Page 113 of Walking in Darkness

“Nothing you do is silly, and no, we were hanging up anyway. You interrupted nothing, I promise. But I do have a concern,” Hudson said.

Of course he did. “Yeah?”

“The first time Gaura visited you, did you react like this?”

Oh boy. How was he supposed to answer that?

“Well, there’s my answer. You did, didn’t you?” Hudson asked.

“Look, that first time was different. I remembered everything because it wasn’t a dream like this was. I found out about my papa, how Lennox treated him, and so on. It was a lot.”

“And?”

Kit shrugged. “And as soon as I was awake, I hit the floor running. I barely made it into the bathroom before I threw up. But seriously, that was totally different. This really was nothing more than a dream.”

Hudson ran his hand over Kit’s hair. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that alone. I wish we had known. If we had, we certainly wouldn’t have left you alone in bed this morning.”

“No, we’re not going to do that either. You have nothing to feel bad about.” Kit could already see the guilt creeping across Hudson’s face. “You didn’t know. Hell, I didn’t know. And it wasn’t as bad as the first time. I just woke up scared.”

“Just woke up scared, he says.” Hudson wrapped his arms around Kit and pulled him into an embrace. “That hurts my heart hearing that.”

“It’s okay. I’m okay. You can’t protect me from everything. You know that, right?”

“That doesn’t mean I won’t try.”

Kit snuggled into Hudson’s arms. He didn’t doubt Hudson in the least. His mate really would try to do everything he possibly could to protect him, as would Connie.

Gaura said something that really stuck with Kit last night, and that was when they mentioned love. Kit was sure he was falling for both Hudson and Connie.

Hell, who was he kidding? He was probably already there. Hopefully, they felt the same about him. He was also sure they were already in love with each other, and oddly enough, that didn’t bother him.

He didn’t feel left out or like a third wheel, because whywouldn’tthey already be in love with each other? They’d been together for a while before Kit showed up. Love had had time to grow between them, but also there was room for him.

That was Gaura’s whole point, wasn’t it? There was room for him.

“I’m going to go take a shower before Connie is done swimming. I mentioned I wanted to see Connie’s hoard after breakfast, but do we have time?”

“Of course. You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m perfect.”

Hudson gently tugged on Kit’s long hair, then stood. “Yes, you are. I’m going back to my office and finishing up a few things. I’ll meet you in the living area in about forty minutes.”

“Sounds good.” Kit tossed the sheet back and climbed out of bed. As he walked past Hudson, his mate patted him on the ass.

Kit threw a wink over his shoulder and continued to the bathroom. He was really looking forward to the day.

AFTER BREAKFAST, they took one of Hudson’s vehicles to Connie’s cabin, which, in Kit’s opinion, was absolutely adorable. Kit followed Connie onto the covered front porch that sported a couple of rocking chairs off to the right.

Connie opened the door for them.

“Oh, wow.” Kit entered and stood in the middle of the open floor plan.

The soaring living room ceiling made the area feel roomy. A rugged, but beautiful, fireplace extended from the floor to the ceiling and was definitely the centerpiece of the room.

Kit made his way to it and admired the stones of varying sizes and shapes.

“They’re all sourced from the area,” Connie said.

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