Page 99 of Beautifully Broken Pieces
He swatted my hand away. “Well, I was actually thinking about asking if I could stay here a while. I need a break from LA. What do you say, Walker, think your family would rent me the place?”
Walker studied Liam, probably wondering the same thing I was.What was he hiding from in LA?We’d never gotten around to that heart-to-heart, but I’d make sure that happened sooner rather than later. “We’d be happy to have you stay on,” Walker said.
I grinned and clapped my hands like a five-year-old. All my favorite people in the same place. Walker pulled me down to his lap and kissed me soundly.
“Ew, gross, we’re about to eat,” Liam whined. Austin chucked a biscuit at him.
“I’m glad you’re happy, Short-stack.” Walker kissed the end of my nose.
“I’m the happiest.”
* * *
Shovingthe last drawer of Walker’s dresser—no,ourdresser—closed, I flopped back onto the bed. All my stuff was moved in. Well, the little I’d had sent to me from Texas. I’d have to get everything I had in storage sent up here, too, but there was no need to tell Walker that his home was about to be inundated with dozens of boxes of girlie things.
My eyes traveled around the space, taking everything in. This was the place I would make my home. It was gorgeous, with its high, beamed ceilings and wide-planked floors, but it could use a bit of a feminine touch. I grinned to myself as I wondered how Walker would react to decorative throw pillows.
I stared up at the ceiling, mentally planning a trip to one of the cute little home décor shops in town. Walker’s voice drifted in from the deck off the master bedroom as he talked on the phone. My shoulders tensed as I recognized the tone of concern in his voice.
I sat up, shoving myself against the pillows as Walker strode through the door. His eyes were pinched, and he scrubbed a hand down the side of his face. I patted the spot on the bed next to me. “How is she?”
Walker sat down on the edge of the bed, toeing off his boots and scooting up until he was reclined against the pillows, as well. He sighed. “She’s pretending everything’s fine, but I know it’s not. I hate that she won’t talk to me.”
Walker and I were both worried about Jensen. She’d broken down in tears the first time she saw me in the hospital, apologizing for bringing Bryce into all of our lives. None of this was her fault, but she couldn’t see it any other way and had completely shut down. Now, she refused to talk about Bryce or what had happened.
Walker traced circles on the back of my hand. “Do you think she’s mad at me for killing him?”
I sat up with a start. “What? No, Walker.” I grasped his hand in mine. “She hates him for what he did. She probably would have killed him herself. But Jensen blames herself. We just need to keep telling her none of this was her fault, even if she can’t hear it right now.”
Walker’s jaw hardened. “I wish I could kill him all over again for what he’s putting her through.”
Walker had been cleared of any wrongdoing in Bryce’s death, and Ashlee had been committed to a criminal psychiatric ward a few counties over, but the siblings’ presence was still sending ripples of pain throughout the community.
I squeezed Walker’s hand, not having adequate words to ease his pain. He tugged on my arm, pulling me to his chest. The rhythmic beating of his heart, the steadiness of it, brought comfort.
I pressed a kiss to his t-shirt-clad chest. “I wish I had the words to make it better.”
Walker’s lips brushed the top of my head. “You make it better just by being here, right like this.”
I lifted my head so that my chin rested on his sternum. There was so much love in his gaze, and I was overwhelmed by my need for him. My mouth met his as I climbed up the bed to straddle him.
Warmth flooded me as his lips caressed mine in a dance that was a mixture of comfort and heat. I rocked my hips against his, and Walker let out a groan as his eyes fell closed. I rocked again, and they flew open.
He tugged at the bottom of my shirt, pulling it up and over my head. His gaze traveled from my face then traced a line down the column of my neck to my breasts and lower. The look in Walker’s eyes hardened, and I tensed.
He traced his fingers, feather-light, over the raised scars on my belly, still an angry red. “I’m so sorry this happened. So fucking sorry I didn’t get to you in time.”
I placed two fingers under his chin, lifting it so that his eyes met mine. “You did get there in time. I’m here. I get to make a life with you. That’s what matters.”
With a growl, Walker flipped me onto my back so that he was between my legs and hovering over me. My breath caught in my throat as he cupped my cheek. “I love you so fucking much.” His words were a fierce battle cry.
Walker trailed a hand down my neck, moving lower and lower at a painfully slow pace. I leaned up as he reached behind me to unhook my bra. His gaze zeroed in on my nipples, and he bent to pull one into his mouth. He lapped and laved as I squirmed beneath him, pressing my thighs together to try and get some semblance of relief. It didn’t work.
Walker released my tight bud from his lips and kissed each one. “My favorite color, this dusky shade of pink when you’re turned on and your nipples are straining to get to me.”
My core tightened at his words, and I dipped a hand under his tee, trailing my fingers over his taut skin. Walker trailed his tongue lower. So very gently, he kissed his way down one scar and then the other.
My breath caught at the tender gesture. The warmth that had flooded me at his lips’ first touch caught fire now, giving me that beautiful burn. The blaze that caused my heart to clench and my nerve endings to sing.
