A crescent moon birthmark.
Chapter
Eighteen
Kingston
“King?”Sky asked in a trembling voice. “Do you think that’s…How do we have the same birthmark?”
“That’s a good question,” I muttered, wishing it wasn’t the middle of the night. It seemed that Gran and Pops had left something out.
Standing, I helped Sky up and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Let’s go back to bed and see if we can get some real rest. We’ll deal with this in the morning.”
He sighed, leaning into me for a second. He fit so perfectly tucked into me, small and unassuming. The fear returned. I didn’t want him tethered to me, linked to my nighttime wanderings. I wanted him to sleep safely through the night. Hell, I wanted to go back to hovering in that space and collecting data. I was a geek, a nerd, not some badass capable of rescuing other mortals from their nightmares.
“Let me take my contacts out and wash my face.” He wrapped his hand around the back of my head and pulled me down for one more kiss. “I’ll meet you in the bedroom.”
“Okay.”
As I reached down to pick up my sleep clothes, he shoved me gently. “Nope. We’re sleeping naked, big guy. I’m not wasting this opportunity.”
I left him—and my clothes—and made my way back to his bed. What had he meant by not wasting the opportunity? Was this a one-and-done for him? It hadn’t felt that way, but what did I know? I’d never had a real relationship, and Sky was from the big city. Maybe he…
No, that didn’t ring true. Sky was as protective of his friendship with Chance as I was of mine with Jetty. Our best friends were in the forever kind of love, which meant Sky and I had a lifetime of seeing each other and interacting. He wouldn’t set out to make that weird any more than I would.
Hearing him, I looked up. He was still in his birthday suit, too, but he’d added a pair of black-framed glasses, and holy hell, was he even more gorgeous than before. “Damn.”
He dipped his head shyly. “You don’t have to lie.”
Rising up, I went to him and tipped his head up. “I’m not. Who knew you could get any more attractive?” Pink tinged his cheeks, drawing my attention to a constellation of freckles scattered across his cheeks and nose. I grinned. “And freckles, too? You’ve been hiding all the good stuff.”
He batted at my arm playfully. “Shut up. They make me look twelve.”
Nuzzling into the side of his neck, I growled. “Nope. They make you look sexy.” I licked a stripe up his skin.
Arms wrapped around my shoulders. “Really?”
I’d never heard that kind of insecurity in his voice before. Not in him or any of my friends. That was how my inner monologue sounded, hesitant and unsure. I didn’t like hearing Sky doubting anything about himself. He was perfection.
Bending at the knees, I picked him up under his lush little tush and bounced him onto the bed, coming down on top of him. “Sky, I didn’t think you could get any more lovely, but these”—I ran a finger over the frames of his glasses and down to trace a pattern over the brown dots scattering his face—“are fun. And they make you softer, somehow. More approachable.”
He wrapped his legs around my waist and huffed. “If you say so.”
I kissed the tip of his nose. “I do.” Before our bodies decided it was time for more sexy times, I fell down next to him and drew him into my arms. “But we need sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be another long day.”
“Do you have to go to work?” he asked, running his hand through the hair on my chest.
My long-term hook-up hadn’t been too fond of my fuzzy chest, but Sky seemed to enjoy it, which was a relief. I didn’t picture myself waxing, but I’d do it for Sky. “No, I’m going to take another sick day.”
He hummed. “Ego won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon. Do you maybe want to spend the day together? Not like we did today,” he said quickly. “I mean, just us. Maybe we could go to town and walk around or to the boardwalk.”
The mention of Ego, his sexy popstar client, set my teeth on edge. I’d planned to drill my grandparents more thoroughly tomorrow. The stories of their exploits had been interesting—and slightly terrifying—but they hadn’t given us any real meat. I still didn’t really know what to do or why. How had they decided Sky was my tether, and what did these weird birthmarks mean?
Most of all, how had he ended up dreamwalking with me tonight when we hadn’t drank her special blend? None of it made sense, and I seriously didn’t want to go to bed tomorrow night without more of a handle on things.
On the other hand, Sky was asking for time…with me. In the past, when he’d tried to come to my house or asked to follow me out to the pond, I’d still been so unsure of why he wanted to be with me. Seeing his actual dream, his fantasy, and knowing for myself that he desired me, I wanted more of that. I wanted us to get to know each other as Sky and King instead of part of the Willowhope Manor crew.
I squeezed him closer. “Sounds good.”
