Page 9 of DOG Part 2
4
Kim
Imovedthe tip of the pencil across the paper, giving more attention to the shading of Kane’s jaw. It was a pretty decent likeness, even if the eyes were too far apart and the neck was a little long.
“What are you drawing over there?” he asked from his crouched position by the fire.
“Nothing.”
“It better not be me.”
“Oh, it’s not,” I lied. “You’re not interesting at all, so don’t worry.”
He cocked an eyebrow and I grinned back. With Kane, there was a sadistic kind of pleasure that came from poking the tiger, and I doubted I would ever get tired of it.
We’d spent the morning sitting on the back patio talking and enjoying the view. I’d told him about nursing school and how, after my parents had split, I’d spent most of my teenage years with my mom. I hadn’t felt like going over the time before that, the period when I was an innocent kid that revered her father, not knowing that he made his living as a criminal. Kane had been pretty mum about his past, going over it mostly in bullet points. Sports nut in high school. One tour in Afghanistan. Joined the Rugged Angels almost immediately after setting foot back on American soil.
There was a sneaking suspicion that there was more to Kane Angelo than he let on, but I had to let it go for the time being. Kane, like me, seemed to be the kind of person who only revealed themselves incrementally. I understood. Doing it any other way could be dangerous. Heartbreaking, even.
I’d wanted to go up into the foothills for a hike, but Kane had been insistent that I stay put. I’d accepted his request somewhat grudgingly at first, but by evening the pleasantness of the situation had begun to truly sink in.
It was almost a romantic getaway, being secluded in the remote countryside with a handsome man. There wasn’t much to do, but there was sunshine and enough supplies to last us a few days. After that Kane’s hunting and gathering skills were more than enough to suffice.
Basically, Kane was one step away from being a mountain man. While on his pre-dawn hunt, he’d gathered some herbs that he’d steeped to make a fragrant tea. Sitting on the back stoop sipping it hadn’t been bad.
Neither had the two more rounds of sex we’d had that afternoon.
Or the nap I’d taken in between those two rounds.
So, yeah, in a way it kind of was like vacation. If worrying about your survival was part of vacation.
Granted, I was only half as worried as I had been before. Kane had proven he was more than capable of keeping me safe, and I trusted his judgment on almost anything security-related at that point.
“Can I see what you’re drawing?” he asked as he dropped another log on the fire.
“Okay, fine,” I dramatically sighed.
I turned the paper around and he immediately laughed.
“Is that what I look like?”
“Hey, I’m no artist,” I snapped. “What else am I supposed to do out here?”
“Admire me.”
“Obviously that’s what I’m doing. I’m drawing a picture of you, aren’t I?”
“Good point. But I thought you said I wasn’t interesting at all.”
“So I lied. Are you surprised?”
“No,” he smiled, shooting a gaze my way that made my body temperature rise by a few degrees.
“So,” I said slowly. “Still no word from the outside world?”
He hesitated. “No. Sorry.”
I tapped the pencil against the paper. “It’s all right. It’s mostly my mom that I can’t stop thinking about.”
