Page 89 of Below The Surface
I don’t know what wakes me, but when I open my eyes, Casey is sitting across from me, scrolling through his phone. No doubt he’s looking at post after post from Matt Brooks’s page.
“Come back to bed.” I lift a hand for him, but he shakes his head.
“I have to find my angle. How am I taking him down?”
“You might need to see the real layout to decide. Or?—”
Another head shake. “He always caught me off guard before. I can’t let him get me again. He can’t.” Casey glares at his phone, then squeezes his eyes shut. I take the hand gripping his phone and loosen it before taking it from him.
“He won’t get you. Not that I can protect you. You’re pretty damn good at it yourself and the self-defense classes have taught me I still have a long way to go before I can probably get away from anyone. But Charles doesn’t see you coming. You got this.”
“If you say so,” he mumbles, and it makes me pause. Casey is always so damn sure.Always.
“You’re shaken up.”
“Yeah. We’resoclose andso fucking far awayand I’m terrified I’m going to screw up and either end up in jail or he goes completely free.”
“We won’t let that happen.”
“I want to believe that,” Casey whispers. “I want to believe that after all this damn time, this monster won’t be on the planet anymore. But what if I freeze?”
“You won’t.”
“I might. Despite everything, I’m not perfect. Sometimes I do fuck up and don’t pay attention like I should. Sometimes I botch shit. Luckily, Kendra helps clean up the mess, but Charles is bigger than everything. I want this so fucking bad I can taste his blood on my tongue.”
“Kinky.” I wink, and he gives me an eye roll before grinning.
“Weirdo.”
“But I’m your weirdo.”
“You want to keep me?” He asks so quietly again I have to wonder if I made it up.
“Of course I want to keep you. I want to hold you and cuddle you until you fall asleep. I want to rub your back and help you feel better. I think we’re good together.”
He nods and settles back in beside me. “I feel safe around you. Usually I go for the thrill of the fuck.”
I snort at that and he just grins.
“I usually just want to stop thinking. I never cared who I slept with. But you just took everything in stride that first hookup. You didn’t make fun of all the fish. Well, not really. There was something in you that called out to me. I had to see it through.”
“Plus, you like my dick.”
“Of course, I like your dick. But I was spiraling. I don’t know if Kendra knew it.”
“Kendra knows you better than you know yourself, I think.” I kiss his head again. I love kissing his head. It’s small, but he relaxes every time I do it. As if he understands he’s safe to relax around me.
“I’d probably be dead without her. She’s pulled me out of a few pickles.”
“She’s mad at you though.”
“I know,” he whispers. “I never meant to tell her, but it was eating me up inside. My tummy feels better than it has in years.” He cuddles closer, as if it’s possible.
“Let’s talk about nicer things. Like running around the con getting cute pictures at all the photo stations. And going public.”
“You really, really want me.” He turns to face me. His eyes are so intense. There’s a little furrow between his brow.
“More than you know.” I tip his chin so our mouths touch. I don’t dare kiss him, though.
