Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 133975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 670(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 670(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
It was all he could do not to wince under the blazing intensity of her emerald eyes and the pain there. Real pain. So raw, so real he couldn’t take it. He reached for her, ignoring the way she shrank back. She was light and tiny. His hands settled around her waist, and he lifted her easily, taking her onto his lap, surrounding her with his arms, creating a fortress for her. He waited until she settled, thankful for the hours he’d held her in the coffin and after, when they lay skin-to-skin, warming each other. Her body remembered his, and the stiffness left her fast, allowing her to sink into him.
He rocked her gently, letting her mind remember he’d been her safe haven for months. He had been accepting of her, just as she’d been of him. He’d been so careful to close all those doors on his past, never let the memories see the light of day, but he hadn’t considered that anyone else, least of all his Wildfire, would have trauma to equal his. Whatever she had gone through, whatever made her feel her lack of being “normal” was dangerous to her, was every bit as bad as what he kept locked behind those doors.
“You’re safe with me, Lyric. You’re always safe with me. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not normal either. Fuck normal. We make our own. We live free and make our own rules.”
She clung to him, her arms around his neck, her face buried against his chest, but he felt her nod. Her breath was warm on his throat.
“I wouldn’t hurt you for the world, baby,” he confided. “As important as I am to you, you are to me. We can do anything if we’re together. Think about that. I can face my demons and yours as well. That’s what I do. That’s who I am. I’m that for you.”
She nodded again, burrowing closer. “I’m sorry I freaked out on you.”
“Don’t be sorry, Lyric. You don’t have to apologize to me. Not ever. Whatever you think I’m giving you, it will never equal what you give me. I choose to be with you. You’re always going to be my choice. I want to be your choice.” He felt a little silly giving her that, but it was the truth. He didn’t have any idea what he would do with her, but he knew he didn’t want to lose her.
“You don’t want to come home with me, I’ll tell my club I need time off and go with you into your wilderness.”
She was silent a moment and then she lifted her head, her vivid green eyes meeting his. “You would do that?”
“Yes. I need to know you’re safe, and you aren’t right now. You won’t be until we can clean this mess up with the Headed for Hell club.”
“You have important things you do for the club,” she reminded him. “You haven’t said much about what you do, but you spent three months basically undercover trying to find evidence that the club is trafficking.”
“Baby, I’m no saint. Don’t view me or my club as the good guys. I told you how we were trained.”
“I have firsthand knowledge of you putting your skills to good use. You caught the scissors in the rain and threw them with amazing accuracy. I was impressed.”
“We’re not talking about the scissors. Every time I think about what you risked for me, I have a violent reaction. You aren’t going to like the results when I finally give in to my baser tendencies.”
That got him her laughter. She was back. His. He was going to uncover her secrets. It was necessary for the both of them. He just had to do it carefully.
“I don’t do family, Keys. Not specifically your family, but any family. I don’t know how. Family would be a trigger for me. If you really knew me, you’d find I have a lot of them, just like the coffin thing.”
“You handled that better than most people, men or women, I know. You did fine, babe. Fear doesn’t mean you’re weak. You overcome every obstacle in your way.”
She shook her head, once again avoiding his eyes by laying her cheek on his chest. “I run. That’s what I do. That’s what I’m good at. I can hide in plain sight if I have to.”
He got her eyes briefly, and then she looked away again. “I don’t want you to think it’s you or your club. I just can’t fit in. I never fit in. I’d end up making you crazy. You said you live free, and I want that for you. I would have to wear my mask and pretend. I’d be a mimic just to ensure I didn’t embarrass you. Eventually, it would get to be too difficult, and I’d take off anyway.”