Her short, chocolate brown satin nightie glided down to settle over her ass as she got out of bed and moved toward the bathroom. Chace watched it then watched it move under the fabric until she disappeared.
Then he rolled to his back, her toy rolled into him so he tagged it and replaced it in her nightstand. After, he again settled on his back but this time he lifted his hands and covered his face, pressing the pads of his fingers into his forehead and digging deep.
He did this hoping with everything he was that Faye didn’t lie.
He did this hoping what she read in him was true. Not that he was who she thought he was because he knew he wasn’t.
But that she could take the dark he had inside him without breaking free to run to the light, leaving him behind in black.
He dropped his hands when he sensed her coming back and watched her walk across the room and turn out the light before she climbed in bed.
The instant the covers were over her, he reached to her and pulled her into his arms, face to face.
She hooked a leg over his hip and pressed deep.
“Faye?” he called.
“Yeah,” she answered quietly.
“No way in hell no matter how pissed you get I’m sleepin’ on the couch.”
“We’ll see,” she replied, still quiet.
“We won’t. We work it out before we sleep or you suck it up. You do not sleep without me.” He paused then finished, “Ever.”
“Whatever,” she muttered, pressing closer.
This meant she was done with the conversation.
It also meant she was giving in.
Then again, she always did when it was important.
He pulled her even closer knowing one thing.
He wasn’t falling anymore for Faye Goodknight.
He wasn’t halfway there.
He was gone.
Chapter Fifteen
Potatoes
I locked up the library and moved to the steps, on my way home.
It was Wednesday. It had been a week and a day since they released Malachi from the hospital.
As seemed to be the case since Chace came into my life, this time had not been uneventful. Not even a little bit. It had been eventful and busy.
But surprisingly, Malachi settled in with Mom and Dad relatively well. He had some issues with Dad and the first night I left, he got agitated, very much so, so I didn’t want to leave. But Chace and Dad took me aside and told me something I knew logically but didn’t like all that much. This being that I was doing him no favors hovering when he had to get used to his surroundings. So I left with Chace. And I didn’t like that either.
Chace took me home, poured me wine and he stretched out on my couch and watched some game. As he did this, his lips were tipped up because I was pacing and fretting, something he thought was funny, something I did not. Then I called my parents an hour after we walked through my door only to have Dad tell me Mom was reading Malachi The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and all was fine.
It took two days for Malachi to settle with Dad.
It would be the weekend before he let Chace in.