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What I didn’t expect was her shuffling up next to me and resting her head on my chest.
Fuck. This was a bad idea. Really fuckin’ bad, and yet I stayed where I was.
“I wanted to have sex with you from the second I saw you,” she said. “It was so cute how uncertain you were.”
I snorted. I’d never been uncertain about anything in my life until the last six months. She was either delusional or thinking of someone else.
Her palm lay on my abdomen and one finger slowly shifted back and forth as if she didn’t even realize she was doing it. I fuckin’ realized. My cock realized it, too.
“You kept glancing at the other people around, watching what they were doing as they picked through the peaches in the bin. You picked up one and squeezed it. I remember thinking how gentle you were with it and how it contradicted your fierce scowl.”
She tilted her head to peer at me, her cheek sliding over my chest. I was met with a sweet smile and a hint of laughter sparking in her eyes. Fuck, I hadn’t seen that look in over half a year. I quickly looked away, clenching my jaw.
“You put the peach back and picked up another, studying it like it was a mathematical equation.” I snorted again. I remember thinking the peaches were all crap. “I was about to come over and help you, when you tossed the peach back in the bin as if it disgusted you. Then you moved to the bin of apples, grabbed three, and marched down the aisle to the checkout.”
“I don’t fuckin’ march and I never liked peaches,” I muttered. I sucked at picking out fruits with all the rules of which were the best. Too firm. Too soft. Too ripe. Not ripe enough.
“Liar,” she said.
I chanced a glance at her and she smiled as she rolled her eyes. I didn’t know why I did it. I was crazy to, but I placed my hand on her head. I didn’t stroke, didn’t caress, just rested my hand there. I heard her slight inhale, and then she relaxed again.
“You thought I was smoking hot,” she continued.
I grunted to hide my grin because she was right. As soon as my eyes landed on the cute red-haired beauty, my body reacted to her.
“It didn’t take much more than dropping my basket and a quick spell to get the pop bottle to explode, and I had your attention.”
My eyes narrowed and I stiffened. “You did that on purpose? A fuckin’ spell?” She bit her lower lip and nodded. “Productive.”
“Sometimes. Sometimes it gets me into trouble,” she paused, then added, “like now.” She was quiet for a minute, her breathing matching mine so our chests rose and fell at the same time. “Didn’t think you’d be interested when you found out I was a witch. Scars and witches generally don’t get along, even if it is just sex.” Her finger stilled on my abdomen and her palm lay flat. “Why did you, Damien?”
Wasn’t that the question of my immortal life? Maybe because I’d been leaving to go back to Florida and knew I’d never see her again? Maybe because she was sexy as hell and there was no strength in this universe that could have made me walk away from her that day? I liked to believe I’d just wanted to get laid, but that was a lie. It was more. It had always been more.
When the pop exploded and sprayed the both of us, she didn’t freak out. Instead, she laughed, not worrying about her clothes being ruined or pop in her hair or that everyone in the line was looking at her.
Fuck, I liked that she’d met my eyes and didn’t flinch under my glower as pop dripped off my chin and splattered my clothes. Yeah, I’d been attracted to her and wanted to throw her up on the conveyer belt and fuck her right there and then.
“Damien? Why me?”
“Get some sleep, Abby.” Avoidance was the safest explanation.
She remained quiet for a few minutes, and I’d thought she’d fallen asleep when she spoke again. “What if I remain like this? I mean, never changing, but never being normal. You can’t stay here babysitting me forever.”
I tensed. “One day at a time, babe. That’s all I can handle. We’ll see how each day goes and not keep track of how long it takes.”
“Liam. Is he looking for me?” she asked.
“Not that I’m aware.” I talked to Jedrik almost daily and Liam had been quiet as a mouse.
“Strange,” she murmured. She rubbed her cheek against me and I grit my teeth as my cock jerked. “It’s odd that he didn’t come after us. Don’t you think that’s odd?”
“No. He’d have been stupid to come after me.”
She laughed and I hadn’t expected to hear that sound again. Hadn’t heard her laugh since the hotel. And I fuckin’ missed it. I missed the Abby I had in my arms right now. She wasn’t sassy and quick witted and stubborn right now, but the sane and sweet parts of her were still here.
“I’ll never regret it. Those nights we had. Even if we lost something precious from it.” This was the first time she’d mentioned the loss of her child, and I felt a tug on my heart. Her child? No, it had been our child.
Her body jerked and her breath quickened, her fingers curling into a fist in my shirt. “Damien, I don’t think you should be near me anymore.”
I peered down at her and the laughter and spark in her eyes had been replaced with pain. I put one leg over the side of the bed to get up then stopped. Shit, maybe this was a mistake, but I had nothing to lose at this point.
I put my leg back up on the bed, bent one knee, and moved her closer to me, so her body was half on top of me. I slid my arm around her to rest it on her lower back and keep her locked to me. Then I pried her hand from the material of my shirt and linked our hands together. “What if we try and ride this one out together?”
I felt the wetness on my shirt from her tears and I squeezed her, but didn’t say anything. Instead, I silently prayed for the strength to carry this girl through another day.
