Page 41 of Craved By You
I couldn’t imagine the weight that had fallen from his shoulders now that our little group knew. There was probably a part of him that worried that so many of us now held that information. More importantly, though, would we be able to work our way past this? I sat back and watched him, still wrapping my head around everything. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be short.”
He attempted to smile, but his face was full of hurt and anguish. “No, no. I deserved that. You have every right to be upset with me.”
“I do have one more question.” I hesitated. “This is something you can stop? The uhm…”
I shivered at the mention of it again as he clarified, “Human consumption?”
Nodding, I finally replied. “Yes. That.”
Colt gulped and I felt like he was taking way too long to answer my question. “I think so,” he finally said.
I wasn’t going to let this go. “Can we turn your think into a yes?” He could spend the rest of his time on this earth being my real-life Dexter for all I cared. It was just that one detail that I wouldn’t be able to overlook.
His fingers reached up and began toying with the hair that spilled over my shoulder. “I would do anything for you, sunshine.”
I smiled, questioning if I was making the right decision or if I was wearing whiskey goggles that were preventing me from seeing the truth of what I was getting involved with. “I’m tired, I think it’s time for me to go home.”
“I can’t let you drive.” He slid out of the booth and held out his hand. “I’ll take you.”
“Oh no” I yawned, “I rode with Haileigh.” I looked over and caught her hanging all over Ryder and Chris. “Though I don’t suppose she’s ready to go yet.”
It didn’t take long before Colt was talking with the group while I stood by the booth, waiting while he made arrangements. Haileigh turned and gave me two thumbs up as she beamed with happiness and mouthedI love you.
???
As soon as Colt got me home, I found myself rushing to the bathroom, retching every last drop that I could muster into the toilet. It had been a long time since I had been drunk like that. Colt held my hair and rubbed my back until I knew that I was done. He helped me up off the floor without saying a word andstepped out of the bathroom to let me clean myself up and brush my teeth. He returned a few moments later with a fresh bottle of water and encouraged me to drink some. I took a few swigs and then it hit me how exhausted I actually was. I wanted to sleep for days.
Finally, after the small detour, we made it into my room. I plugged in my phone and crawled onto my bed, snuggling into my pile of pillows. Colt tucked me in and gave me a kiss on the forehead. “Goodnight, sunshine. Text me in the morning.”
“You’re leaving?” A sadness took over at the thought of sleeping alone tonight, regardless of the fact that I had done so every night for the past month. “Please, stay?”
“Are you sure?” He seemed hesitant. “It could be the whiskey talking.”
I was quiet for a moment, gathering my thoughts and questioning myself on all levels. “Please?”After a pause, I felt Colt get in behind me.
My bed seemed so small with the two of us in it compared to his massive one, but the mattress was soft, and the temperature in my apartment was just right. “Are we okay?” Colt asked as I snuggled back against him, his arms wrapping around me. “I just want to make sure I’m not looking into this wrong.”
“My brain is screaming at me to run fast and in the opposite direction,” I murmured, his heart turning into a frantic drumbeat against my spine. “But my heart is compelling me to stay.”
Colt tightened his grasp around me and kissed the back of my head. “You make me so happy, I am sorry I ever hurt you.”
I tried to reassure him. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not.” He wasn’t going to let this go. “I will spend a million lifetimes doing everything I can to make this up to you. I don’t deserve you.”
“We all make mistakes,” I whispered quietly. “Now let’s sleep.”
Chapter 26
Astrid
It had been about a month since Colt and I reconciled and I was finally feeling better about everything.
The morning after we were forced to cross paths at Karaoke Cavern, Colt went straight home and tossed everything from his freezers and fridge, vowing to never consume his victims again. He couldn’t promise me that he would be able to stop being a vigilante, but he did promise me that he would continue to not get caught.
Colt also admitted to why he switched our phones that first day I cut his hair, and I made him have Chris and Ryder remove the tracking program from my phone. Instead, we installed an app that we could keep track of each other’s location. We even ended up inviting Haileigh and the guys in the band to join too, like one big happy family. Except Jax, I didn’t think we would ever figure out what crawled up his ass.
Tonight, Colt and I were celebrating six months together. He took me to my favorite seafood restaurant so that I couldget a fillet and lobster tail and he ordered steak and shrimp. Everything was perfect.
