AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Lucky!” I yelled and his stormy eyes shot to my face.
He jerked back in surprise, a brief flash of annoyance on his face. “What?”
“Check. The fucking. Car seat,” I bit out each word.
His face cleared. “Aw. Okay. You’re struggling. Is this an OCD thing?”
His understanding eased the tension in my chest, and I pulled in a deep breath. “Yes.”
“Minty,” he began. “It’s fine. I don’t need to check. I trust you fully.”
Trapped. Suffocating. I needed space.
I stalked away from the car. My dress swished around my lower thighs reminding me of Lucky’s calloused fingers brushing over my quivering flesh the night before, reminding me of his eyes on me before we left, warming with appreciation and promise.
I focused on that instead of Brayleigh’s broken body.
“Minty?”
“I need you to check the car seat,” I whispered. I wasn’t even sure he could hear me.
Gentle hands landed on my shoulders. “I don’t think I’m supposed to check…” he petered off, unsure, trying to do the right thing.
Decisions.
Compromises.
Bloody, broken, and bruised.
Pavement painted red.
I pivoted on my heel, his husky voice in my ears, my heart in my throat. When I reached Brayleigh’s door, I opened it fully, reached in, unlatched her car seat and gently pulled the straps down her arms.
Calm and sleepy, she reached for me.
I picked her up and cuddled her close, holding her too tightly, as I wished the image away. When Lucky reached me, I gently transferred her into his arms, walked around to my side of the car, got in and closed the door.
He quickly strapped her in, swung into the car and reached for my hand.
“Minty,” he began.
“Please, Lucky,” I beseeched him. “I’m exhausted. Please let’s just go home.”
“Okay, baby. No problem.”
I leaned my forehead against the window, watching the world pass by.
What I wouldn’t give to be out on his bike instead of trapped in my brain, locked in this car.
1-2-3-4-5-1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5-1-2-3-4-5
Again and again and again until I lost count and needed a reset. I flexed my fingers. Open. Closed.
They’re not even.
I pressed them into the tender skin of my thighs.
