Page 106 of Broken Breath
He exhales slowly. “Mmm.”
His hand finds mine under the covers, stroking the back of it with his thumb.
We’re quiet for a long time after that.
“What were those big feelings about?” he asks eventually.
I hesitate. “I don’t know if I should tell you that.”
“You can tell me anything. Nobody would believe me anyway.”
I huff something close to a laugh. “Life.”
“What about it?” When I don’t answer quickly enough, he asks, “Does it have something to do with the scars that are all over you?”
Fuck, I’d hoped he had forgotten about them. “I know they’re not pretty.”
“Tout chez toi est joli. Absolument tout,” he murmurs, then demands softly, “Tell me.”
I shift closer and rest my forehead against his chest. “I’m not well. I haven’t been for a long time. And Dane just doesn’t understand.”
His hand slides up, threading into my hair. “I’m not well either,” he says quietly. “I understand. Youcantell me.”
I sink further into his chest, relieved beyond words by something in his response. Something I’m too tired to pinpoint right now. “Life’s too heavy.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t be who I want to be. Can’t do what I want to do. And because everything hurts all the damn time.”
He rakes his nails lightly down my scalp, creating a shiver all the way to my toes. “I get that, it’s shitty, but you’re here, you’re racing. We’re living the dream.”
“And what happens when the dream ends?” I whisper.
Luc doesn’t answer right away, but he continues his soft touches, then shifts slightly, snuggling closer. His nose brushes my forehead as he whispers, “Anything can be a dream if it’s small enough.”
“What the hell does that even mean?”
He chuckles, his breath fanning across the bridge of my nose,and I swear I feel his smile against my skin.
“It means…” he murmurs, “… you don’t have to chase the whole sky,Petit.You can just lie here with someone warm, under a cheap blanket, in a borrowed bed, and decidethisis enough. That this little dream is real, safe, and entirely yours.”
“That’s…”
Ridiculous.
Beautiful.
Before I can settle on one, he reaches over and turns off the light. He comes right back, curling around me and gently situating me until my back is against his chest. His arms band tightly around me like he means to keep everything bad out, like his body could hold back the world, and I can’t help but let out a contented sigh.
“See?” he murmurs, smug as ever. “Therapeuticandhot. You’re welcome.”
I huff a laugh. It’s barely a sound, but it’s real.
Then the world goes quiet, and it’s exactly as he said. It’s enoughfor now.
My hip still throbs, and my thoughts still vaguely linger around Dane, Finn, and the wreck I’ve made of everything, but here, snuggled in Luc’s arms, they don’t linger.
“Are you asleep?” I whisper after a long while.
