Page 85 of The Spirit Key
And then he started to snore.
I lay there, holding his hand, and realized how grateful I was that Tim was in my life again. Things made sense, finally. And I swore I would never take it—or him—for granted.
Not again.
WHEN WEwoke up, we decided to lay there for a while and just take time to be with each other. Tim rolled on his side and curled up around me, his arm over my stomach, making me feel like I was wrapped in a cocoon.
“How are you feeling?”
I couldn’t lie. My ribs were throbbing, my arm tingled, and I had a headache that wouldn’t quit. “Hurts like hell. And don’t say you’re sorry, because you didn’t do it. Gideon did. And believe me, this is the least of the things he’s got to pay for.”
Without saying anything, Tim got up and grabbed me some painkillers and a glass of orange juice. “Take these.”
“But they’ll make me tired.” I jutted out my lip. “I can’t afford to sleep now.”
He stood there, implacable. “Take them, or I’ll cram them down your throat. Don’t fight me on this.”
I huffed a breath and reached for the pills. I noticed they weren’t my prescription and gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks. I was afraid I’d sleep the day away otherwise.”
“I’m going to take a shower, then make breakfast. Do you think you want to shower too?”
“I could shower with you. Saves water, you understand.”
He grinned. “Yeah, no. If I got in the shower and saw your naked body, I don’t think we’d get out before the water got cold.”
I ran a finger over his chest. “And that’s a problem?”
He wouldn’t take me up on it, and I knew that. My body was beat to shit, and his responsibility was to take care of me. So any thoughts of sex were off the table until I was healed. Didn’t mean I couldn’t dream.
“Go shower. I need to get you fed. I’ll take mine after.”
I huffed a frustrated breath. “Fine.”
Before I could turn away, he reached out and took hold of my arm and pulled me close. “I’m never going to be able to make up for what happened. I know you said it wasn’t my fault, but I saw my hands wrapped around the kid’s throats, then beating on you. I saw my feet kicking you. It was me strangling George.” His eyes glistened. “I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you how sorry I am for all of it.”
I reached out and touched his cheek. “Does that mean I get to top?”
He snorted. “Yeah, that’s not likely to happen.” His gaze softened. “But if it would make things better between us—”
“Stop that shit!”
Tim reared back.
“A fuck isn’t going to make me feel better. Wanna know what is? Your arms, wrapped around me at night. Your hands touching all the spots thatGideonhurt. Your lips kissing all the bruises I got because ofGideon.” I pulled away. “I’m going to go shower, and by the time I get out, you’d better have your fucking head out of your ass.”
He didn’t say anything as I stomped off toward the bathroom, and for once I was grateful. I wrapped my arm before I got into the shower, and when I started the pulsating spray, it made my skin tingle. I leaned against the wall, the tile still cool, and sighed. All the things I thought I knew were no longer true. The one constant—theonlyone—was that I knew deep to my soul Tim loved me. Was it possible for Gideon to destroy that love?
The words echoed in my head. Dark emotions gave him power, but they also drew him out of Tim’s body once before. He touched me.
A plan started forming in my head, but there were so many things that could go wrong. I ran the risk of destroying Tim’s trust in me and losing him in the process.
Oh, and I also ran the risk of dying again, and I felt pretty certain I wouldn’t be coming back.
Chapter Twenty-One
TIM STOODat the sink, washing up from breakfast. He hadn’t said much to me beyond asking me how the food was, then went straight to cleaning up after.
He sighed and turned around. “Scotty, I—”
