Page 71 of What I Should Have Known

Gentle hands, roughened from work I still knew so little about, planted against both sides of my face. Pressure forced my gaze back to hers. “I won’t break it. And if, for whatever reason, I have to be the one to come find you, I will. Everyone deserves that. Even you.” She eased my head toward her, laying me down in her lap. Soft fingers threaded through my hair, dancing across my skin, tracing along the lines of my jaw.

“Especially you,” she whispered.

I had no idea what this was, but I had no fight in me to protest it. Only because it was Kat. Settling on my side, I sank into her touch.

The steady tick of a clock hummed in the background as I lay there, curled up on the bed with her slowly stroking my hair. I was the one who should’ve given her the aftercare. The snuggling and gentle caresses. But here we were, withherholding me. Withherfingers in my hair.

I slithered my arms around her hips, pressing my hands against her ass, and pulled her closer to me. She didn’t actually move, but I just needed her to know that this was something I hadn’t realized my soul longed for.

Something I’d really needed.

“We should talk about whatever you found out at some point.” She broke the silence, but with a voice as warm and sweet as hers was, I didn’t mind.

“I need you to eventually look at the drawing of that spider tattoo on my dresser and tell me if you recognize it or not. And I’m just waitingfor Griffin to call back with information on what law enforcement might know about this gang. If they’re even willing to say something. The more I know about them, the better I can protect you,” I lazily replied.

She inhaled deeply. “You haven’t even told me what you and Sawyer talked about.”

“Oh, shit. Right,” I muttered. And through the quiet and tender bliss, I explained to her everything I learned and what I’d pieced together about these local drug dealers and, most importantly, how it affected her.

Her fingers slowed, faltering in their massage. “Am I going to get hurt?”

Shooting up, every nerve firing within my body, the entire ambience changed. “I won’t let anything fucking happen, you hear me.”

“But you can’t let Sawyer get hurt either. He’s my brother.”

“I didn’t promise him that. I promised I’d keep you safe. And I will, no matter the cost.”

“Bernie, for me. Please,” she quietly said, and I leaned back against the pillows.

Refusing her request was something I couldn’t bring myself to do. Even if it created another layer of stickiness to the already convoluted situation. She deserved everything.

And I would give her everything.

“All right, I make no guarantees because he still needs to tell your parents, but I’ll do my best,” I replied.

“Good, now give me a second.” She swung her legs around and slid off the bed. Padding barefoot over to the dresser, I watched her hips sway and didn’t hold back the smirk from my face. Propping an arm back behind my head, I gave her a shrill whistle.

“Damn, that ass,” I said.

She didn’t even look at me as she flipped me the middle finger.

Clutching my stomach, I boomed with laughter. There was the spunk, the fire that had captured me in the first place.

“Did you draw this?” she asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Dom helped me fine-tune it, but yeah. Why?”

“This is really good.” Silence filled the room, and I studied the back of her body, doing everything to memorize each curve, each ripple in her figure.

Eventually, she exhaled. “No, I don’t—” She tipped her head, closing her mouth mid-sentence. “Wait, no. I’ve seen this before.”

Swirling around, her eyes slid sideways, the wheels clearly spinning in her mind. “It was only once, I think. A year or so ago, right before my dad and Wyatt’s parents met to make some agreement about money when Wyatt and I get married.”

“Kat, Sawyer mentioned Wyatt doesn’t get his inheritance until he’s married. Is it specificallyto you?” I asked, leaning forward.

Her gaze finally met mine. “Yes, it’s not just marriage in general, but marriage to me. Sawyer isn’t aware of that specific detail, but yeah. Shit, I totally forgot about that.”

“Kat, you do realize that would’ve been nice to know from the beginning.”

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