Page 36 of Spark
Covering her lips with my finger, I shake my head. “Tell me what you need.”
“To go and hide,” she reluctantly admits, dragging her bottom lip between her teeth and gnawing at it.
“Then we’ll go and hide,” I tell her, holding my hand out to her. The moment she places her palm on top of mine, I grip her tightly, bringing our joined hands to my lips, before leading her out of the bathroom and toward the yard where James and Buck are still sitting.
“We’re going to head out,” I tell them.
“No worries, brother. Let me know if you need anything. We’re a man down, so vacation is going to be hard, but we’ve made adjustments in the past, and I’m happy to do that again if you need it,” Buck assures me.
“It was great to meet you, Verity. Would you like to have dinner one night while the guys are on shift?” James asks, her voice soft and inviting.
“I’m not really sure what…” she starts.
“Her cell is broken, but I’ll send you her number once we pick her up a new one,” I tell James. “You guys can sort out dinner then.”
“Great, and if you don’t get a chance to meet the others before then, maybe I could introduce you to them?” James suggests.
“Maybe,” Verity says vaguely.
Waving goodbye, I keep Verity close as I walk her across the street and into the house. I feel her relax the moment the door closes behind us, shutting the world outside.
“Where are we, amore mio?” I ask, turning her to face me.
“What?” she questions, her nose wrinkling adorably.
“Where are we?” I ask again.
“We’re in your?—”
Clearing my throat, I interrupt her. “Where are we, Verity?”
“Home,” she whispers.
“Whose home?”
“Our home,” she answers, so quietly I barely hear her.
“Whose home?”
“Our home,” she says, a little louder.
“Our home,” I repeat, dipping my head and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “Go sit down. I’ll get us drinks and some snacks.”
“I can…” she starts, trailing off, when she spots my expression. “I’ll go and sit down.”
“Thank you, amore mio,” I praise.
Watching her close her bedroom door behind her is a lesson in fucking patience, but unlike her first night here when she barricaded herself in her room, I know she’s not scared of me now and that she wants me at least a little.
I don’t think she has any clue about the ferocity of my feelings for her, but that’s okay. She’ll learn, and when she’s ready, she’ll come to me. I meant what I said. It might kill me, but I’ll wait as long as it takes for her to be truly mine.
Scaring her away is my biggest fear, so if she needs time to understand that I’m all in, I’m willing to give her as long as it takes. Because the moment she truly gives herself to me, there’s no going back for either of us.
Today was my last day off; I have to report to base at seven a.m. in the morning, and I won’t be home again for four days. Four fucking days without her is unthinkable, but I don’t have a choice. I wasn’t lying when I said my financial situation is comfortable. It is. But my savings won’t last forever without a job to pay for our day-to-day expenses.
In an ideal world, I’d do what Knight did and give up work completely so that I could spend the rest of my life following Verity around. But that’s not really an option, especially not if I plan to take Knight up on his offer to build a home on the parcel of land he bought on the other side of the Barnetts’ property. When he made me the offer, I didn’t think I’d be interested in having a home in a community of just my brothers and their families, but I also never envisioned meeting Verity either. Now that I have her, building a home and settling down in Rockhead Peak feels like the exact right thing to do.
But construction is expensive, so giving up my job right now isn’t an option. Which means that tomorrow morning, I’m going to have to leave Verity alone for four long days and hope she’s still here when I get back.
