Page 37 of Cross My Heart
Tate has barely left my side all day. We have snuggled, watched movies, and played game after game. As much as I love it, I’m itching to get out of bed.
“Hey, buddy?” He stares up at me with the same deep green eyes of his father. “I’m feeling a lot better, but I think I need to take a shower. It would also be good for me to walk around a little. Can you go down and help daddy come up with a dinner plan? I’ll be down as soon as I’m showered.”
He looks at me skeptically but agrees and heads out of the room.
In the shower, I finally have time to think about that kiss.What did it mean? Did I like it? Can I handle a no-strings hookup?The one thing I do know is that I can’t stay forever, even though the longer I’m here, the more my heart falls.
That was one hell of a kiss though, I have never been kissed like that. I have a feeling if anyone could help me be comfortable enough to be intimate with someone again, it would be Dexter Cross. The thought is both terrifying and exhilarating.
My heart beats rapidly as I tuck a towel around myself and head into my room. I somehow miss Dexter sitting in the chair in the corner. I’m just about to drop my towel when he clears his throat.
“Ah, Lanie?” His voice is hoarse.
I jump right out of my skin. Dropping the towel, I dive-bomb to crouch on the opposite side of the bed. I raise myself just enough for him to see my head and maybe my shoulders. “What the ever living-helpers are you doing in here?"
I know the deep chuckle he lets out is at my expense, and I feel my cheeks flush.
“Well, Lanie, I didn’t know you would come out here and just drop your towel. Not that I didn’t enjoy the show, but I figured sitting directly in front of your bathroom door, you would notice me. You seemed lost in thought…something on your mind?”
“I, oh, well…geez, no! Nothing. I was just daydreaming, I guess.” It's a little white lie that has my face flushing hot. I quickly change the subject when I realize a) I’m still naked, and b) he is still sitting there like the cat that got the cream. “Seriously, what are you doing in my room?”
He shifts then and sits up. “Well, Tate insisted I come up and carry you down for dinner.”
I can see the seriousness in his face, but I can’t help but laugh. “Dexter, I got hit in the face, my legs are perfectly fine.”
Dexter clears his throat uncomfortably. “Yes, I can see that they are.”
The heat in his eyes is unmistakable. He doesn’t look away. “Lanie,” he sighs, “Tate is pretty shaken up. He begged me to come up here and get you. It’s the most he has spoken to me in months. Please just let me carry you down to the family room.”
I hear the sincerity in his voice, and I can’t say no. “Can you just give me five minutes…you know, to get dressed?”
The smirk on his face says he doesn’t want to go anywhere, but he stands. “You sure you don’t need any help? I wouldn’t want you to get dizzy and fall over. I’m more than happy to help you dress.”
I don’t know what the hell comes over me. When I’m with Dex, I feel like the confident girl I used to be, not the shell I’ve become. I used to be somewhat of a flirt but nothing like this, and definitely not since I was released from the hospital. I stand up, completely naked, throwing a pillow at him. With my hand on my hip, I point to the door and tell him, “Out.”
He stands there, mouth agape for a moment too long before striding to my side of the room. A starved expression in his eyes that darkens when they land on my lower abdomen.
What was I thinking?I don’t have the same body I used to have. My lower abdomen is covered in scars, no man like Dexter is ever going to think that’s sexy. I make a move to cover myself with the second pillow on the bed.
“Don't,” he warns. “Don’t cover your scars for my benefit. We all have scars, Lanie.They make us who we are. They don’t make you any less beautiful. One day you’ll tell me how you got them. One day I’ll tell you about the scars that mark me here.” He points to his heart as he says it. Then he turns, “Get dressed, I’llbe back in five minutes.”
What the hell did I just do?
* * *
Dexter
I’m sweatinglike I just ran a freaking marathon. What the hell just happened in Lanie’s room? Holy shit, I saw her completely fucking naked. My God, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten hard so fast in my entire life. Now I’m pacing the hallway trying to calm my dick the hell down, but it seems to have a mind of its own.
I hate the way she reacted when I noticed her scars. I know it was my fault. I must have looked murderous when I finally saw them, but fuck, she was so stunning, I honestly almost missed them completely. That fucking monster really carved her up. Still, I was honest when I said it didn’t make her any less beautiful.
The letter from my twelve-year-old self comes to mind. I know right then I am going to make her mine, but for how long? She is gun shy and has been adamant about only staying a year.
Will I survive if I fall for her? What if she leaves too?
What I need is a plan. Tonight, we will talk about God damn Anna. Tomorrow, I’ll call in reinforcements and develop a plan to make Lanie mine forever.
* * *
