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“You know what I mean, Vanessa. It would give me peace of mind knowing you lived with a huge guy who could scare off anyone that looked at you twice…just the way I do with Sapphire.”
Little did he know I already had that, but my protector was also my murderer.
“I hope you find that soon…so Father and I can relax.”
“You’d find something else to get worked up over.” I tried to keep the conversation light because his words were killing me. My brother loved me so much and worried about me. He would do anything for me, and right now, I was trapped. I was trapped, and he couldn’t help me even if he wanted to. I was protecting him, making sure Bones never laid a hand on him or Sapphire. But Conway had no knowledge of the sacrifice I was making.
And I wanted it to stay that way.
He smiled before he placed his hand on my shoulder. “Call me if you need anything, alright?”
“Alright.”
“I mean it. And if you change your mind about living with us, let me know.”
“I won’t change my mind, but thanks anyway.”
He finally walked away and took the stairs back to the car at the curb.
I stepped inside my apartment, letting my face fall back into its look of sorrow. I was back to my prison, back to my cage.
In the shadows, I saw Bones sitting on the couch. Fully dressed with his blue eyes focused on me, he stared at me from his spot in the darkness.
“How the hell did you get here so fast?”
The only response I got was a cold look from his icy eyes.
“Forget it…I don’t care anyway.” I walked past him and headed to my bedroom, the ache in my chest too much to carry. It was the second time my brother was right next to Bones without even realizing it.
I didn’t like them being so close together.
I tore off my clothes and immediately got into bed, even though it was only eight in the evening. It was way too early to go to sleep, but I had no motivation to watch TV or do anything else. I just wanted to lie there, to let myself be swallowed by my own self-pity.
His footsteps sounded in the doorway, and then his clothes started to hit the floor.
I wanted him to leave, but I also wanted him to stay. He was the source of my misery, but he also had the power to make me feel better. When his strong arms were wrapped around me, I felt like nothing could hurt me. He lit a fire in my veins, made me yearn for him in a way I never yearned for anyone else. His hard chest and strong-beating heart consoled all my terrors. When our bodies were connected and my fingers were digging into his back, all the bad thoughts stopped. There were no thoughts at all. It was just the two of us.
His heavy body shifted the mattress as he maneuvered beside me. He pressed his chest against my back and wrapped his arm around my waist. His head moved to the back of my neck and he breathed gently, his warm breaths drifting across my skin.
My arm rested over his, feeling the powerful heat his body projected.
He pressed a kiss to the back of my neck, his lips soft against my cold skin.
Like our earlier fight never happened, we lay there in comfortable silence. Like my brother and I didn’t just have a moment right outside the front door, we lay there like lovers. I knew Bones had overheard the entire conversation if he was sitting on the couch the whole time, but he didn’t say anything about it.
“Baby.” His masculine voice filled the darkness of my bedroom.
I turned my head toward him, my eyes moving to the ceiling without turning around. “Hmm?”
“Tell me what you want.”
I faced forward again. “Nothing. I just want to stay like this.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
He’d never given me the option before. “Does it matter? Would you go if I asked?”
He kissed my shoulder. “Yes.”
This was my chance to get rid of him, but I didn’t take it. I didn’t want to lie in that bed by myself. I was used to his big body beside me. I slept with him every single night, so when he wasn’t there, my night was always terrible. “I want you to stay…”
He kissed my shoulder again, giving me his tongue. He moved up my neck until he reached the shell of my ear. “Then I’ll stay.”
I sat at the easel and continued working on the painting. I’d taken a photo when I walked home from the store. It was an image of an alleyway, a narrow place that had a few bicycles leaned up against the walls. It was an iconic image of Italian culture, so I snapped it on my phone and then got to work.
