXTEEN
“Are you sure this is okay?”
Beside me, Arlo chuckles, wrapping his arms around me. He pulls me even closer to his side, barely allowing me to move. It’s not uncomfortable, which is odd. It’s more…surprising.Something new, something exciting.
“Of course it’s okay,’’ Arlo smiles.
“The nurse will be back for me any minute now,’’ I grunt. “I’ll get kicked out, and it will be all your fault.’’
“Kicked out? You? Absolutely not, unless the hospital staff wants to clean blood off these tiles.’’
I tense under his touch, but it’s a fleeting moment. When he starts stroking the lower part of my back, I relax. Goosebumps tug my skin, yet it’s one of the most soothing, calming sensations I’ve felt. His warm touch under my shirt brings harmony into my chest.
It’s easy to forget what Arlo does for a living, given how well he’s treating me. Fuck, the man massacred the entire prison just for me to escape. Doubting him is foolish, and I know he will never hesitate to put his words into action.
It’s sadistic of me to feel giddy at the thought of Arlo bathing in someone’s blood. Specifically, someone who hurt me and deserved to be killed. Yet the thoughts are there, lingering in the back of my head, almost all the time.
However, it doesn’t erase the fact that this man had planted a camera in Arson’s collar. I need to know too many things, yet no questions are voiced out. Where do I even start? What if I end up hating the answers? What if it ruins my pretty fantasy that I’ve created of Arlo?”
Then again, my mind won’t stop bothering me until I know everything.
“Why did you put a camera in Arson’s collar?”
I blurt out the words without taking a moment to think them through. For a moment, it’s like I’m the most straightforward person in the world, and a part of me is shocked that I was able to boldly ask the question without fear of consequences.
Arlo’s movements on my back pause for a second, then he starts stroking my back again.
“I’m sorry.’’ His words are sincere; I can feel it in my bones. Though it catches me off guard – out of all the things I expected to come out of his mouth, an apology wasn’t one of them.
“It’s fucked up, and I’m sorry. Breaching your privacy never occurred to me, and I promise you, I was never watching you in your intimate or vulnerable moments.’’
I swallow a knot that forms in my throat.
“But I’m not sorry for protecting you. It was the only way I knew of looking out for you without revealing myself.’’
“You could’ve come to meet me.’’
“And you would’ve let me in?”
“Well, no–’’
