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“I usually am.”
He snorted, barely able to keep his eyes open. I rubbed his back and he got heavier in my arms. “Just wanna stay like this.”
“You’ll appreciate a shower.”
“I’ll appreciate you washing me.”
I kissed the side of his head. “Okay.”
I turned the water on, and yes, there was cold water. No hot. But this was Darwin; the cold water was warm anyway. For me at least. I lured Tully under the showerhead and began to soap us both up.
Scrubbing the dirt, the mud, and the awful day away felt so good—kissing him softly, his lips, his nose, his eyelids—felt heavenly. But exhaustion was setting in, and when Tully swayed on his feet, I shut the water off.
I towel-dried us off the best I could, then helped Tully into bed. I climbed in after him and he wrapped himself around me.
“M’ hair’s still wet.”
“I don’t care.”
“Been a day,” he mumbled. “Thankful we’re okay.”
I kissed his forehead. “Me too.”
“Love you.”
His words both thrilled me and calmed me, and even after the day we’d had, I was still too scared to say them back.
I wanted to tell him I loved him. I wanted to say the words so much, but my staccato heart stopped me. Could I run out into a lightning storm without hesitating? Sure. Could I put myself in danger without fear? Sure.
Could I say those three little words out loud?
No.
Instead, I tightened my arms around him and tilted his face up so I could kiss his lips.
“Me too.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
TULLY
I slept like a log.After the week we’d had and the stress of it all—after hunkering down and bein’ all tensed up for hours—I was so exhausted. Then in my darkened bedroom—without one sliver of light and having a Jeremiah-sized pillow—I don’t think I even moved once.
Not until someone bangin’ on the front door woke me up. I pulled on some shorts and went downstairs. “Yeah, hold up. I’m coming.” Then I remembered the day before and the cyclone, and I wondered if someone was hurt. “I’m coming.”
“I bet that’s what he said,” Ellis called out. “You better not be naked, for the love of god.”
I sighed and opened the door to find my parents and Ellis standing there in bright daylight. It hurt my eyes. “Christ. What time is it?”
“It’s after eight,” Mum said as they walked in.
“Eight o’clock?”
They got as far as the foyer. “God, it’s like a cave in here,” Dad said. “No wonder you don’t know what time it is.”
I scrubbed my hand through my hair and stretched my back before shuffling into the kitchen and flicking the coffee machine on...
Goddammit.
