Page 268 of Fragments
“The picture of me and my parents, here at the fireworks,” I rumble, brushing his silky hair with my fingers. “It was on my bed, next to my iPod. When I turned the music on, it was playingHome Sweet Home… and I don’t know how, but I just fucking knew it was you. You’d been there…” I pluck the material of my hoodie he’s wearing. “Rummaging through my stuff, apparently.”
Ren chuckles, wiggling in my arms. “I like your bedroom, by the way. It’s very on-brand, you sexy fucking nerd.”
Growling, I slope my leg over his to hold us closer together. “Leave it to you to escape prison and come all the way across the country just to break into my house and steal my clothes. You’re such a stalker.”
“I made out with your pillow too,” he teases, and I laugh. “Seriously, though… your window is way too easy to climb in and out of. Your parents are lucky you had no interest in sneaking dudes into your bedroom until I came along.”
“Are they…?” I rumble, running my hands down to his ass.
He nods, sniffing me.
The thrumming arousal in my veins subsides just a bit when the weight of the situation comes back into focus. “I’m sorry it took me so long to get to you, baby.” I kiss his hair.
“Are you kidding??” He lifts his face to lock those iridescent blue irises on mine.God, I missed them so much…“You came back from thedead. Lexington, it was all my fault that we were separated in the first place. That plan wasso stupid. You could’ve been killed… You almost were—”
“Stop,” I demand gently. “Itwasdangerous, yes, but it worked. I only wish I’d found you sooner. I got here as fast as I could, but it wasn’t fast enough, baby. I hate to think of how you’ve been struggling all these weeks…”
Ren’s eyes are wide and sparkling with intense emotional trauma as he chews on his lower lip. I witness him swallow, brushing my fingers over his Adam’s apple.
“Lexington… I fucked up,” he whispers sorrowfully, brows zipped together. “I did something that I—”
Leaning up, I kiss him quickly, cutting off his words. “It doesn’t matter.”
His head shakes with our mouths hovering. “You don’t understand. I’msickover this, baby… I didn’t want to, but I just… I couldn’t… Ithought—”
“Ren, I don’t want you to say another word,” I interrupt him once more, grazing his trembling lips with my thumb. “I’m telling you, I don’t care. It doesn’t matter, because it’s in the past now. We did what we had to do to find each other.That’swhat matters, baby. It’s theonlything that matters… Us. Together again, for good.”
He whimpers a tired breath, blinking back visible tears while I kiss the sadness off of his mouth.
I’m sure I know what has him torn up, but I don’t want to think about it. The mere fact that he’s so tormented by this proves how much he’s changed, from the man who hurt me intentionally all those years ago.
He’s still the same Warren I fell in love with, my crazy friend who used to torture me with the sheermayhemof him. But he’s grown in one key aspect that I know will keep him as faithful to me as he can be…
He fell in love, too.
“Are you mine, Warren?” I touch his chest to feel his heart jumping.
“Onlyyours,” he breathes, kissing me with fervor. “Forever. I belong to youforever, Lex Luthor Deon.”
The truth in his words has me weightless. The way I can feel his honesty in his every movement, in his lips and his touch. He’s done lying, because the entire truth is right here in front of us.
We made it through the storm.
Holding and cradling him, I rock him gently for a bit. Until the ocean breeze gets to be too much.
“Baby, you’re shaking,” I whisper. “We need to get out of the cold.”
“All I’ve got is the car I’ve been living in, and, like, eighty bucks,” he says.
“I hacked into some dude’s Apple Pay, but using it to get a hotel is probably too risky,” I tell him. “I have a plan, but it’s late right now. The car will have to do for tonight.”
“Hey… are you a Microsoft?” He grins huge, biting his lip. I lift my brows, waiting for it. “’Cause you’re crashing at my place tonight.”
I cackle out loud, and he beams. “Baby, wow. You did a nerd one.”
He nods animatedly while I kiss him breathless.
Getting up slowly, at last, I brush the sand off of him while he tries to contain his obvious thrill. Then we walk, hand-in-hand, to his car.
