Page 80 of ILY
‘I don’t know.’ Biting my lip, I hold up a finger for him to wait, then curl that finger around the back of my ear. I want my hearing aids for this.
Leaf nods, then waves at me when I turn to walk away. ‘Tea?’
Tea would be very nice right now. I nod, and he moves into the kitchen as I hustle to the bedroom and slip them from thecase. I shove the molds into my ears and wait for the little ping, then the whoosh of rushing air as sound erupts around me.
I grab a shirt for good measure. It feels weird to be talking about serial killer aunts—even alleged ones—with my nipples on display. Running my fingers through my hair, I head back for the kitchen and stop when I hear a noise. It takes me a second to recognize humming.
My face breaks out into a smile despite all of this, and I stop in the entryway, watching Leaf sing quietly, shaking his hips along with the tune. When he stops, I give him a small golf clap.
He bows, his ears red. “How much of that could you hear?”
“Nothing in detail.”
“Good. I’m horrifically tone-deaf.”
“Well, I’mdeafdeaf, so feel free to sing all you want.” I walk forward and snag him by the waist, pressing a kiss to his neck as he groans and rocks into me.
“Don’t get me riled up again. I literally have no cum left in my body.”
I laugh, biting his neck before letting him go. “That’s fine. My refresh rate isn’t what yours is. I probably won’t be good until tomorrow night. Also, I’m a little distracted.”
“You found something, didn’t you?” He signs, ‘Wait,’ then turns around to fix the tea. It bothers me I didn’t hear the kettle click off, but I’ll deal with that later.
He adds honey to them both from a jar that tells me he definitely didn’t get it at a store, then sets the cups on the breakfast nook and motions for me to sit.
I take a sip. It’s floral and fresh and immediately soothing. “Thank you.”
He nods. ‘You’re welcome,’ he signs as he drinks. ‘Continue.’
Licking my lips, I glance over my shoulder toward the dining room, where the bin’s still on the chair. “This is going to sound like an interrogation.”
“Sexy,” Leaf says.
I try for a smile. “I wish it was, but I think I might actually be on a case here.”
His expression falls. “Am I in trouble?”
“Whatever happened was years ago. Some of it before you were born, the rest when you were still in diapers. But this is your property, so anything else I do, I’m going to need your permission.”
“You have it,” he says.
“Just like that?”
His eyes lock onto mine. “Thorne, anything I have is yours, okay? If my aunt did something that bad, I want to know. I mean, these missing people, they have families, right?”
“They do.” Most of them probably do. Or should, anyway.
“They deserve some kind of closure. It’s hard to imagine Aunt Lynda killing someone, but I also didn’t know her very well. And she was super weird when I was growing up.”
I tap my fingers on the table, then stand up and snag my phone off the kitchen counter and start up my recording app. “Do I have your permission to record you?”
Leaf nods.
“Aloud, please.”
He shivers, and his eyes darken as he says, “Yes. You have my permission.”
“Please state your name, date of birth, and address.” He shivers again, and I hit Pause. “Are you nervous? I promise it’s going to be okay.”
