Page 17 of The Infinite Light of Dust

His espresso-colored eyes shone at me, humor in them despite the intensity of the topic. “You’re capable . . . when you’re distracted.” The air between us shifted and chills ran over me as he put his arms on either side of me, practically pinning me against the wall.

“Distraction sounds nice.” I gulped.

“It does.” His mouth moved to my chin, slowly kissing across my jawline.

He lifted me up, my thighs wrapped around his waist, and we moved into my treatment room, never breaking at the mouth. His kiss was wild, more desperate than expected, but I mimicked it, letting my built-up longing crackle and burst between us as he laid me on the bed. I never in a million years would have imagined myself as the type to do something like this at my workplace, but my house and Kael’s were full, and we both deserved the distraction, the connection that would drown out the rest of the world.

Chapter Eleven

Karina

“A cookout? All of us? Do we think that’s a good idea?” I asked Kael, leaning up a little so my chin rested on his bare chest.

It felt like we had barely spent time together in the past week even though we had found tiny ways to spend even ten minutes together. Him helping me at work, me bringing food by his place; he even sat with me while I got an oil change and tire rotation during the break between his discharge meetings. We still hadn’t had a full conversation about what was going to happen to us in the very, very near future, but that was a future Karina problem. Right now, the idea of losing him, even to a city in the same state, made me want to curl into a ball and scream until my throat burst.

“I’m not saying it’s the best idea. But it’s happening anyway, and we can either go or not go, but I probably have to go to make sure everyone survives,” he said in a low voice, with a touch of humor.

“It would be funny if it wasn’t reality.” I sighed, closing my eyes as he brushed my hair to tuck it behind my ear. His fingers played with my earlobe, an extremely relaxing touch. “I wish you weren’t the designated babysitter, but thank god there is one, I guess?”

“I’m tired of being the babysitter too. Trust me. But, Karina, if you don’t want to go, you really don’t have to.”

I shook my head. “Anywhere you go, I go.”

“Hmm, I love the sound of that.” He grinned. My heart ached as it sang.

“So, when is it?”

“Tomorrow night.” He smiled bigger to counteract my eye roll.

“Of course it is. I do miss Gloria. I haven’t seen her in a week and a bit. I feel like we’ve been in a vortex.”

“We have. You’ve been working your ass off and I’ve been trying to get that damn place done so I don’t have two idiots who hate each other but love the same woman staying in my house.”

“Do you think Phillips really loves her?” I asked Kael. He squeezed me to him, kissing my forehead.

“I’m not sure. For sure he thinks he does, but that doesn’t mean he loves her the way he should.”

“We all have our own versions of love, and that’s hard for me to understand. It seems so easy. You love someone and respect them, protect them, make their lives easier. Simple. But he doesn’t do any of those things for her. Maybe he did before, but they hardly knew each other when they got married.”

Kael agreed. “But your brother . . . he loves her. He’s doing everything he can do to protect her even though it’s hurting him. So, he loves her in a different way.”

“In a better way,” I added.

“I wouldn’t be able to be in the same room as Phillips if that was you. I would have killed him the moment he even thought about touching a single hair on your head,” Kael said.

The threat came out casually but I could feel it was genuine. I was so proud of Elodie for standing her ground and putting herself and the baby first. The road ahead for her was going to be bumpy as hell to say the least, but as a group or a family, it didn’t seem as terrifying. I was relieved that we all had each other, and someone like Kael to watch over and handle all of us.

The next night I couldn’t decide what to wear and my room was a tornado of every item of clothing I owned. I stood in front of the mirror in a loose-fitting black dress with thin straps and buttons at the top, and an oversized tan cardigan around my shoulders. I debated whether to wear the leg warmers I’d gotten at a garage sale last year after I saw someone on Pinterest wearing them but pulled them over my legs anyway. Elodie came into my room as I scrunched the tops down a bit.

“You look so cute! I love this outfit, very autumn,” she gushed, a genuine smile on her face and light in her eyes.“Très chic!”

She was wearing jeans and a long sweater, tight at the stomach but loose everywhere else, and her hair was tied low against her neck with a few loose strands by her ears.

“You look so cute too. Are the leg warmers weird?” I asked, doing a half twirl in the mirror.

“No, I love them,” she said, gently untucking some of my hair from under my cardigan. “And I love when you have your hair like this.” She fluffed my wild hair. I’d let it air-dry and the universe was on my side today, the waves falling in the right place for once.

“Thank you.” I leaned against her a little and stared at our reflections. Two women trying their hardest to figure out life and where we fit into it—a beautiful and terrifying thing.

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