Page 31 of Beehive Yourself
SAWYER
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Her words, the last ones in particular, were like waking from a dream, the entire room coming into focus, like I was coming back into my body after simply being a bystander.
Reaching out, I grab her wrist with my good hand, wincing when the movement jolts Winnie awake, her claws looking for purchase as I sit up. They make contact with my chest before I’m able to dislodge the little terror and set her on the bed.
“You’re right.”
“About which part?”
“You’re not your sister and I fucking love that about you.” Pulling her back down to sit beside me, I cup her cheek with my hand. “I’m sorry, Hallie.”
I thought I’d put the feelings Beth had stoked all those years ago by leaving completely to rest, but I can tell I hadn’t, not until this moment.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
“I…wanted to be mad,” I admit, knowing deep down that I wanted to know that I’d been right and that I wouldn’t be enough to make her want to stay. “Really, I was just hurt and I wantedto be right about it, but there’s no winning if you’re not here.” A single tear slides down her face, and my thumb wipes it away as I lean in to kiss her only to stop a breath away.
Because I need her to come to me—just this little bit—because we need to do this together.
It feels like a lifetime but finally, ever so slowly, Hallie closes the distance, her lips brushing against mine so gently it feels like she’s barely touched me at all. Pausing at the corner of my mouth, she releases a shuddery breath, sending a rush of awareness down my spine and through my body.
Tentative fingers curl in my shirt, and then she’s tilting her face, her body, toward mine like the sweetest seduction before covering my mouth with hers. This time there’s nothing shy about the way she kisses me, the way she tastes and devours my lips.
Like she’s been starved for this.
For me.
It hasn’t even been a full day but I feel it too.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her again, pulling her into my lap and wrapping my arms around her.
“I should have told you.”
“I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t.” Brushing the hair back from her face, I press a lingering kiss to her forehead, savoring this moment of togetherness.
Meow.
The sound is our only warning before Winnie paws her way into the small space between us, squishing her little furry body between Hallie’s and mine.
I chuckle, and Hallie sighs, this one filled with contentment rather than sadness as she strokes the kitten’s fur.
“What do we do now?”
“Now we eat cookies. And take a nap.”
“I still need to clean the kitchen,” she says, looking up at me chagrined. “I wasn’t kidding about that.”
“We’ll work on your kitchen etiquette later,” I tease. Grabbing a cookie from the plate, I take a bite and groan because it’s good—better than good. Offering it to her, my heart beats a little faster as her slender fingers wrap around my wrist, holding me in place as she sinks her teeth into the sugary confection. “Hallie?”
“Hmm?”
“I need you.”
21
HALLIE
