Page 88 of Heathen

"I never pictured myself being taken care of. I've always had to take care of myself."

"Now you have someone looking out for you," I assure her.

"Speaking of perfect," she whispers with a gentle smile, and I can't resist pressing my lips to hers.

I want her happy. I want her to wake up every day and spend the hours exactly how she wants to. I don't want her to have to worry about money or bills or anything that might bring a frown to her gorgeous face. Smiles from now on and that's it.

"You remember you said that the next time you get upset with me," I tell her when the kiss breaks. "How much longer do we have to stay down here?"

Kaylee pulls back, her eyes roaming the room until they find the spotlight and Morgan under it, chatting with a small group of people.

"Long enough for me to run upstairs and grab my things," she says, her eyes full of mischief.

I turn to follow her toward the staircase, but she presses a hand to my chest.

"If you go up there with me, we probably won't leave until tomorrow," she says.

"I like where your head is at," I say, my body already getting ready in anticipation of the things we can do with each other after confessing our true feelings.

"Not so fast, Romeo," she says, her hand firm against my chest. "I'll be right back. Five minutes."

I'm itching to follow her up the stairs, but with what I have in mind for her later, I really need to stay on her good side right now.

Chapter 36

Kaylee

How is he here?

I look over my shoulder and find Ellis watching me ascend the stairs. It's like a fairytale, and instead of thinking about just how unrealistic this is, I'm going to revel in it.

I'm going to stop second-guessing myself and finally give myself a chance to be happy.

His explanation of what I heard him say was simple, and I could see the shock on his face when he asked me if I had been asleep the other night during his confessions. He was being genuine.

He's nothing like Troy, and I can't continue to punish him for the heartache another man caused. It isn't fair to either one of us.

He jolts when I trip over the damn dress because I'm not paying attention, but I hold up a hand to him as he begins to climb the stairs to get me. I swear he'll end up wrapping me in bubble wrap if I'm not careful, and I don't think I've ever felt more precious to someone else than I do to him at this moment.

My smile is wide when I enter the room, not bothering to turn on the light and using the light from the landing so I can grab my bag. I knew it wouldn't take me long to gather my things because I didn't bother to unpack.

I head to the bathroom, swiping my dirty clothes from earlier off the counter, but a shadow fills the doorway when I turn to leave.

I smile at first, thinking it's Ellis and I just can't see his face from the way it's backlit by the light outside the room. It's veryreminiscent of the time we stayed up late talking and he could see my face in the moonlight but I couldn't see his.

I realize much too late that it isn't him. I should've known that because this man is wearing a suit rather than a giant purple eggplant costume. He's on me before I can scream, with one hand covering my mouth and the other wrapping around my throat.

He presses until my vision begins to swim, and as much as I fight against him, his hold is just too strong. Before my vision fades to black, I feel cheated. I should've at least had one night of bliss with my husband before I died.

***

If I thought my head ached when I woke up this morning with my stomach sloshing full of wine was bad, it has nothing on how my head feels now.

I realize my arms are tied down at my sides when I try to raise them to press my fingers into my throbbing forehead.

I don't have enough time to figure out what the hell happened when I notice a shadow looming over the bed.

I try to scream but there's something in my mouth, and the threat of what it might be nearly has me wrenching. I cough against the fabric, but it's wedged inside my mouth so tightly that barely any sound comes out.

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