Page 24 of Liar & Champion
“You have a good memory for trivialities.”
“That explains the French. And you went into home health care?” I started laughing. “Your poor mother.”
“That’s exactly what people say when they meet her. Poor thing. And then they drop dead from terror.”
I laughed harder. “Okay. Sure. Let’s go get married in Vegas. I’ll just pack up my favorite board and some pillows.”
“Are you hysterical or earnest? I can’t tell.”
I leaned over and kissed his cheek. He smelled so good, spicy and sweet, my new favorite aftershave. “Both. I am definitely both. Also terrified. How could things have escalated so quickly?”
“Tipping point? He was probably waiting for the right time to approach, but sped things up when he saw me. We were getting slightly friendly. That must have threatened him as well as Christina, although why she’d care who you were or weren’t seeing is beyond me. Maybe she has a secret passion for your skateboarding skills and worries that a relationship would diminish the time and energy you were able to channel into your art.”
“That makes sense. I threw my phone out because he’s probably tracking it. That’s probably how he found us when we were vulnerable. Also, I don’t want to ever touch anything he’s touched ever again.”
“That’s logic. I’m so sorry that you have to deal with this, sweetheart. I should tell you the details of my mother’s deal before you agree. You have to monogamous for six months, that is, if you choose to be intimate with anyone, that person has to be me. Also, you’ll have a settlement at the end, some ridiculous sum of money that has no strings attached. If that’s not enoughto see you settled comfortably, I’ll make sure that you get what you need.”
I sighed heavily. He had no idea how fast you could go through millions when you had special treatments. Luckily for him, I was all done with treatments and was just waiting around to die. I could do that in Las Vegas as well as anywhere else.
“And if something happens to me, if I should die or?—”
He squeezed my hand, but gently, so gently. “He’s not going to hurt you.”
“But if something happens to me before the time is up, your mother has to count the bargain, correct?”
He sighed heavily. “Yes. I’m certainly never doing this again. Getting shot is bad enough, but dealing with Christina’s oppressive breasts is untenable.”
I put my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, trying not to smell his blood. “Can I be like this for a minute? Does it hurt you?”
“No, honey, it doesn’t hurt. You could never hurt me.” He kissed my hair, a brush of his lips that made breathing a little bit easier.
“You’ve clearly never had someone run over your toes with a skateboard. I like to ride around in the living room in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep.”
“That is the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard. I’m looking forward to it.”
I sighed heavily breathing in his delicious scent. “Sex. Did you want a marriage filled with hayrides?”
“Is that what hayrides means? College was worth the tuition. If that’s what you want, I’m sure I can muster up the necessary enthusiasm, but let’s start with safety and then maybe dating. Then maybe we can find out how well things work in the bedroom. I’m fully fine with six months of celibacy.”
“But how could I possibly resist you? You’re the prettiest man I’ve ever seen.”
He cleared his throat. “It’s the bloody wounds. Seriously, Kitten, calling a man pretty isn’t exactly a compliment. Manly, handsome, arrogant, sexy…”
“Ah. My apologies, handsome manly man. Hammer. Sunshine Ray Hammer? Sounds like some kind of superhero weapon.”
“Sunshine Death-Hammer. I, ah, legally changed my name to Death-Hammer when I was eighteen.”
I raised my head to stare at him. “Wow.”
“You could keep your name,” he offered, sounding embarrassed.
“Sunshine Death-Hammer is the best. What a way to go. Nix Death-Hammer, that’s a supervillain name.”
“Thanks. I was eighteen. I got a few embarrassing tattoos too.”
“Oooh. Exciting.”
He grimaced at me. “That arm is aching pretty good. Here we are.” He pulled up in front of his house, put the truck in park, and then slumped over the steering wheel.
