Page 76 of Senseless
“Even so,” I said hesitantly, running my hand down his chest. “I’m still not sure how eagerIam to make things right.”
“If you can forgive me, you can forgive them.” Shadow pressed a soft kiss to the bridge of my nose.
“Apples and oranges,” I retorted.
“Are you saying you want breakfast now?”
I laughed, leaning my temple against his shoulder. “It’s an expression. It means the two situations are completely different.”
“I know. I’m just teasing you.” His chest shook with his laugh as he pressed a kiss to my hair.
“From the man that never teases?” I said with fake shock. He just pulled me closer, and I happily snuggled into him for a few blissful moments I wished didn’t have to end. “I guess we better start saying goodbyes soon, huh?”
“Yeah.” He sounded wistful in his agreement.
I leaned up, kissing under his jaw. “It’s okay for you to miss this place. They’ve taken good care of you here.”
“They have,” he said, resting his chin on my head. “I’m glad I was able to find this place.”
“I am too.” So much of my worry before coming out to find Shadow had to do with him having basic necessities like shelter and food, let alone a caring community and a doctor to look after him. It put me at ease that he had all of those things the entire time we’d been apart.
“But it’s not home,” Shadow added, brushing a strand of hair out of my face with his left hand. The motion drew my eye to the new tattoo inside his forearm, the pin-up that looked remarkably like his drawing of me.
“What made you do this?” I asked, tracing the lines of ink with my fingers.
He sighed, lowering his arm. “Missing you.”
“Aww.” I took his chin in my hands, kissing him deeply.
Shadow returned my kisses with tooth-aching sweetness before elaborating. “When Reaper told me to pack and leave, the drawing of you was the first thing I grabbed. I looked at it all the time when I first got here.” He stroked my cheek, eyes warm and loving. “Then I accidentally ripped the paper and I…couldn’t stand the thought of not having something to remember you, so I tattooed myself that same night.”
I slid my palms around to the back of his neck, pulling him closer to kiss him more deeply. He followed my momentum, rolling us down until I was on my back and he was on top of me. His hands slid between my back and the bed, holding me against his chest as our tongues surged, trying to taste and feel even more of each other. My legs parted to make room for him between them, but he pulled away on the next breath, slow and reluctant.
“We better get going,” he said regretfully. “We have a long week of travel ahead of us.”
I nodded and allowed him to lift away from me. Most of my things were still packed from the first time I had planned to leave, so I was pretty much ready after a quick shower and change of clothes. Shadow needed some extra time to pack clothes and tattoo supplies, so I told him I’d wait for him downstairs.
I’d barely hit the bottom step when Jen called out from the bar, “So you’re leaving us and taking our hero with you, huh?”
I approached her with a smile, grateful for the spread of breakfast and coffee at the bar. “Word travels fast, I see.”
“Doc didn’t revealtoomuch, but we were able to read between the lines.” She smirked.
“Jen…” I started, but she held a hand up to stop me.
“No, no, none of that. This isn’t goodbye, just a ‘till next time’. Any time y’all come back this way, make sure to stop here. We’d love to have you.”
“I owe you big time.” I was trying not to get emotional, but my eyes welled up and my throat was tight anyway. “My history with Shadow is…a lot to explain, but I’m glad you were here for him. All of you. You’ve all done wonders for him.”
“Well he literally saved our lives. You did too.” Jen held up her arms, wrists still bandaged from her rope burns. “I’m a sucker for a good romance, so I’m glad you came out this way and got your man back.”
Shadow came quietly down the stairs a few minutes later, dressed in all black like the silent assassin I knew, but also different. There was clear confidence in his steps, his face lighter and less tense than it usually was. He beamed at me, one hand brushing along my back while the other set his duffel bag on the floor.
“Jen, I have a parting gift for you.” He unzipped his bag, pulling out a square case slightly bigger than a lunch box.
“Shadow! Whatever it is, you shouldn’t have.”
It secretly pleased me that she called him by his real name so easily.
