emotions would make you really vulnerable in a fight.”
“They can, and they can also be extremely dangerous.”
Arlo turns into the apartment complex, driving to the spot he’s taken residence in.
I unlock the apartment door, my entire body still cold as my sodden clothes uncomfortably cling to me.
I kick off my shoes on the small section of linoleum by the front door.
Arlo does the same, wincing as he works to toe-off his right shoe. “Are you okay?”
He nods. “Just tweaked my knee a little.”
I stare at him, noting his left eye is starting to bruise along the cheekbone, and his bottom lip is split. The sequence plays through my head again, a dozen possible outcomes that could have been so much worse.
“Hey,” he says, moving so we’re toe to toe. “You’re safe. I promise.”
“You’re hurt,” I say, reaching up to trace the start of the bruise with my fingers. He closes his eyes when I run my finger over his bottom lip.
“It’s nothing. I don’t even feel it.”
“I’m so sorry,” I say, tears spilling from my eyes as he focuses his steady gaze on me, making my guilt grow exponentially in a second.
“Sorry for what?”
“I should have done something. I stood there frozen and did nothing.”
He reaches for me, his hands both sides of my face. “Liv, no. Don’t cry.”
His words make me cry harder.
“You didn’t do anything wrong except you got closer than you were supposed to. I told you to stay back because you never know if a fight is going to move, and I couldn’t stand the thought of you getting hurt. Those guys were clowns. They didn’t know a right hook from a haymaker. Everything’s fine. They’re going to have some shiners tomorrow, and hopefully, it’ll hurt them to chew food for a few days.” His voice is so calm and apologetic, almost like he’s sorry even though he’s the one who did everything single-handedly. “Liv, you’re killing me, here.” He brushes my cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.
Emotions clog my throat, imagining him being hurt, imagining those girls being hurt. Maybe it’s the adrenaline still peeking or the fall from it, but I feel a crash of emotions so strong they nearly make me light-headed. I’ve felt numb for so long, and this fear that turned to relief has me spiraling. I lean up and forward in one fast move, thought and reason gone, as I try to kiss him and nearly hit him in the nose with my forehead. The shock of it has him turning his head, so my lips fall against his cheek.
He blinks, and my tears freeze as embarrassment crawls over me like a second skin.
I want to sink through the floor.
“I … I’m sorry, I…”
Arlo shakes his head once, and then moves one hand to my waist and slides the other around the back of my neck. His gaze dances between my eyes and my lips, leaning into me as his lips seal over mine. Heat travels through my body as his chest presses against mine, my back against the door, supporting me as he turns and angles his lips, so they fit flush with mine, coaxing my lips apart. His tongue strokes mine, and his fingers are hot as they press more firmly into my neck, tilting my head back. I wrap my arms around his broad shoulders, the scent of his cologne and soap greeting me like a drug, and his tongue is the needle, cutting my vein so that I’m high off him.
I work to pull him closer, wanting to feel his weight against me, the security of his body and his kiss, knowing he wants me when I know how badly I need him. He kisses me harder, his lips a demand as his hands caress my body, his lips sliding over my jaw and down my throat, his hands kneading into my ass, then trailing along the skin below the hem of my shirt as they come around my hips and up my torso, unzipping my jacket. He moves back to my lips, and his gentleness wanes, replaced by a hunger as his teeth nip at my bottom lip, pulling it into his mouth before sucking at my neck. He’s everywhere, his breaths heavy, his hands claiming me as they explore every curve of my body, running over my thighs and breasts, down my sides, over my ass.
“Liv.” My name is a groan, a plea as he kisses below my ear, hitting a spot that