Page 53 of Sinners' Appetite
Why is it that none of this feels like its happening too fast? I feel like I’ve known him for way longer than I have. The walls I’ve built to protect myself are non-existent when I’m around him. I trust him, and that’s the only part that scares me.
I’m not a clingy person. I never really have been but—he makes me crave being touched.
I hear a knock at the door before Malachi peeks his head in. “You’re here!” I quietly squeal.
“You’re still awake?” he asks as he walks over and gently wraps his arms around me.
“I’ve been playing solitaire.”
“You play solitaire?” He smirks, gently kissing my forehead as his fingers runs through my hair.
“No, I had to download it.”
He starts to laugh, sitting down on the edge of my bed. “It was too early in the morning to buy gummy bears anywhere, so I found the next best thing, in the vending machine.”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small package of rainbow gummy strips.
“I love pulling those apart by color…” I chuckle, reaching for them and ripping them open.
He smiles and gets up to pull a chair up beside my bed. “I have something to ask you.”
“Ask away…”
“Since Paul is still out there somewhere… I want to take you out of town for a while.”
“I can’t leave Sa—”
“Hear me out… Sammi and Jeremy can come with us. My best friend owns a property and there’s several cabins.”
“What about our jobs?”
“We can figure it out. I’m sure Jeremy can take a few days off. Jeff won’t be expecting you for another few weeks… it’s just until Paul has been dealt with.”
“Please tell me there’s a lake near the property somewhere?” I smile. A vacation doesn’t sound half bad. I need a break from this city and people.
“There’s a beach.” He smiles. “It’s private, so it’ll be just us there at all times. It’s all basically off grid.”
“And this friend—he’s okay with us coming?”
“He will be. I’ll talk to him sometime today. We should probably leave as soon as Sammi is allowed to go home. I’ll talk to Jeremy tomorrow.”
“I’ll go—if you let me find a new bikini first. You broke the string on mine…” I snicker.
“Deal.” He grins. “Sorry about that,”
“I’m keeping it. As a reminder.”
“A souvenir?” He laughs, reaching over to grab one of my rainbow strips.
“Exactly.”
“Oh—I spoke to Sammi last night. She was awake when I left your room.”
“How is she?” I ask, glancing at the door to her room.
“She’s still pretty shaken up. I had her smiling though, so that’s something.”
I sit back against my pillow. “I wanted to go see her last night but the nurse said she was sound asleep. It was the first time herheart beat was regulated since we came in, so they advised that I wait until tomorrow.”
