Page 81 of Ink & Stardust

“And you know I’m always here, right? A listening ear. A shoulder to cry on. Someone to celebrate your happiness with. Whatever it is. I’m just a phone call away.”

I realize in this moment just how truly blessed I am to have her.

“Thanks, Mom.” I pull her into a tight hug. “For everything.”

“Always,” she whispers. “Always.”

It takes us longer than it should, but we do eventually finish the dishes, and I spend the remainder of the evening loving on two little girls that I have missed very much.

It isn’t until everyone has left, and I find myself in the silence of my childhood bedroom that I let my mind sift back through everything that happened today. My altercation with Leo. River’s reaction to it. My mother’s reassuring words. Finally admitting to myself that whether Kai feels the same or not, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m still in love with him.

When I close my eyes, he’s all I see. The scruff of facial hair along his jaw. The fullness of his lips. The small bump across his nose that somehow makes him even more attractive. And his eyes. Eyes I’m certain I’d never tire of staring into. Eyes that see me in a way no one ever has before.

I think about his touch, his kiss, the way a single graze of his fingertips can drive me wild. And then I think about never feeling any of those things again. Never counting the tiny specks of green that pepper his blue eyes again. Never feeling the intoxication of his kiss or the fire of his touch.

The thought leaves me with a hollow feeling that haunts me well into my dreams. Because even in sleep, I can’t escape the hold this man has on me. I know it’s only been a couple of months, but he’s already burrowed so deep, I know with complete certainty that no matter what the future holds for us, I’ll carry the memory of him for the rest of my life.

Chapter Fourteen

“I missed you.” Kai nuzzles his face into my neck, kissing the top of my collarbone.

“I can tell.” I run my hand through his hair, my body perfectly sated, but my heart and mind are still at odds with one another, indecision weighing on me like a blanket made of stone.

“What gave me away?” I feel him smile against my skin. “The fact that I waited all of ten seconds to strip you bare or how I haven’t let you out of this bed since?”

“Both.” I giggle when he squeezes my side. “You know, you’ll have to feed me eventually,” I tell him, my stomach grumbling loudly as if on cue.

“I suppose I have neglected to feed you for several hours.” He pulls back, not an ounce of apology on his face.

“You have.” I pull my bottom lip through my teeth to keep my smile from splitting my face in two. It’s nearly impossible to do when this man just makes me so incrediblyhappy.

It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that just a couple of months ago, I wondered if happiness was something I’d ever truly feel again. Now, here I am, feeling ready to burst apart at the seams with it. I just wish I could fully embrace it. And maybe one day soon, I will.

“As much as I would like to keep you right here for the foreseeable future...”

“We don’t have to leave in order for you to feed me,” I tell him. “We could just order in.”

“We could.” His smile spreads.

“We should.” I match his smile with one of my own.

“Pizza?”

“Pizza sounds amazing.” I let out a satisfied sigh as he rolls out of bed, giving me the perfect view of his glorious backside. “And while you do that, I should text Charlotte and Maisie and let them know I got back to campus safely.” I roll to the side and grab my phone off the nightstand.

I had every intention of going back to my dorm after dropping off the rental car, but then a certain someone called me and well, I never made it there. I mean, technically, I’m only a couple blocks away, not that either of them knows that. And considering I said I’d be backhoursago.

I watch Kai slip into a pair of shorts before pulling up my text thread with Maisie and Char, firing off a quick message. By the time I’m done, Kai is already on the phone with the pizza place. He doesn’t ask what I want. He already knows, given that this is definitely not the first time we haven’t wanted to leave this bed to eat.

He casually paces the room as he places our order. He makes even the most mundane tasks incredibly sexy. Then again, I don’t think there’s a single thing this man could do that isn’t sexy.

He stalks toward me seconds after ending the call, dropping his phone next to mine before crawling back into bed. I scoot up, settling myself in the crook of his arm as I rest my cheek on his bare chest.

“I never got the chance to ask how your Thanksgiving was,” I say, swirling my finger in circles across his abdomen.

“It was good. All things considered, it was pretty uneventful, really. Would have been a lot better if you had been there, that’s for sure.”

My heart stutters in my chest.

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