Page 64 of Just Me

“You can stay here with me tonight.”

“I know.”Hesaid with a naughty look.

He was acting very strange, but I was too tired to think about it. I changed into my pajamas and brushed my teeth. Bastian was already there waiting to pull the covers up over us as I climbed into bed. He wrapped me in his arms.

“It's been too long,”he whispered. As I snuggled even closer to him, a contented sigh escaped my lips, which elicited a chuckle.

“Sweet dreams, Lark.”

In the morning I woke to the feel of an arm draped over my waist, a leg tangled with my own and at first I thought I was still asleep, but the warmth of his body pressed so close to mine was no dream.

My fingers ran over the muscles of his forearm, trailing along the veins in his hand, before his fingers grasped mine. He kissed the skin at the nape of my neck.

“Morningbeautiful.”

I missed this—waking up with him, talking until we fell asleep, knowing that when he was away from me, it was at most only a few miles.

“When are you going back, Bastian?”

“I want to talk to my brother and Mr. Wright, want to make sure Brad can't hurt you again. I need to see Caden—to thank him in person for protecting you from that bastard.”

He didn't answer my question, but then since I didn't want to hear the answer, I let it pass. I turned to him and was immediately distracted at the sight of his bare chest. My fingers ran over his dragon, tracing the head, the snout, the eyes.

“Why this?”I asked.

“What makes you think there's a meaning behind it? Maybe I just think it's cool.”Hesaid very softly.

“Maybe, but since all the ink on you has a meaning, I'm guessing this does too.”

He traced my jaw, his eyes tracking the motion.“I read once that dragons symbolize courage, strength and a strong will—all traits I want to emulate. Blue represents the sky. When I was little, I used to look up at the vastness of it and knew that there was so much more to the world than my tiny little part in it and that knowledge made the intolerable, tolerable.”

“And the ruby-red eyes?”

He chuckled,“Reminds me of laser beams, a super power I wish I had on more than one occasion when dealing with my parents.”

Pressing my lips to his dragon. I felt a tear slip from under my closed lid to drip on his chest. He, obviously, felt it too when he touched my chin with his finger and lifted my gaze to his.

“Lark?”

“They may have given you life, but they don't deserve you.”

He pinned me under him, his expression raw as love looked back at me. He started to work off my panties before he stopped abruptly.

“Don't stop.”I whispered breathlessly. When my eyes opened, I saw his hesitation, his concern for me. I loved him all the more for it. Reaching for him, I slipped his hand under my panties and guided him to the part of me that ached for him.

“Please don't stop.”

His kiss branded me with its intensity, erasing all the ugliness and leaving only the beauty that was Bastian and me. He pulled my panties down my legs and I spread them wider and lifted my hips in invitation. He reached for the condom and slipped it on before settling over me and when he joined us, it was deliberate…almost lazy. His mouth sealed over mine just before I came to swallow my cry. I felt him tense right before he followed me.

An hour later, we came downstairs. Poppy and her parents were already filling their travel mugs with coffee. Bastian followed me, but as soon as we entered the kitchen, he walked straight to Mr. Wright and shook his hand.

“Hellosir.”

“Bastian, it's good to see you.”

“And you, sir.”Dr. Wright lowered her mug and pulled Bastian into a hug. She whispered something into his ear, but I couldn't hear it and when she stepped away, his eyes looked suspiciously moist.

Poppy, being so in-tune to others, took the focus off him and asked,“Lark, are you riding with Bastian to school?”

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