AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Brushing her hair back off her cheek, I tucked the dark-brown tendrils behind her ear and then I resumed stroking her sore head.
There was an impressive lump forming on her scalp where the ball made contact, so I stroked the area with my fingertips, using a featherlight touch. “Is this okay?”
“Mmm,” she breathed. “It’s…good.”
“Good,” I mumbled, relieved, and continued with the stroking.
A faint scar caught my eye where her temple met her hairline.
Without thinking about what I was doing, I trailed a finger over the inch-long indent of skin and asked, “What happened here?”
“Hmm?”
“Here.” I trailed my finger over the old mark. “What’s this from?”
“My dad,” she replied, breathing out a heavy sigh.
My hand stilled as my brain registered her fucked-up answer. “Come again?”
When she didn’t respond, I used my other hand to gently shake her shoulder. “Shannon?”
“Hmm?”
I tapped the old scar with my fingertip and said, “Are you telling me that your dad did this to you?” I tried to keep my tone calm, but it was a challenge with the sudden urge to maim and kill bubbling up inside.
“No, no, no,” she whispered.
“So, your dad didn’t do this?” I asked for confirmation. “He definitely didn’t?”
“Of course not,” she mumbled.
Thank fuck for that.
I released the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
“Jimmy?”
“It’s Johnny.”
“Oh. Johnny?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you mad at me?”
“What?” The question, spoken so quietly, threw me and I stared down at her, feeling a pang of protectiveness in my gut. “No. I’m not mad at you,” I told her, pausing for a long moment, fingers stalling, before asking, “Are you mad at me?”
“I think so,” she whispered, nuzzling resuming.
My eyes rolled back and I bit back a moan.
Ah fuck!
“You can’t do that,” I bit out, holding her head still.
“Do what?” She sighed contently, then rubbed her cheek against my thigh. “Be mad?”
“No,” I choked out, holding her head still once again. “Be mad all you want, just stop grinding your head on my lap.”
