Page 32 of Hounded: Ashes to Ashes

“Nero cut out his tongue,” Whitney said.

I didn’t correct him. I wouldn’t have, even if I could.

The color left Indy’s face as he looked from Whitney to me. “What?”

I wanted to assure him it wouldn’t last. I would be whole again soon. But all I could do was press my teeth together and stay silent while Indy stroked my cheeks.

“It’s okay,” he said. “It’ll be okay. We’ll get you cleaned up, and everything will be fine.”

Nodding, I kissed the tip of his nose, then his lips. I could have lingered there but, with Whitney looking on, it felt too public for such private displays.

“I’ll run some water in the tub,” Sully chimed in.

I hadn’t even noticed she was in the room, and I felt a little guilty for my inattention. I owed her my thanks for getting Indy here after I’d been taken away. And for keeping him safe.

I set Indy gently on his feet and spotted Sully hanging back. Her cocoa brown skin shone with tears, and she daubed her nose with a tissue. When I caught her eyes, she waved me off.

“Don’t stop,” she said. “We’ll catch up later. He needs you more than I do.”

She dismissed herself, headed for the bathroom, and Indy caught hold of my hand.

He pressed into me, looping his other arm around my waist and laying his head on my chest as he looked at Whitney.

“Thank you,” he said.

Whitney nodded, then replied, “It was nothing.”

Indy’s arm cinched around my middle. “It’s fucking everything.He’smy everything, and I can’t…” His voice rose then quieted, choked by a swell of emotion.

Something was definitely different. The Indy I’d left in Pennsylvania didn’t feel this strongly about me. We were still getting acquainted, settling into his newest life. He told me I was important, and he knew that I loved him, but this was deeper.

The sense of his devotion soothed the ache that had plagued me for years. The need to be known. Wanted. Adored.

I felt it in his embrace, and I saw it in his expression when he told Whitney, “I really can’t thank you enough.”

Whitney dipped his chin in another nod as Indy stepped back and tugged on my hand.

“Come on, baby,” he said, leading while I readily followed. Across the apartment or around the world. I would go wherever he did, till the end of our last lifetime.

Indy

He didn’t looklike himself, and it jarred me. He’d been in rough shape the night he hooked our trailer up to his truck, dirty with ratted hair and a wild look in his eyes. This was worse than that.

Usually, Loren defined clean cut. He shaved daily and dressed in business casual for fun. He even ironed his pants. It was startling to see him ragged, heavily stubbled, and rendered physically speechless.

Hewasstill himself, though. Still gorgeous, and I told him so as we crowded into Sully’s shower. It wasn’t much bigger than the one in our trailer, but I didn’t mind the proximity. Loren let me rinse and soap his hair, making fleeting eye contact while I lathered the shampoo all the way through to the ends.

I started off focused and determined not to cry, but when the water ran gray with blood, and I saw the new scars on his lean, muscular body, I lost it. My eyes pulsed dry and hot while the shower’s spray provided the moisture I could not.

I wanted to be strong for him, but even Sully saidIneededhim, not the other way around.

And I had needed him. I did. More so since my memories came back.

I wasn’t strong.

I threw myself at him the same way I had when he first stepped through the wall. He hugged me close, and we stayed like that until his knees began to quake.

With the blood and grime washed away, we moved to the bathtub. Loren sat in front, nestled between my legs and arms as he lay back against me, blinking drowsily and breathing deep, slow.

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