AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I tiptoed past Riva’s bedroom, not wanting to wake her if she was finally getting some sleep. “She needs to get out of the house. Bliss and I are going baby shopping tomorrow. She can come with us.”
Kian held the door open for me with a laughing smile on his face. “Please do not bring a baby home from the shops.”
It took me a second to understand what he meant. I’d said baby shopping instead of baby clothes shopping. I forced a laugh. “No, no real live babies will be put into shopping bags and brought back here, I promise.”
He broke into a slow jog, though he shortened his strides so I could keep up. “Good. Shit, could you imagine bringing a baby into the middle of all this chaos? Us with no home. Riva crying all night. Watching over our shoulders constantly for Caleb…”
I didn’t answer.
He glanced over at me. “Oh, I know Bliss and War and everyone are really excited. And I’m excited for them. But that’s a lot with everything still going on.”
I nodded. “Yeah, of course.” But something about his words hit me deep in the gut. I knew we weren’t there, where Bliss and her guys were. But it kind of hurt to have someone else confirm it.
“Let’s run.” Kian took a turn onto a track that led through the woods around Providence.
It was narrow and forced me to run behind him. Which was probably just as well, because I didn’t want him to see the expression on my face.
Normally, the two of us talked a million miles an hour while we ran. Or at least, he did, and I tried to reply around my panting and wheezing. But today’s run was mostly quiet, just our footsteps on the track, the inhale and exhale of our breaths, and the occasional encouragement from Kian.
He checked his watch as we were nearing the end. “Come on, last sprint home and you’ll beat your personal best. Push it!”
I did. I ran hard, oddly keen to beat my best time, even though I would never admit it to Kian. Just to be a showoff, I ran around him and took the lead.
He playfully swatted my backside as I passed. “Go, girl.”
We both pulled up hard at the end of the track, Kian hitting stop on his watch.
I grabbed his arm to see and gave him a beaming smile. “Smashed it.”
He held a hand up for a high five, and I connected my palm to his.
He jerked his head toward the road home. “Come on, let’s get back and hit the weights.”
I nodded, but my body suddenly felt weak. I trudged along beside him.
His forehead furrowed with concern. “Are you okay?”
I went to nod yes, but suddenly, I wasn’t so sure. I doubled over, hands to my knees. “Fuck, no. I don’t think I am.”
Without warning, I vomited up whatever was left of last night’s dinner.
“Shit!” Kian pushed my hair off my face and rubbed my back.
I heaved some more, puking up the last of the contents of my stomach then finishing it off with some dry heaving for extra effect.
Kian cringed at my patheticness. “I’m so sorry, Little Demon. I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard. I thought you were past the ‘running so hard you puke’ stage.”
I took a swig from my water bottle and spat into a shrub at the side of the trail. “Me too.”
I straightened, taking some deep breaths to clear the nauseous feeling that still had a grip on my stomach.
Kian put an arm around me gently. “Quit trying to beat me, and this will stop happening.”
I glared at him. “That’s like telling me not to breathe. If you’re dragging me out in the mornings, I need to at least win.”
He plopped a kiss on the top of my head. “Have I told you today how much I love you?”
“Want to kiss me so I really feel it?”
