Page 34 of There's Something About Dragons
“Got to keep you coming back for seconds,” she deadpans, throwing my words back at me. Then her face changes, humor slipping away, and she lifts our joined hands, her little pink fingers twined with my red scaly ones. “Don’t make me let go of you yet.”
“Never.” I gather her up like an armful of flowers and roll over, depositing her limp body on top of me. It’s time to tell her that we’re forever.
Chapter 15
Zed
Cari sighs happily, resting her cheek against my chest. “I don’t want you lying in a puddle, either. Cleanup towels are in the nightstand drawer, if you can reach them.”
I fumble to my left and pull open the first drawer that I find, grabbing the fabric on top. Cari jolts on top of me, every muscle tense.
“Not that one! Sorry!” She breaks our handhold and crawls off me with superhuman speed to snatch whatever-it-is out of my hand. She throws it into the drawer and slams it shut. When she turns to face me again, her face is pale and her chest is heaving. “Sorry,” she repeats, blinking back welling tears. “I meant the top drawer.”
“I’m sorry, too,” I say, completely confused.
She shakes her head as she pulls cleanup cloths from the correct drawer and hands one to me. “You didn’t do anything. It’s not your fault.”
Ignoring the mess for now, I prop on my elbow to cup her cheek. “What’s wrong, then? Tell me, sunflower, so I can fix it.”
“This isn’t something you can fix. I mean it’s fixed, I think. Remember I told you I had a stalker? He hasn’t contacted me since I moved here. That drawer is just…stuff he’s sent. I don’t even know why I keep it.”
She’s twisting her hands and looking miserable, eyes everywhere but me. Not what I wanted to see right after I made her come a half-dozen times.
“I take that back. I do know why. I look at it sometimes to remind myself—” she breaks off, her expression so broken that I can't resist pulling her back into my arms so we’re lying on our sides facing each other. She curls toward me like a sad little shrimp.
I bury my fingers in her hair, massaging lightly, and kiss the top of her head. “Remind yourself what?” I prompt.
“That I’m not safe,” she whispers into the dark hollow between us. “That he might still be watching.”
Shit. Fuck. Damn.
She’s not okay. I can’t tell her about howI’vebeen stalking her. Not until she’s sure about my place in her life. I have to show her that I respect her. That I’d never cross her boundaries like that. That if she wanted me to stay away from her, I would.
Well, I’d try. I’d test the limits of my ability. I wouldn’t fuckingscare herand leave creepy bullshit on her porch. I’d stay where she couldn’t see me and only look at her through the window.
Fuck me. This is why I can’t tell her. I’m not better than him. Not really.
I hug her tight, so every part of her body is pressed against mine, then lace our fingers together again. “You are safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
She relaxes against me. Then I feel her stomach jump and hear her giggle a moment later. “This is a really bad wet spot.”
“Whose fault is that?” I snicker.
“Yours!” she burst out. She pokes me. “You made me do it. It’s your fault. Admit it.”
My chest swells a little at the credit. Ididmake her come five times. Or maybe six. I lost count. “Fine. My fault. Let’s change the sheets before we fall asleep.”
Laughing, naked, still holding hands, we work together to strip and remake the bed, take a quick, kiss-drenched shower, and brush our teeth.
Our hands are still clasped when I wake up in the morning in Cari’s sunny bedroom, the shadows of her houseplants waving against the ceiling.
“Morning, beautiful,” I murmur when Cari’s eyes open at my movements.
She sits upright. “What time is it?”
“I don’t know. Seven-thirty, eight?” I roll over halfway to look at my phone. “Eight-twenty.”
She squeaks and tumbles off the bed in her hurry to get out of it, releasing her hold on me in the process. “I’m late. Crap.Can you call Cynthia and tell her I’m on my way?” She rattles off the number to her clinic as she rummages through her closet, pulling out fresh scrubs.
