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“Why?”
“I—because—” I closed my mouth, giving up the losing battle with the sheet and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
“Because of these?” he said softly, tracing his forefinger gingerly near my angry-looking abdominal scar.
I moved his hand, interlocking my fingers with his, needing him away from that spot and what it stood for. “Please don’t.”
“Faith.” My eyes shot to his at the seriousness in his tone. “Did I hurt you?”
“No,” I said on a small laugh.
“Are you sure?” he asked again. “Because I know we got—”
“A little crazy, yes, I know,” I said. “But no.” I squeezed his hand so he’d stop staring down at my mangled flesh and look at my face. “You inside of me was nothing but amazing. Not gonna lie, I’ll probably feel the acrobatics later, but no, I’m good.”
“As long as you can hide under a sheet.”
I huffed out a breath and rolled to lie flat on my back. His phone buzzed again, and he didn’t even look in that direction, keeping his gaze on me.
“And you, Adam? What are you hiding?” Something closed off in his face, and I nodded. “Exactly.”
He pulled me back onto my side by our intertwined hands and placed mine over his heart, holding it there. My own pounded fiercely in my chest. “Can we just enjoy this for a minute?” he said, his voice just above a whisper. “I think we’ve earned it.”
The intensity burning in those green eyes was almost too much to absorb. So unguarded. So unlike him. I had to blink away, focusing instead on the skin under my hand. The ink there was beautiful, flowing over his chest and ribs. Two chess pieces—a bishop and a queen, if my limited knowledge of chess served—surrounded by fire and a bloodred ocean. It was vivid and emotional somehow, and it seemed to suit the new Adam I was coming to know. He had tattoos over so much of his body, and I’d never seen most of them up close and personal. I moved my fingertips over the precision and perfect lines, tracing down his chest. Other, more rudimentary ink marked his neckline, and I guessed those were obtained in prison.
“You know, I never thought I’d want a tattoo,” I said, “but now I’m thinking I might.”
He turned my hand over and brought the inside of my wrist to his lips. “Your skin is perfect,” he whispered against it, giving me a shiver.
“Why, thank you.” I hummed as his tongue danced along my skin. “Would you do it?”
He frowned and looked up at me. “No. I’d want someone with more experience coming at you with a needle. Not even CJ, and he’s been with the shop for a long time.” He shook his head. “I’d only trust Tobias.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And if I wanted it somewhere sexy? You’d still want Tobias to do it?”
He scoffed. “I’d be there. Plus, Tobes is a professional. He’d never look at you like that.”
“I’m not sure how to take that.”
He shook his head with a grin. “My brother has a woman. He doesn’t need to mess with mine.”
I lifted a brow even as my heart began to pound double time. “Possessive much?”
“You know what I mean, Faith.”
“Not really, but...” I climbed over and straddled his hips. “But I’m going to chalk it up to no sex for six years.” I looked deep into his eyes. “Did I hear that right?”
He cupped my hips as he held my gaze. “You did.” He waited for my reaction.
I let my heart settle into its feelings, which were always too many where Adam was concerned. Then I leaned in and kissed him.
We stayed that way, touching, holding hands, talking till well after midnight. Till exhaustion got the better of us at some point. I didn’t remember the last words said or who said them, just drifting off into something that felt dangerously close to peace.
When I woke up, it was morning, and the first thing I realized was that there’d been no bad dreams. The rush of gratitude was chased away by the second realization. Adam was gone.
I ran a hand over where his head had lain on the pillow like I’d find him there anyway and pulled it to my nose, breathing him in. I got up and pulled on a t-shirt and my sweatpants from my bag, then wandered into the living room. He wasn’t there either.
Another wave of disappointment washed over me. He hadn’t told me goodbye for the day or kissed me or anything.
