Page 64 of Bleed the Shadows
I also gathered they kind of liked that part, something that didn’t turn me off like it should have.
They also owned some of the legal businesses and most of the old buildings on Southside, including Syd’s and the Orpheum. And then there were a handful of buildings on the north side, including the building occupied by Cassie’s coffee shop and apartment.
It was strange to realize they’d been in town the whole time I’d been living there too, that we’d been essentially occupying parallel universes in the same world and had never met.
We ate a delicious meal of succulent crab with avocado and Spanish gordal oil, chilled scallops with blood oranges and cream, and creamy white-truffle risotto with parmesan. We finished with crispy pineapple on top of coconut gelato served with slightly bitter kaffir lime.
Every dish was a perfectly plated work of art, the food bursting with flavor, and by the time we left I was fully satiated, not just by the quantity of food but by the diverse flavors and textures of the meal. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed fine food, not just making it but eating it, and for the first time since June’s murder, I started to imagine a life after Ethan Todd, a life when I could focus on cooking again, on eating nice food and doing something other than dreaming of revenge.
By the time we left the restaurant I’d almost forgotten all the bad stuff that had happened between Bram and me.
Not quite, but almost.
It didn’t hurt that I’d just spent two and a half hours staring across a candlelit table at his perfect face. And yeah, I’d come to see his face as perfect, not just in spite of the scar but because of it.
The scar was a physical manifestation of the wounds I hadn’t known existed inside him. Now I realized he wouldn’t be Bram without it. I longed to trace it with my fingertips, to touch my lips to the seam, but I still didn’t trust that any of my affection would be welcome.
And also, I wasn’t quite ready to let him off the hook. Bram trying to make nice was shockingly alluring. I might as well enjoy it.
The tension was heavy between us on the way home, this time not because of what had happened before but because of what might have happened next if the “before” hadn’t been a factor.
We’d had a nice time together, and there was no doubt that the physical attraction was there. On a normal date, we might kiss at the end of the night.
But this was no normal date and I had no idea how to wind it down without bringing the specter of the past into what had been a really nice night.
We parked next to Poe’s bike and I waited for Bram to come around and open my door.
I brushed against him when I got out of the car and got another intoxicating dose of his cologne. It smelled so good I wanted to eat it, wanted to lick it off every inch of his body.
My pussy was wet with desire, but I knew better than to trust that desire now. It had gotten me into way too much trouble in the past, and worse, it had taken my heart along for the ride.
We were walking to the door when the yellow dog trotted out of the shadows.
“Hey, boy,” I said, when he rubbed against my legs.
I bent to pet him.
“This the dog you’ve been feeding?” Bram asked.
I looked up at him. “Yeah. I hope it’s okay. He seemed so hungry and alone.”
“It’s okay,” Bram said.
“Give him a pet,” I said. “He won’t bite.”
Bram hesitated, then bent down to stroke the dog’s fur. “He’s pretty soft.”
He sounded surprised.
“He is, isn’t he? Although I bet he’d be softer with a bath.” I laughed when the dog nudged my hand, a gesture I recognized as a request for food. “I already gave you dinner.”
“See you tomorrow, okay?” I headed for the door, and the dog sat on his haunches and watched us go. “I hope he has a warm place to sleep.”
It was strange to live in the same house as my date, but here we were. We entered the house, climbed the steps to the second floor, and took off our coats.
The living room and kitchen were empty, but Poe or Remy had left a lamp on by the sofa. It cast the loft’s great room in warm golden light, and beyond the big factory windows, the lights of Blackwell Falls beckoned like a small-town dream.
“Can I get you anything?” Bram asked. “Tea?”
