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His fingertips stroked up and down the bare skin of her arm, tracing over goose bumps. All too well, she could imagine those fingers touching her elsewhere. Her imagination was beyond compare, her crutch when things got rough. Picturing Saul caressing her more intimately did funny things to her insides.
Full with a hot dog, a handful of popcorn, and a small square of chocolate, she was content. Saul’s body heat warmed her, making her drowsy, and the steady rise and fall of his chest as she leaned against his side lulled her further.
“Here, bunny.” Saul shifted carefully, and suddenly she found herself on her side, stretched out with her cheek on his strong thigh. He reached to the back of the couch and grabbed one of the folded blankets, tucking it under her head. “Go to sleep, Caera. I’ve got you. Just catch an hour or so if you need it.”
His hand rested on her hair, his fingers massaging her scalp gently, playing with her rather than turning it into a sensual act. When she risked a peek up at him, his attention was riveted on the battle between dinosaur and man. She sighed and let herself relax.
After a while, she drifted, balancing on the fine line between consciousness and sleep. She nuzzled against Saul’s leg more than once, and his hands were there to stroke and soothe. Every so often, her eyes popped open to blearily peruse her surroundings and make sure she was where she was supposed to be.
“This is not going to plan.”
It was no more than a whisper, but Caera heard his voice clearly. She stretched a little, snuffling softly. His hand rubbed gently over her shoulder.
“Something tells me you’re going to be a lot of trouble, little rabbit, but I think you’re worth whatever you throw back at me. I don’t know if I’m ready for you. I hope I am—you need someone solid and stable in your life. Maybe I can give you what you need, be what you need me to be.”
Oh please, she thought dreamily. Please be mine. She curled her fingers into the material of his pants, holding on. Wouldn’t that be lovely? To have someone who wanted to stay with her, be with her, support her? Her family, the ones supposed to love and cherish her no matter what, had thrown her aside like trash.
This was so different to what she could have imagined. The shy, remote, nervous woman she’d been for so long was slowly withering away. Never had she believed she would be here like this, dozing on a man’s thigh while his hands stroked her.
Something had changed when Saul had walked in on her in the bathroom.
Maybe because he’d been so patient with her? Pickpocketing his way into her head and finding some magical way to soothe her anxiety. Caera kind of liked the fact he knew how to calm her, how to keep the fear from rising up and smothering her.
It was like finding the missing half to make her whole.
“You are,” she whispered absently, forgetting to stay quiet, and felt the hand on her shoulder tighten. “I think you could be my everything.”
“You’re awake.” Saul sighed deeply. “Ooops.”
“Ooops?” Caera mumbled.
“Yeah, big oops. I thought you’d fallen asleep.” He tucked a lock of hair around her ear; she felt her heart swell in response. “It’s stupid, I know, to think along these lines when we’ve known each other all of twenty-four hours. But I want to take you places, Caera. I want you to know who I am, what I do. There’s so many wants running wild in my head.”
Caera pushed against his thigh, struggling to sit up. His hands were warm, the sensation of his skin on hers simply electric, as he helped her gain her balance. “We can get to know each other, Saul. You’re on first name terms with my inner monster already—nobody in my life has ever been able to deal with it as easily as you have. That includes me.”
Saul’s eyes were dark, deep, when he captured her gaze. “There’s no monster, Caera. It’s just emotion, tightly wound emotion, with no place to go. It rips and tears at you when your defenses are down because it’s the only chance it has to be free.”
“Whatever it is, it’s the wrench in the wheel of my life.”
“It’s what brought you here, brought you to me. Who knows, without it, you could be a millionaire, a wife, a mother.” Saul leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Or you could be living in a cardboard box with only a feral rat as company. Personally, I like where you are right now.”
Her bottom lip trembled. He was right. She could have had a family, children, a husband. Her parents might still love her instead of throwing her away—or she could be dying from starvation and disease, cold and alone, in the shadows of the streets. “Kiss me? Please?”
“Come here.” He lifted her so she straddled his lap. “I do like this pretty mouth of yours. It makes me think of so many naughty things I could do with it.”
Caera gripped his shoulders, her knees clutching his thighs. This position left her feeling vulnerable, open. She was spread wide and although she was fully dressed, she couldn’t help looking down between her legs to check there weren’t any holes in the crotch of her pants.
Saul set his feet on the coffee table, then slid Caera down his legs until the firm bulge of his erection pressed unavoidably to the heat of her sex. She gulped audibly and cursed the warmth that rushed to her face when he chuckled.
“There are some people I’d like you to meet when we leave here,” he said quietly, tracing her mouth with his fingertips. The look in his eyes radiated intent, salacious and intense. “They’ll be delighted to make your acquaintance, although I’m not entirely sure they won’t be a bad influence on you.”
“I don’t…I’m not interested in meeting another shrink.” Connie was more than enough psychologist to deal with, without adding another pair of eyes to peer into her brain.
“No, no more shrinks, I promise. These people are…unique, and my friends.”
Caera pushed her hands against his shoulders. “I think you’ve probably deduced that I’m not blessed in the friends department, right? Like, I have zero. I’m not exactly a social mastermind, able to lure the masses into friendship.” She shuddered at the thought. “It’s hard knowing what to say. Trying to guess whether someone likes you.”
Smiling, he touched his index finger to her bottom lip. “My friends will like you, little rabbit, I guarantee it. No guessing necessary. If you have zero friends, you definitely need some, and I will provide a starter pack of the best, most supportive friends you could ask for. They understand what it’s like to be different.”
