Page 27 of His Wild Storm
She stares at me, the moment stretching between us is somehow both fragile and malleable. There’s no doubt in my mind that this could be broken so easily. It could shatter between us, the pieces seemingly too small to be pieced back together.
But I know the truth.
I feel it in the deepest part of my soul—we’re meant to be.
She’s mine. They’re mine.
“I don’t want to hurt Wilde,” she murmurs, her lips barely moving. She looks down at her hands where her fingers are twisted together like a physical manifestation of what her insides are doing. I know the feeling. When she looks back up at me,there’s strength in her gaze. “Or you,” she tacks on the words like they mean nothing.
But I know the truth.
They mean everything.
She gives me her truth, what she knows down to her bones, what she fears in the darkest parts of herself, with only a moment of hesitation. It’s a gift and I know it. I can feel it.
If she thinks it’ll make me run or back off, she’s wrong. The warmth of her sharing with me willingly wraps around me like a ribbon. Binding me to her. As if I wasn’t already gone for her. As if I wasn’t already caught in her storm.
“I’m not worried,” I assure her, my voice steady. Strong. Sure.
Haven swallows hard and I can’t help but watch her throat bob as she does. Fuck. She’s sexy. And the worst part, or perhaps the best part, is she’s completely oblivious to it.
It’s in the way she tries to make herself smaller, even when everyone in the room can’t help but look at her and then can’t look away. It’s in the way she rounds her shoulders, her confidence an ember when it should be an inferno. It’s in the way her eyes dart around the room, the action coated in uncertainty.
“Can you give me a chance, Haven?”
“I’d like to try,” her words are soft, but her voice doesn’t tremble.
I think a tornado could come ripping through the room and it wouldn’t be able to move me from right where I am. She said yes. Kind of. For the most part.
I’m sure as fuck not going to look at her willing to try as anything other than a win.
After giving her knee a squeeze, I force myself to move my hand. “Thank you,” the words bubble up out of me, a giddiness in my tone I don’t think I could hide even if I tried. “It’s all I need.”
The smile she gives me is uncertain, but that does nothing to take away how fucking stunning it is. It’s enough.
For now.
CHAPTER 10
HAVEN
As Wilde climbs into bed next to me, I’m expecting him to jump on me dive-bomb style. But he doesn’t. It’s as if he knows my heart and mind are in turmoil and he reacts appropriately by snuggling into my side.
He’s been very affectionate and gentle with me for the last week. I can’t say I hate it. It’s been beyond sweet and exactly what I needed.
For the last week I’ve only been able to think about two things—Knox and our next move which has to include leaving Safe Home. I’m not ready to leave Colorado though, I know that much to be true.
For the last year, every place we’ve stopped hasn’t felt quite right. That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to take advantage of what was being offered to us—safety, support, therapy, strength. I was more than willing to soak every bit up and help Wilde do the same. Then it was time for us to move on.
I’m not feeling the need to move on here. Not in the same way.
After running a hand down Wilde’s back, I murmur, “I thought you’d be too excited for a snuggle this morning.”
He huffs out a breath, but there’s no annoyance or frustrationin the sound. “I am excited,” he admits. “Knox is coming for our class this morning and we’re drawing a treasure box.” He looks up at me, his voice rising slightly, “Do you think it’ll be covered in gems and be all sparkly?”
I make a humming sound, my eyebrows hitting my hairline. “I don’t know,” I start, “Knox doesn’t strike me as a sparkly kind of guy.”
Wilde shakes his head in disappointment. “I think he looks like a guy who likes sparkles.” He narrows his eyes at me and my judgement. “Are you saying that because he wears plaid? Or is it the beard?”
