Page 83 of Heal Me

We play stare off, and finally he says, “You’re right. I won’t. I love my brother too much to hurt him more than he already has been.”

“Think about what we said,” Amer adds.

Closing the door, I lean my head against it. My eyes cast down at the floor, I realize this is literally where Turek lost his head, and I quickly move away.

After downing some water, I walk to my bathroom and run a bath, pouring in some spelled calming bath salts I bought the other day at Memphis Magic. I strip and step into the tub, closing my eyes and laying my head back against the tile. As I relax, I think about what Sam, Amer, and Turek said. They all had valid points.

And the more I think about it, the more I realize I’ve reacted somewhat hypocritically. After all, I did ask Aubry about Gabe after we first met, and I didn’t tell him I knew a few things about him. And for crying out loud, my dad ran a background check on Gabe! Rumel did the same to me, just in a much more aggressive way. And so Gabe read the police report; anyone could go to the station and get a copy, as it’s public record.

Glancing over to the bathroom mirror, I’m hit with the terrifying thought someone could be watching. No, Gabe said he warded this house, and I can’t be mad about it. But should he have warned me about his dad’s spy mirror? Yes, but Rumel’s lack of boundaries isn’t Gabe’s fault.

Stepping out of the tub after a calming visualization, I throw on my Harvard sweatshirt and leggings and take a seat on the bed. Calling Gabe, he answers on the first ring. “Could you come over to my room at my dad’s?” I ask.

He appears a split second later seated next to me, wearing his favorite three-piece suit and purple tie. He waits for me to speak, holding his breath. “I realize I shouldn’t throw stones considering my dad ran a background check on you,” I start. “You can’t help who your dad is any more than I can help who my dad is. But what I told my therapist was said in private. In a safe space. And now that I know it wasn’t, it feels like a violation.”

“It was a violation, and I’m so very sorry,” he says, taking my hand and lacing our fingers together.

And then for some reason, I start crying. And once I start, I can’t seem to stop.

Gabe pulls me into his lap and wraps his arms around me. “Delayed emotional response,” he murmurs in my hair as he runs his hand down my back. “Your privacy was violated in a horrible way. You had an angel chasing after you to erase your memory. You thought that I might not be the man you believed me to be. And then I beheaded Turek as the grand finale. I shouldn’t have done the last one in front of you.” He floats a box of tissues over to me and I grab one.

“Of all the things I expected to happen, Turek’s head splatting on the hardwood was not one of them,” I say as I blow my nose. And then I start laughing, and once I start, I can’t seem to stop that either.

Gabe smiles as he kisses the top of my head. “I wish I could’ve seen you give Turek the slip yesterday.”

“I had the element of surprise on my side, along with three townies. Don’t mess with townies.”

“When does your dad get home?”

I glance over at the clock. “In about twenty minutes. Why?”

“Then I only have a short time to put on my case.”

“What case?”

“To prove any body insecurities you may have are not based in fact,” he says.

I groan, covering my face. “Please forget I mentioned that.”

He ignores my protest as he pulls my hands down, kissing the spot on my neck that makes me squirm. “I love everything about your body,” he says as he kisses his way to my collarbone, our clothes now having disappeared.

“What about not wanting to disrespect my dad?” I realize that was a really dumb thing to bring up when we’re both naked in my bed.

“Your dad isn’t here, and besides, different rules for an emergency hearing such as this,” he says as he bends his head lower and captures my nipple. He gently sucks as I run my fingers through his soft hair, pulling him closer.

I’m a needy mess by the time he releases my sensitive nipple with a pop. “What are you insecure about? Tell me so I can show you how wrong you are,” he says as he lays me down on the bed. Climbing on top with his hands framing my face, he nudges his hard cock at my entrance but doesn’t enter me. Kissing his way back down my body, he lavishes my other breast and nipple with attention.

“This is embarrassing,” I half groan, half moan at what he’s doing to my body.

“Nothing to be embarrassed about. You’ve made a case in your head, and I want to hear it so that I can expertly dismantle it.”

“I never knew of this cocky side.”

“When I’m in lawyer mode,” he says as he kisses his way down my thigh and then back up. “So let’s hear your arguments,” he says, lightly stroking my clit with his fingers.

“Well, one thing is my body’s so different from your ex-girlfriend, Orla’s,” I manage to say.

“What on earth does she have to do with this?” he asks as he kisses my stomach and moves his head lower, kissing and licking my inner thighs.

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