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And watch you be in love with someone else? Watch you laugh with her and hold her and kiss her? ‘I know, like, three French words.’
He quirks a dark brow. ‘Did you not take French at school?’
I shake my head.
Chase lowers his head slightly, his forehead creasing. ‘You skived?’
‘No—well, yeah, but it’s not what you think.’ I sigh, playing with a loose thread on the duvet. ‘Luke Jones attacked me one time, and when I tried to tell Mrs. Spotswallower about it, I got kicked out. I never went back.’
‘Lukeattackedyou?’ His voice hasn’t quite lost it’s rough, sleepy edge, so his words come out as a growl. A growl that makes my toes curl.
I love how he’s clearly angrier about it than I am.
‘Do you remember the whole one-dip-finger thing?’ His expression darkens, but he nods. ‘Well, it kind of made guys think they could have their fill. Luke—he, um… He sort of put his hand on my thigh and when I tried to push him off, he just squeezed it tighter…’
I trail off because Chase looks murderous.
My voice shakes. ‘It’s really not a big deal. I’m over it.’ Even if I tried everything to avoid Luke after that.
A muscle ticks in his jaw. ‘Did you tell anyone about it?’
I shake my head. ‘The only thing I got was a written warning about not attending French.’
Chase stares at me for a long minute. And then, slowly—so, so slowly—he reaches out. Brushes the tips of his fingers over my cheek. He watches the movement of his hand before his gaze flicks up to mine again. ‘I wish you’d have told me,’ he whispers. ‘I would have been there for you.’
Breathe, Frankie. Breathe.
‘You’re here now.’ The words are out before I can stop them. Maybe it’s exhaustion making me delirious, because my eyelids droop.
Chase continues to stroke my cheek. I should leave, because a tired Frankie is never a wise one, and I come undone beneath his touch. I feel him watching me quietly as his feather-touch lulls me, as my body sinks into the mattress.
I swear he mumbles something—about a book?
But the last thing I feel before I fall asleep is his lips pressed to my forehead.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Maybe He’ll Kill Me This Time
Larry shuffles around his vivarium, waking me.
But I don’t open my eyes yet. A warm body presses against my back, and I go still.
Sometime during the night, between tossing and turning, Chase has ended up behind me. His arm is thrown over me, tucking me snugly into his front, and his leg rests on top of mine.
My heart stutters before picking up speed.
I want to stay in this moment forever. I don’t ever want to move from this bed. I don’t think we’ll ever have a moment like this again—this feels as if it’ll be as good asit gets. There’s nowhere beyond for this relationship to go—one step forward would mean crossing boundaries, and one step back would mean returning to yesterday.
There’s something about sleeping next to someone you love that gives you deep, soundless sleep. Even in sleep, next to Chase I felt safe, enough to let down the wards of my mind. I didn’t dream. I didn’t have a nightmare. I just… slept.
And I suppose I haven’t actually cheated on Archer. The thoughts are there, with every moment I spend with Chase, but I haven’t acted on them. Archer won’t ever have to know about the night I spent in Chase’s bed.
I wasn’t even supposed to fall asleep in here—
Just then something hard pulses against my backside, and I gasp.
The noise makes him groan; he tugs me tighter against him, burying his face in the crook of my neck and thrusting his hips. Pushing his erection up between my legs.
