mattress.
“It can, and it will.” I bring her fingers
to my mouth and bury a kiss over her thumb. “Flynn is an idiot.
Expect moronic things to occur, regularly and without reason.”
She reels me in closer, and I inspect the
newfound curves my lucky sweats adhere to.
“I don’t like this,” she whispers.
“Okay,” I tease, trying to get up, but she
pulls me down with a laugh trapped in her throat.
“I’m afraid, Coop.” Gone is her playful
demeanor, replaced with a childlike innocence that makes me want to
shelter her from the world. “I don’t like being afraid.” Her silver
eyes reflect fear like a mirror as she shivers next to me.
I pull back the sheets and she slinks under
the covers. My arm rides low over her waist and I hold her like
that a good while.
“Don’t be afraid, Laken,” I whisper, tracing
her brow with my finger. “Be strong. I’ll hold you up.” I reach for
her hand again. “I’ll never let you fall.” I’d be lying if there
weren’t horrific things she should fear, for instance why the
Counts have taken such an overt interest in her.
“They don’t like the fact I can remember,”
she says, rubbing her thumb against my palm.
My thoughts are wide open. She’s able to
hear them all, like a field with no barriers, but nothing of real
interest to listen to.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want you to be afraid.”
I pull the covers up over her shoulders, and she slips them back
down, patting a space for me next to her.
“Would you hold me again? Just for a few
minutes?” It comes out more of a plea from a child than a
seductress, so I crawl underneath and wrap an arm around her
waist.
“Can you turn off the light?” She adjusts
her head into the pillow as if sleep were a real option, so I lean
over and comply.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were
asking me to spend the night, right here next to you,” I say with a
little too much hope in my voice.
“Maybe I am.” A seam of moonlight sprays
throughout the room. It washes away every last hue and dips us into
a black and white world. Laken catches my gaze and holds it. You
could feel the electrical charge thicken around us, enveloping us
in one hell of a power surge.
Her lips hedge toward mine, and she freezes.
Laken wants a kiss, hell I want a kiss, but she doesn’t want
to initiate it. She’ll only come so far. The rest is up to me.
“Laken,” I blow it out in a whisper through
the silk of her hair. “It’s not right.” I don’t say his name. I try
to block Wes from my thoughts, but he pulsates in and out of my
mind like a demonic shadow.
“I know.” She turns the other way and scoots
in a little closer. “But I really need you, Coop. I need you
keeping me safe. Wes can’t comfort me. He’s one of the very things
that scare me.”
Laken pushes her bottom into my stomach and
wraps my arms tight around her waist until we’re spooning.
“I wish I could say I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“That it sucked of me to be comforting Wesley’s
whoever-the-hell-he-is girlfriend, but I’m not. There’s nowhere I’d
rather be than with you.”
Laken presses in with her spine against my
chest. She reaches back and touches my neck, setting my insides on
fire.
“I appreciate your honesty,” she rasps into
the dark. “I hope you don’t mind if I’m honest, too.” Laken presses
deeper into me as if she were trying to push through. “This is the
only place I want to be. You’re the roof protecting my sanity, the
walls holding up my will to survive. The Counts cast their shadow
over my life and you cast the light.” We bask in silence on the
heels of her ego-inflating words as I drink them down, swill them
around in my mind and savor them. Laken smooths her back over my
chest and fills me in on the Treasure ceremony, Wednesday night.
“But I would totally rather watch a movie with you and Marky,” she
says. “What do you think I should do?”
I press my lips together and take her in as
the
“It can, and it will.” I bring her fingers
to my mouth and bury a kiss over her thumb. “Flynn is an idiot.
Expect moronic things to occur, regularly and without reason.”
She reels me in closer, and I inspect the
newfound curves my lucky sweats adhere to.
“I don’t like this,” she whispers.
“Okay,” I tease, trying to get up, but she
pulls me down with a laugh trapped in her throat.
“I’m afraid, Coop.” Gone is her playful
demeanor, replaced with a childlike innocence that makes me want to
shelter her from the world. “I don’t like being afraid.” Her silver
eyes reflect fear like a mirror as she shivers next to me.
I pull back the sheets and she slinks under
the covers. My arm rides low over her waist and I hold her like
that a good while.
“Don’t be afraid, Laken,” I whisper, tracing
her brow with my finger. “Be strong. I’ll hold you up.” I reach for
her hand again. “I’ll never let you fall.” I’d be lying if there
weren’t horrific things she should fear, for instance why the
Counts have taken such an overt interest in her.
“They don’t like the fact I can remember,”
she says, rubbing her thumb against my palm.
My thoughts are wide open. She’s able to
hear them all, like a field with no barriers, but nothing of real
interest to listen to.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want you to be afraid.”
I pull the covers up over her shoulders, and she slips them back
down, patting a space for me next to her.
“Would you hold me again? Just for a few
minutes?” It comes out more of a plea from a child than a
seductress, so I crawl underneath and wrap an arm around her
waist.
“Can you turn off the light?” She adjusts
her head into the pillow as if sleep were a real option, so I lean
over and comply.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were
asking me to spend the night, right here next to you,” I say with a
little too much hope in my voice.
“Maybe I am.” A seam of moonlight sprays
throughout the room. It washes away every last hue and dips us into
a black and white world. Laken catches my gaze and holds it. You
could feel the electrical charge thicken around us, enveloping us
in one hell of a power surge.
Her lips hedge toward mine, and she freezes.
Laken wants a kiss, hell I want a kiss, but she doesn’t want
to initiate it. She’ll only come so far. The rest is up to me.
“Laken,” I blow it out in a whisper through
the silk of her hair. “It’s not right.” I don’t say his name. I try
to block Wes from my thoughts, but he pulsates in and out of my
mind like a demonic shadow.
“I know.” She turns the other way and scoots
in a little closer. “But I really need you, Coop. I need you
keeping me safe. Wes can’t comfort me. He’s one of the very things
that scare me.”
Laken pushes her bottom into my stomach and
wraps my arms tight around her waist until we’re spooning.
“I wish I could say I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“That it sucked of me to be comforting Wesley’s
whoever-the-hell-he-is girlfriend, but I’m not. There’s nowhere I’d
rather be than with you.”
Laken presses in with her spine against my
chest. She reaches back and touches my neck, setting my insides on
fire.
“I appreciate your honesty,” she rasps into
the dark. “I hope you don’t mind if I’m honest, too.” Laken presses
deeper into me as if she were trying to push through. “This is the
only place I want to be. You’re the roof protecting my sanity, the
walls holding up my will to survive. The Counts cast their shadow
over my life and you cast the light.” We bask in silence on the
heels of her ego-inflating words as I drink them down, swill them
around in my mind and savor them. Laken smooths her back over my
chest and fills me in on the Treasure ceremony, Wednesday night.
“But I would totally rather watch a movie with you and Marky,” she
says. “What do you think I should do?”
I press my lips together and take her in as
the
Similar Books
