AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I can hear and feel the deep sigh from behind me, and my knees nearly give out when Davis nuzzles into my neck. The scruff of his beard scratches against my sensitive skin and goosebumps break out all over my body. I’m still cold, but where my skin meets his is a different story. It’s like touching the source of warmth, a furnace of heat soaking through his fingertips and traveling through my body.
“After we ran into my dad yesterday, I realized something.”
I hold my breath, biting my lip to keep from saying anything. Davis’s dad was somehow both what I expected and nothing at all like I anticipated. He’s still a handsome man, but there’s something rough and frayed about his exterior. He’s lived hard, and it shows, but it’s easy to see how he could have grabbed Davis’s mom’s eye back in the day. That’s just the exterior though. Davis has said as much in the past, but I could sense that inside his dad was rotten. Not just from the abuse he’s exacted on his body, but his soul felt corrupted, soiled, oily and sick. I’d wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible, but just that one small interaction made so much about Davis make sense. His closed off nature, his gruff exterior and disinclination to laugh. I got it.
“Ironically, seeing my dad made me think about how you and your mom spent all that time bouncing from one place to the next. She was running from something, trying to keep you safe all those years by never settling in one place. Never coming back here.”
“She wanted me to come back here, you know. In the letter she gave me that night, she told me that someday I’d come back here. That I should let my instincts guide me and to keep my heart open.”
My chest aches and I’m glad he’s behind me and can’t see the tears in my eyes. I still miss my mom and it breaks my heart to think that she was running my entire life. Trying to keep me safe from some threat that I still don’t exactly understand. I’m not sure if I ever will.
“What does any of that have to do with you not wanting me to leave anymore?” My voice is thick with emotion and Davis turns me around so that we can look at each other. My breath hitches at the emotion in his eyes. They’re burning brightly with pain, need, desire, acceptance.
“I realized that no matter what, you’ll never be safe out there. Whatever demons hunted your mom could still be out there. Wild Haven might have its own set of troubles but at least here… you’ll have me.”
My skin tingles at his words, goosebumps breaking out all over my body. Davis’s hands cup my cheeks, and he tips my head back so I’m looking him in the eye. His skin is so warm against my frozen cheeks that my lids lower as pleasure sweeps over me. “I want to keep you safe, to take care of you, but—”
He hesitates, and I lift my eyes to his. “But I think it might be you who ends up saving me, Miri.”
I clasp a hand over his, holding it to my cheek as my heart swells near to bursting in my chest. “How could I save you?”
“I’ve spent most of my life trying to figure out how not to become my father, but no matter what I’m not going to be sunshine and roses.”
I snort. “No kidding.”
A brief smile touches Davis’s lips. “I know I have darkness in me. I’ve survived too much not to have those shadows dug into my soul, but when you’re around me, there’s light. There’s laughter and a sense of rightness I’ve never experienced before.” Davis takes hold of my hand and guides it to his chest, covering my fingers with his.
“Whatever happens, I know I can’t let you go.”
I don’t know who moves first. Maybe it’s me, or both of us, but somehow his lips find mine. His mouth is sinful, the soft but firm caress of his lips as they brush against mine coaxes me to part my lips. His tongue strokes and tastes, and I’m lost to the sensation. I’ve never been brought to my knees by a kiss before, but that’s exactly what’s happening. We’re both breathless when we finally pull apart. Neither of us says a word. If Davis is feeling anything close to what I am, then he’s in shock. I felt that kiss in the depths of my soul. Davis brushes his thumb across my bottom lip, and I sway a little.
“Let me walk you home.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him he should walk me home and then stay the night. Just this once, though, I want to hold on to the magic of this kiss. Even though my body is giving me a harsh middle finger. Don’t be such a hooker body, you can wait. I doubt I’ll be able to hold out for long, anyway.
I bump into Davis’s shoulder as we walk, and he wraps his hand around mine.
“Wait ‘til I tell Archer what a good kisser you are.” I joke and Davis’s laugh booms out across the night.
