AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He grinned wide, bits of egg and bacon stuck all in his teeth. Such a heathen. “Hells yeah, it’s okay.”
He smacked a kiss on my cheek, smearing me with bacon grease.
“I worked hard on that,” Win said, pointing around me to my food. “You better eat it. You have to swim later.”
“How come he gets babe and I get Maxi?” Max griped.
“You like Maxi,” Wes protested.
Wes and Max continued bickering, and I bit into the bread Win made, groaning a little at the flavor. His hand wrapped around my waist, palm settling against my stomach as I chewed.
It was the best meal I’d had since stepping foot off the plane. As I chewed, I melted into his chest, head resting on his shoulder, soaking up the warmth of his sunny rays.
I didn’t forget Oskar was out there lurking, waiting to cause me harm, but the fear he inspired in me didn’t seem as hopeless as before.
I would do what I had to do to finally be free of him because I was never going to give this up. Give Win up.
Ever.
29
Win
You knowwhat’s the problem with putting off things for later?
Later always shows up.
All the things I avoided looking at too closely became big things that were impossible to overlook.
I broke all my own rules and made Lars officially mine. I didn’t regret it, especially not when I got to wake up to his messy platinum hair, sleepy blue eyes, and warm skin. I no longer had to deny myself a touch or a kiss.
But… I also couldn’t deny he was holding something back. Maybe it seemed more obvious since I’d kicked everything I’d put between us out of the way. Maybe it was because all the energy I’d spent trying to deny how much I wanted him was added to my need to protect.
I absolutely meant it when I said loving Lars was worth the risk, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t reduce the risk. I wanted to make sure he was safe.
I couldn’t stop thinking about how he looked when the beams from my headlights bounced over him on the side of the road. How his pale skin was nearly colorless and fear was embedded in his eyes. I thought about how he trembled in my lap, climbing over the console to cuddle into my chest like he was starved for comfort, like he needed a shield.
I had no problem being my angel’s shield. But I needed to know what the hell I was shielding him from.
Sometimes there were clouds in his eyes, not rare I suppose for a rainstorm like Lars. But why was it always raining inside him? What caused the fragility I glimpsed beneath his armor?
The inkling of warning I felt before haunted me, as did Wes’s words.
Has anyone ever hurt him?
I’d never asked. Why hadn’t I ever asked?
Because you’re too afraid of the answer.
Afraid or not, I was all in now, and that meant I couldn’t just ignore the bad and take only the good. With Lars, I wanted it all.
After a tough workout and a shower, I was standing in the kitchen when Wes walked in. My eyes automatically went behind him, expecting to see Lars.
“Where’s Lars?”
“Hi to you too, big bro,” Wes quipped.
I rolled my eyes and hooked my arm around his neck, forcing him to bend at my side. Stuffing my hand into his curls, I ruffled them around. “I missed you, baby bro!”
