Page 77 of Brightness

“Hurt me? You hurt me real good, Void.”

She knew. She knew that at this moment, I needed to be me again.

Not Cade from moments ago.

That’s why I can never let her go.

I don’t think my heart could take it.

“I fucked up,” I admit. “I came inside you.”

She smiles. “A few weeks before we left, Eva gave me a packet of her contraceptive pills. I’ve been taking them.”

I lean in, pressing my forehead to hers. “I need to thank Eva. But right now, let’s go inside and shower. We’ve both had a big day, and I think we need to unwind… together.”

Ivy rolls on her side, facing me. “I’m sorry I scared you… in the water. I don’t know why, but I wanted to float in it. Everything got a little too much for a moment there.”

“When shit gets hard, when your mind can’t take the load, talk to me. We’re a team. We’re in this together. I don’t ever want to see something like that again. It scared the living hell out of me, Ivy.”

“I know. And it won’t happen again. I promise I’ll come to you. It’s you and me against the world.”

“Yeah, baby. Just you, me… and the gators.”

Her brow furrows, but then her eyes widen as the realization hits. “Gators?” she whispers. “There’s alligators in there? You didn’t tell me there were alligators!” She slaps at my chest. “You’re kidding, right?”

With a laugh, I lean in, pressing my lips to hers until she melts against me again.

This woman gives me peace, but I can’t help my mind drifting to the flashes of white I saw before Ivy came back to me. I don’t know if my head is playing tricks on me, or if this is something I need to talk to Nycto about.

But right now, while I’m holding Ivy, it’s not the time to think about this shit.

So I let the white vision drift from my mind.

Chapter Nineteen

Void

After showering and getting ourselves warm, we’re all snuggled up on the sofa. Ivy has her legs over mine and her body draped against me. I swear I’ve never been the type of man who was into affection. It was drilled into me from an early age that tenderness wasn’t even a thing. It was all about sex, doing what had to be done, then leaving. So, needless to say, cuddling with a woman is new territory for me. I might have been a lot of Ivy’s firsts, but fuck if she isn’t getting a few of mine as well.

My fingers play with her hair as I release a contented sigh.

Ivy glances up at me. “That sounded contemplative.”

“I was thinking about how you’re changing me.”

Raising her brow, she smiles. “In a good way, I hope.”

“I’ve never been the type of guy to admit when I like someone. Hell, I’ve never been the type of guy to even like someone, so this…” I wave my hand around to encompass us, “… is all new to me.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, this is kind of new to me too, but I’m glad we’re experiencing it together.”

Leaning in, I kiss her, and my hand runs through her hair, holding her to me.

For so long—actually, most of my life—I’ve been a void. Completely empty inside, lacking empathy and emotion for anyone or anything. Until Ivy.

I had no clue how the world could change, how colors could seem brighter, how sounds could be clearer. Everything is simply better with someone in your life who means fucking everything to you.

The problem with that is… it also means you have something to lose.

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