Page 36 of Sinner
Flint could sense the discord rising in Mary, but she pushed it down until she helped the children. She unzipped and zipped bags in a frenzy, handing packets of snacks to the older children. Flint jumped in to help her, to pick fruit and distribute, but ended up feeling rather useless. She had everything sorted and she did it with a smile.
“Here’s a snack, pumpkin,” she said to Wrath then ruffled his hair. “You need to keep your energy up so you can grow big and strong.”
“But I don’t like it.”
“Well, how about when we get to our forever home, I make you something special, like—”
“Like pancakes with maple bacon?” Wrath jumped on the bed, excited. “You promised us you would make it once.”
“Oh my, you remembered? That was months ago.”
Gluttony popped his thumb out of his mouth and showed her a toothless grin. “Pwease?”
Mary laughed and nodded. “Whatever you want. But in the meantime, please can you all have a bar? I know it’s not the best, but I’ll promise we’ll get something better soon.”
Begrudgingly, the children did as they were told.
When she was done dishing out the protein bars, Mary took his hand and they slipped out the front door.
The fresh morning air gave Flint goosebumps, and Mary a pink nose. He was immediately reminded of what they did together last night, how she was flushed pink in the shower, how she tasted. God, he wanted to do it all again. Every goddamned night.
“I don’t know what to do, Flint,” she confessed. “I haven’t had a vision about this.”
“Okay, well, let’s think it through,” he said and picked up her hand to kiss her bruised knuckles. “First, you haven’t kissed me good morning.”
Her eyes widened, and the corner of her perfect mouth twitched.
He thought she would argue with him, but her gaze dropped to his lips and turned hungry. She slotted her fingers behind his neck, and he did the same to her. Slowly, as though they had all the time in the world, they pressed their lips together.
“Good morning,” she said, smiling up at him.
And goddamn it, that smile went straight to his cock, rousing it. “Shit Mary,” he said and tugged her close, burying his face into her soft, freshly washed hair. The soap scent from the night before connected with his body in a way that had everything inside him clench. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life saying good morning to you.”
That earned him another kiss on the lips.
Then she sighed. “I want that so bad. But first, we have to figure out what we’re doing.”
“Right. Right.” He pulled back so he could focus because the feel of her soft yet firm body was too distracting. “Let me get on top of this. Did your old visions say to go to the Sisterhood?”
“Yes.”
“And the new one?”
“The only thing the new vision showed was all of our faces, in this room.”
“So as far as that could mean, no Sisterhood.”
She didn’t answer, just stared at him, considering. He couldn’t read her expression. It was as though she waited for him to respond as though she wanted him to decide for her. Part of him believed it wasn’t his responsibility, but the other part, the louder part, took him back to that day he let his friend drive home drunk. That morning he woke to the news of the accident had been the worst morning of his life. He’d been heartbroken, physically sick. To know he had the chance to stop it had almost done him in. The guilt still echoed loudly in his soul every time he saw a young child with her family.
The past day with Mary and the children had given him purpose again. He knew what he wanted to do, he just needed find out what she wanted to do.
“What do you want, Mary?”
“Me?”
“Yeah you. What does your gut tell you?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking, and Gloria said—”
