Page 113 of Shadow and Skulls

“Fuck you are.” He hits himself on the head a few times, no doubt trying to get Kelsie and me out of his brain.

I laugh. “Problem?”

“Hell.” He waves me off and turns to walk away.

“JD.”

“Yeah?” He pauses briefly to look back at me.

“Be careful with her. I know the club is used to this kind of stuff, but my ex, well, she’s a lot. I’ll just leave it at that.”

“I just want to make sure she’s okay. That’s all.”

Chapter Fifty-One

Kelsie

My hands shake, and I squeeze my eyes closed when the door clicks shut.It’s not him. It’s not him.

I feel the cool air brush over my skin as he lifts the comforter. The bed dips as he slides in next to me. So familiar, so fresh in my mind. It takes everything in me not to reach for my gun as his face drops close to mine, his breath hot on my cheek. As soon as his warm body wraps around me, and his scent wafts over my face, I sink into him.

Ah, that’s better.

I release the breath I was holding. “Is JD okay?”

“He’s fine,” he murmurs, snuggling his face into the crook of my neck. “You saw me coming. I must be losing my touch.” Suddenly, his head lifts from the pillow. “You painted the ceiling?”

I open my eyes and watch the stars flicker over the darkly painted dome above us.

“But I thought it was your safe place?”

My chest squeezes at the hint of worry in his tone. “It was … is,” I say quietly.

He rubs his hand over my stomach. “Maybe you can take me there someday. Was it a real place?”

“I don’t know.” I turn in his arms, and I’m met with the calm green of his stare. “Have you ever had that feeling of longing for a place you’ve never been? You can almost see it in your mind, but it’s fuzzy and just out of reach. All you really know is that your heart aches for it. It’s like being homesick.”

“Yeah, I know exactly what you’re talking about.” He wraps his leg over mine, pulling me closer.

“That’s where I go.” I debate whether I should elaborate.

His thumb rubs over my cheek as he waits for me to continue. It’s one of the things I love about him. He never pushes me.

He listens, even in my silence.

“The first time I went there,” I pause, swallowing, “it wasn’t foggy. It was real. The sky was so blue, and the breeze carried the scent of freshly cut grass. It was such a contrast to where I’d just been that I fell to my knees. It was quiet there; the only sound was the flutter of a turtledove’s wings. It was like the universe opened the door to paradise and let me step through.”

I lean forward and press my forehead against his chest. “I’m sorry. It sounds silly.”

He hugs me tight. “I don’t think it’s silly at all, but it doesn’t explain why you painted over it.”

“Because it’s still there, underneath the dark pigment of the paint.” I lean back to look at him.

Tank tips his head, staring at the dome above us as the stars he cut into the lantern flicker over it. His hand lightly rubs over my back. “Faith.”

“Faith,” I agree quietly.

His mouth slowly pulls up on one side as he rolls over the top of me. “If you wanted to see stars, all you had to do is ask.”

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