Page 174 of Patching Over

My smile is slow to bloom, because in all reality, that was one of the reasons I enjoyed the ride so much. I could feel the untapped power in his body as he maneuvered his bike. Seeing his muscles bulge during the turns, feeling the heat emanate from his body had me thinking of other, more pleasurable things. The vibration coursing through me from his bike didn’t hurt either.

“I enjoyed it, Kracken.”

“Good. Let’s go watch a movie until we fall asleep. I’ll call Brick in the morning and see what the status is in Lynchburg, because I’m sure you’re ready to settle.”

I nod my head so he knows I hear him, then add, “Okay. Don’t forget to let Hawg know which house we picked out.”

“He already knows. Shot him a text when we were eating earlier.” This isn’t shocking information; those guys are quick on the draw when it comes to taking care of business.

I giggle because I feel like he’s always trying to stuff food down my throat. While I know I’ve lost far too much weight, I also realize it’s highly unlikely it’ll come back as quickly as it disappeared. Besides that, he might not like a curvier me, and as much as I’m growing to care about him, that would break my heart.

I wake up to total silence, save the slight hissing noise coming from the fireplace. The television is off, but so is the DVD player right below it, so I surmise that what the caretaker warned Kracken about actually came to pass. I don’t know if Kracken turned the tv off or not, because the generator is supposed to power it, and I can hear the slight hum of the refrigerator. As I try to slide out from underneath his arm, it tightens and I hear his sleepy voice ask, “Where ya going?”

“To the bathroom,” I softly reply. “Power’s out.”

He raises up on an elbow and looks around before he comes up with his phone in his hand. “Here, got the flashlight app going, use that so you don’t stumble into anything, okay?”

“Thanks,” I state, taking the phone from him. “I’ll be right back.” Once I slip free of the bedding, a chill races up and down my spine. I had doubts about it getting chilly in the summertime, but the caretaker was right, we needed the fire for warmth.

Once I’m in the bathroom, I quickly take care of business, then wash my hands and brush my teeth, since I fell asleep during the second movie. I carefully make my way back to the bed and slide in, then smile when I feel Kracken settle the blankets around us once again after he pulls me into his arms. Handing him his phone, he tosses it next to him, never letting go of me in the meantime.

“I don’t much like the dark,” I mutter. Despite the roaring fire going, there are a lot of places around the room that are pitch black, which remind me of when Belle and I were taken.

“Talk to me, sweetheart,” he says, his fingers sliding through my hair.

“It brings up bad memories,” I admit, unwilling to dissect what happened the first time.

“Then maybe we should make some new ones,” he suggests.

“I think I’d like that,” I reply, reaching up to stroke his face.

“No matter what, if you feel uncomfortable with anything, anything at all, you stop me, okay?” he asks.

“Okay.”

CHAPTER

EIGHTEEN

Kracken

If Moira’s heart is beating as quickly as mine is, then we might be finished before we even start. Taking a few calming breaths, I lean in and kiss her. It’s soft at first, as I’m taking my cues from her. When she deepens it, I allow her to take the lead, even though it’s against my nature to do so. Still, it takes everything in me to give this control to her. I suspect she knows because of how I’ve already been around her so far. As we kiss, one thing is certain, she was never given the opportunity to say yes.

“I like kissing you,” she softly says. “I… I don’t know how much I’ll be able to handle, Kracken.”

“Like I said, it’s in your hands. Your choice. Not some piece of shit boy who can’t take the word ‘no’, Moira,” I reply. “You have all the control here, sweetheart.”

A tear rolls down her face, but she smiles as she rolls so she’s straddling me and leans in to kiss me. “Thank you.”

Deciding to ease the tension, I tease, “So what’s next?”

“Well, truthfully, all I have to go on are movies and they only go so far,” she admits.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“I know you know what they did to me, and I’d rather not bring them into bed with us,” she says. “But I’ll give you one thing so hopefully you understand. They had no clue what foreplay was, it was all tie me down with my legs spread, climb on, and do what they wanted. There was no tenderness, no preparation, none of that, Kracken. So, while I feel good kissing you, I honestly have no idea what to do next.”

My heart breaks for my ol’ lady; she’s been to Hell and back, not given even basic human kindness for the most part, and something that should be enjoyable at the very least, has been anything but that for her.

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