Page 33 of Skid
“I’ll do my best to answer,” he replied, and I brought my eyes to his.
“I know you have to go home soon, and I was wondering, um . . .” I glanced down at my lap, and he waited patiently for me to continue. “What’s going to happen to us?”
“Grace, baby, please look at me,” he urged, and I lifted my gaze to his.
I wasn’t good at reading people, so I wasn’t sure if he was going to brush me off, lie to me, or tell me the truth. I can handle anything but letting my heart get involved. It was already too late, and I realized I was head over heels in love with Dalton. I was before tonight, but him protecting me solidified my feelings.
“What do you want to happen?” he asked, and I shook my head.
“I don’t need you to deflect back to me. I don’t want to sound or act like a needy woman, so I need you to be honest with me. Where do you see us going? If this is just a vacation fling—”
He pulled me closer to him and his words were direct. “You are more than a fling. You’re everything, Grace. You want to know where I see this . . . us . . . going?” I nodded, and he answered, “I see us going all the way. You as my old lady, a family, if we both decide we want one. Whatever we want in this world, we can have, as long as you’re by my side.”
“Why me?” I asked.
“Do you know what I saw the first time I laid eyes on you?” he inquired, and I shook my head. “I saw a warrior. A survivor. I saw unimaginable strength in your eyes, and I knew deep inside my soul that you and I were meant to be.”
Tears filled my eyes, and he caressed my cheek with his tattooed hand. “Please tell me these are happy tears because I can’t stand to know I’m the cause of your sadness.”
Wrapping my arms around him, I hugged myself to his chest. He brought his arms around my back, and I spoke against his neck. “I promise, they’re happy tears. I just don’t know what I did to deserve someone as amazing as you.”
“I’m just following what my heart tells me to do,” he admitted, and I gazed into his clear blue eyes.
There were sad tears mixed in, realizing his home was eight hours away. How could we make it work with such a great distance? Not wanting to hash out all the details, I brought my lips to his and kissed him softly. It was chaste compared to every other kiss we’d shared, but after the night I had, this was as much affection as I could handle. He always seemed to know what I wanted or when I needed him.
A cool breeze blew across the porch, and I shivered. He put his arm under my knees and one behind my back before he stood and carried me into the house. After placing me on the couch, he locked the front door and grabbed us both a bottle of water. When he returned to the couch, he handed me two pain relievers and my water.
I took the pills as he settled in next to me. “Do you want to watch a movie?” I asked, and he shrugged.
“Whatever you want is fine.”
Flipping through the guide, I settled onto some mindless medical drama and leaned into his chest. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and I snuggled closer. He was so warm, and soon, I felt a yawn building. Trying to stifle it, he looked down at me and asked, “Are you ready to go to sleep?”
“I think so. Your smoke is stronger than mine, and I’m sleepy,” I said, and he smiled.
“Then let’s get you to bed, baby. Sleep will do you good.”
Dalton turned the TV off and helped me stand from the couch. The soreness from my struggle was setting in, and I knew tomorrow would be painful. As he followed me into the bedroom, the thought of being in the room alone started to fill me with apprehension. I’d never slept with anyone, except for the times that . . .
Pushing those thoughts deeper under the layer of concrete inside me, I turned to Dalton.
“Grace, what’s wrong?” he asked as tears welled in my eyes.
I hated crying, but my emotions were all over the place, leaving me feeling vulnerable and alone. I briefly closed my eyes and returned my gaze to his as I whispered, “Would you stay with me? I . . . I don’t want to sleep alone.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be than holding you all night in my arms, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable after what happened tonight,” he replied with some residual anger in his voice, and a tear fell down my cheek.
“I . . . I don’t think I’d feel safe without you here,” I whispered, and he reached out, cupping my cheek with his tattooed hand.
He brushed the tear away with his thumb, and I leaned into his touch. Dalton took me by the hand, guided me to the bed, then pulled the covers back, encouraging me to climb in. After pulling the covers up, he turned off the light and walked around the bed before lifting the covers and crawling in next to me.
Opening his arm up, I lifted my head and placed it over his heart, then he wrapped his arm tight around me, tugging me closer. My leg shifted on top of his, and my arm fell across his chest as I wiggled into his side. We were both fully dressed, but I’d never felt more connected to someone.
“Sleep well, beautiful.”
In a moment of sheer openness, I requested, “Please don’t let me go.”
“You and me, Grace, we’re forever, and I swear on everything that I’ll never let you go.” He kissed the top of my head, and just as sleep began to pull me under, I heard him whisper, “You’re mine, Grace, and I love you.”
