Chapter 45
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
RAINE
I awake with a start, rolling over and feeling the cool covers against my palm. I fell asleep on the couch, didn’t I? My brows crease as I sit up and search the empty room, then go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, and pad into the kitchen. A shirtless Everett is at the stove, and I breathe in deeply, smelling the bacon and coffee. My mouth waters.
When he notices me, he smiles. And it’s full and genuine and, honestly, a little surprising considering last night’s events.
“Who are you, and what have you done with my Everett?” I ask.
“They caught Drake.”
I stop short. “What?”
“Yeah. He turned himself in. Gave a full confession.”
My eyes widen, and I press the heel of my palm to my temple, convinced I’m hallucinating. “You’re joking.”
“Not joking,” he replies. “McDonnell just called me.”
“You’re serious?” I ask.
He nods again. “Come eat. ”
I head toward the center island and grab a barstool as Everett places a heaping plate of pancakes and bacon in front of me.
“Thank you,” I murmur.
“Of course.” He rounds the edge of the granite while wiping his hands on a white dish towel slung over his shoulder and kisses my cheek. “You good?”
I nod, then notice his swollen hands. “What happened?” Reaching for him, I cradle his raw knuckles, dragging my thumbs across the crusted skin as I grimace. “I could’ve sworn they weren’t this bad last night?—”
“I’m good, Raine.” He lets go of my grasp and cups the side of my face, tilting my head up and brushing a kiss against my lips. “Promise.”
I peek up at him, searching his face for any hint as to what happened. What really happened.
“So what now?” I ask. “Now that he’s behind bars?”
“Still not letting you out of my sight.”
“Yeah, between you, my parents, and my brother, I don’t see myself being alone too much for the foreseeable future other than to shower and pee.”
“I’ll let you pee in private, but shower time is now with me.” He runs his lips against my cheek, then kisses the underside of my jaw, teasing a smile from me.
“How, uh, how accommodating of you.”
“I’m very accommodating,” he reminds me, stepping between my spread thighs and bringing us chest to chest.
“Mm-hmm. So, do you plan to…drive to wherever I live whenever I have to shower or?—”
“Who says I’ll have to drive anywhere?”
“Well,”—I pick at the edge of his basketball shorts before smoothing the fabric across his thighs—“since Drake isn’t a problem anymore, we should probably figure it out, right? Our living arrangements and everything. ”
He leans away from me and frowns. “Tell me you’re joking.”
I press my lips together. “Not sure what there is to joke about. I was under the impression living here was always a short-term thing.”
“Tell. Me. You’re. Joking,” he growls.
“Simmer down, big boy.” I press my hand to his chest. “All I’m saying is we haven’t had the talk , and I don’t want to make any assumptions, especially when adding a thirty-minute commute to literally everything if we choose to stay here, let alone convince your parents to allow us to stay here. I want to make sure?—”
“Do you honestly think I want you to move out?”
“No, but?—”
“Then, what do you think?”
“I think you need to officially ask me to stay, considering the person who got us here in the first place is behind bars.” I sit up a little straighter. “You know, for my own peace of mind. Either that, or I need to find out if Finley will have an extra room available at the duplex once their side is finished being renovated.”
“You want to move in with my sister?”
“If you aren’t ready to ask me to officially move in with you, then yes. I’m not above shimmying my way into your life by way of your little sister.”
He scoffs. “She’d probably like that.” Picking up a piece of my hair, he wraps it around his fingers. “I think she’s been lonely since Dylan and Ophelia found boyfriends.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right.”
“It’s a shame I’m a selfish brother, huh?”
My brows bunch. “Oh?”
“Yeah. Sorry, Stormie, but I think I want to keep you for myself.”
“Sounds a little controlling, if you ask me. ”
“Never claimed to be a saint.”
“Just a well-hung, and sometimes grumpy, hockey player with a hero complex,” I counter. “Who can cook.”
He tilts his head and considers my description while trying to hold back his amusement. “Grumpy?”
“I mean…I also said well-hung.”
He snorts. “At least I have something going for me.”
“You have a lot going for you, Everett Taylor,” I murmur. “And I mean like…a lot.” My hands find his cheeks. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Stormie.”
“You want to know the crazy thing about last night?” A glassy sheen hits my eyes before I blink it away. “I was scared. I was,” I admit, “I was scared. But…I don’t know. I think a part of me knew you’d come. A part of me knew you’d fix it. Fix the situation. Fix whatever Drake managed to break while I was alone with him. Fix…me. I knew I’d be fine because I knew you’d be there.” I suck my lips between my teeth and sniff. “Thank you. For always being here.”
“You couldn’t get rid of me, even if you tried, Raine Anders.” He leans closer and kisses a tear away as it slips down my cheek. “Although, I do have a confession.”
“What is it?”
“I had Dodger come stay with you last night.”
I frown. “Was he the one who moved me to your bed, or were you?”
“Me.”
I nod slowly, connecting the pieces. “I assume that’s when the knuckle damage came into play. Am I right?”
“I went after Drake.”
My stomach bottoms out, and I let my head fall forward, resting it against his sternum. “Ev?—”
“I know you didn’t want me to, but I also can’t lie to you. I needed to make sure he never bothered you again. ”
“What did you do?”
“Beat the shit out of him until he promised to confess to everything he put you through.” He reaches for me and cups the side of my face again, his expression sobering. “I want you to know I will never hurt you, but I will protect you no matter the cost. Even if you hate me for it. Do you understand?”
I nod.
“That’s my girl.” He rubs his thumb along my cheekbone. “The question is…do you hate me for it?”
It’s a good question, and I’m not going to lie. Part of me wants to. To hate him for putting himself in a dangerous position like this. Drake could’ve hurt him. He could’ve been in trouble with the cops. He could still be in trouble with the cops. But I understand it. His need to keep me safe. It’s the same way I’d walk through fire for him if the occasion called for it. And apparently, from his perspective, this occasion called for it. For him to walk through fire for me. And even though part of me wants to be pissed, I’m not. I can’t be.
I shake my head. “I don’t hate you, Ev. When I said I trust you, I meant it. If this was the best way for you to handle it, I believe you. You aren’t stupid. Stubborn,” I clarify, “but not stupid, unlike Dodge, who probably would’ve killed the guy.”
As if my words are a balm to his soul, he bends forward and kisses me, making me melt against him.
“Fuck, I love you,” he mutters against my lips.
I smile against him. “I love you, too.”
Bending back a bit, he tucks my hair behind my ear and pins me with his icy blues. “Now, about our living arrangements. You might be onto something with the commute.”
A quiet laugh escapes me.
“What if… What if we move in with Finley in the new place?” he offers. “We can take the top floor, and she can have the room by the kitchen. That way, Griff will have more sp ace, Dylan can still stay with Reeves, and Fin won’t be alone.”
I smile. “You sure you want to move in with your little sister?”
“No, but my hero complex is kind of a stubborn bastard.” He boops my nose. “You know this.”
“And the idea of your sister sleeping under the same roof as us isn’t more than you can stomach?” I challenge.
His nose wrinkles. “Call it the lesser of two evils until a house on the same street is put up for sale.”
I snort. “Ever the protector.”
“You know me too well.” He tucks my hair behind my ear. “So, what do you say?”
I look around the place that’s been ours, and even though I’ll miss these four walls more than he’ll ever understand, his suggestion feels right.
“I’m in,” I whisper.
“Yeah?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Good. Me, too.”
Then, he leans in to kiss me, and I lift my chin to meet him.
Damn, I love this boy.