Page 74 of Worth the Want
“I want to take care of you too, Knox.”
“You do,” he tells me, sounding sleepy. I hum.
Here in the dim light of his bedroom, I feel words bubble up inside me, threatening to spill over. I bite my tongue and close my eyes against the sudden need to share. This moment is enough; I will live in it. I look out the window at the moon over the lake, and while listening to Knox’s soft snore, I drift to sleep.
Iwake to the feel of a cool sheet instead of a warm body beside me. It’s still dark in the room, and there’s mumbling coming from somewhere in the house. I pull my briefs back on and walk out the door and down the hallway, stopping when I hear Indie’s voice more clearly.
“It’s really good here, Han. You would love it. You would make fun of me in my hiking boots and the way I look like a baby deer standing up on a paddleboard.” she sniffs.Is she crying?“I’m doing it though. I’m living. And even though it’s only been a couple of months, I think I’m falling for Silverthorne—forhim.” My chest warms, and realizing I’m listening to a private conversation, my ears do too. “Anyway, I love you. I miss you. Bye, dragonfly.”Dragonfly?
I hear a couple more sniffs and round the corner. Indie’s standing by the front window, wrapped in one of the soft blankets from the couch. She looks sad but hauntingly beautiful. I step out of the hall, the floorboards creaking beneath my feet. Her head snaps to me at the sound, a small gasp filling the space between us.
I raise my hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” I say, my voice thick with sleep.
“No,I’msorry. I didn’t mean to wake you so early.” She smiles at me, but it’s not her normal smile—her real one. It doesn’t reach her eyes. I’ve never seen Indie sad before.
“What’s wrong? Who were you on the phone with?” I ask.
She holds up her phone. “Oh. Um, I was just calling my sister. Time difference and so I had to leave a voicemail. You can go back to bed.” The way her voice wavers has me walking across the room, tucking her to me so she’s in my arms again.
“I’m awake now,” I tell her, kissing the top of her head and tucking the short strands of dark hair behind her ears. She smiles into my touch, leaning up on her tiptoes, presumably to kiss me, but I have to bend down so she can reach my lips. “Do you want to talk about it? Is she still mad at you?”
She averts her eyes, the ghost of her real smile slipping a bit. “I-I’m not sure anymore. I told you I said some things to her I can’t take back, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg there.”
“Why don’t you come sit with me and get it off your chest?” I know from experience that not talking about things can cause them to fester and grow.
She answers by wrapping her arms around my neck and letting the blanket that was covering her drop to the floor. Her, naked in my living room, staring up at me like she might be feeling what I’m feeling, is nothing I’ve ever experienced, and I know without a doubt that I’m fortunate to be sharing this with Indie.
“I have a better idea.” Her voice is low and raspy from lack of sleep. She’s kissing me slowly, slipping her tongue into my mouth, stroking mine with it. The thought of her tongue in other places on my body, doing other things is enough to havemy cock digging into her through my briefs. “Take me back to bed, Knox,” she murmurs against my lips. “Please.”
She doesn’t need to say please. I don’t know when it happened, but I now have another woman in my life who I can’t say no to—not that I would. I have this nagging feeling that anything Indie wants to do with, or to, me is something I’m going to crave.
Three hours later, we’re both fully awake in my kitchen. After taking a quick shower, I came out to find Indie sitting at the kitchen table with one of her knees propped up, her chin resting on it. Bare feet, in one of my old, threadbare T-shirts with half her hair pulled back on top of her head, she looks like I want to see her there, in my usual chair, for breakfast every day.
“Good morning…again.” She smiles up at me as I lean over the back of her chair, water droplets from my hair falling onto her. “You’re dripping.” She giggles.
“Isn’t that supposed to be my line?” I ask, shaking my head so more droplets fall, causing her to blush. I kiss her warm cheeks and the tip of her nose before planting one on her mouth.
“What are your plans for the day?” she asks.
“I’m looking at her.”
“Yeah?” She turns in her chair, still looking up at me. “What would you say to going on a run with me?”
“How long of a run are wetalkin’?”
“Just the loop I usually do. The one that breaks off from the main drive here.”
“I’m in, breakfast first?”
“Yes, food first always,” she agrees.
Opening and closing more than a few cabinets, I scratch the back of my neck, looking at Indie. “I’m having a little trouble finding all my pots and pans this morning. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” I ask.
“Oh yeah, uhm so I read this article about how it could make cooking easier if you have all your tools and gadgets in designated places. For optimal use. I looked up the diagram and tried my best to get it right.” I don’t love that my kitchen has been reorganized. I like where I keep everything in here.
“I’m sure it's great, butImay need the diagram to find anything.” I say.
“I’m sorry. I should have asked you first,” she says quietly, looking uncomfortable.
