Chapter 25 Kreed
KREED
Sunlight cut a pale, geometric line across the rumpled blankets and landed directly on her hair when she pushed through the door in all her messy bun glory.
My stomach unclenched at the sight of her as I ignored the persistent ache radiating along my stitched ribs.
The room smelled like fresh coffee and something savory.
She balanced a wooden tray with two ceramic steaming mugs, a plate with scrambled eggs, three strips of bacon, and toast cut diagonally.
I couldn’t stop staring at her. The way she set the tray down on the nightstand with care to avoid spilling.
How she perched on the very edge of the mattress.
The oversized tee she wore completely swallowing her smaller frame.
The delicate motion of her fingers curling around one mug’s handle.
Who would have thought my type was a girl rumpled from sleep, not a stitch of makeup, and smelling like bacon. She was stunning, and I easily got lost in her big, light-blue eyes too damn often.
“Morning,” she greeted with a shy smile.
Easing upright in bed, I took it slow, leaning against a puff of pillows. “No one has ever brought me breakfast in bed before,” I said, lifting one of the mugs to my lips. The coffee was perfect, strong and slightly bitter, exactly how I took it.
She picked up the other cup and peered at me from over the rim. “I hope that’s because no other girl has ever slept in your bed before me.”
Our arms brushed, creating a zing of electricity. “I broke every rule with you.”
She leaned forward without warning and pressed her mouth to mine.
The kiss unfolded a fierce protectiveness within me.
When she finally pulled back, her face was beautiful in the golden morning light streaming through the window.
“Good,” she whispered before crawling in beside me.
“How are you feeling? Really?” she asked.
“Don’t give me a bullshit tough-guy answer. ”
“Just a little sore. Nothing I can’t handle.
” I shrugged, my attention mentally moving to the white bandage taped down my left side.
The line of stitches along my ribs was tight and pulled, but, mercifully, the pain was more like a deep bruise than an actively infected wound, no angry heat spreading from the site, no fever burning through my skin, and no alarming redness indicating complications.
She frowned as if she didn’t believe me, worry carving at the corners of her mouth and between her brows. “You could have gotten hurt so much worse last night.”
“Don’t do that.” I brushed the pad of my thumb over her bottom lip to stop the trembling.
It was so fucking weird having someone care so much about me.
I wasn’t used to it, having to worry about someone else’s feelings, about how what I did and said could impact them.
It fucked with my head…and my heart. “I’m seriously okay. We’re okay.”
With an unsteady breath, she nodded and forced those kill-me-now pouty lips into a weak smile.
I didn’t care that she would probably be happier and safer with someone else. She was mine. I wanted her with me. I wanted her to love me.
“You ever get stabbed again, and I swear I’ll boil your balls,” she threatened. I adored when she got violent.
“What about gunshot wounds? You have any creative threats for those?”
Her middle finger shot up, and I chuckled, which I instantly regretted, the jiggly movement sending a painful reminder of my injuries.
I suppressed a wince and picked up a strip of bacon.
Rusty thought he could send out a couple of guys to pick me up, no doubt to hold me hostage for information, much like I had his guys when I’d been looking for Kaylor.
But if Rusty thought he could use me to get to Kaylor, he was sorely mistaken.
“Save your threats, little raven. I’m sure my father will have plenty to say when he hears about it. ”
“He’s gone,” she informed.
My gaze narrowed suspiciously. “And how do you know that?”
Kaylor shrugged. “I saw him leave this morning.” She shifted uncomfortably on the bed, gnawing on the inside of her cheek.
She had something on her mind, something she wasn’t telling me. “What did you do?”
Her eyes gave me a dull glare. “I make you breakfast in bed, and you immediately think I’m guilty of something?”
“Are you?” I asked, arching a brow.
Her chin lifted. “Maybe.”
I stared at her, a sudden horrible feeling worming its way into my gut. “I’m waiting.”
She reached over and plucked a piece of bacon off the plate. “We talked. Your father and I.”
I blinked. “You did what? When?”
Taking a bite, she swallowed the bacon. “It doesn’t matter. It’s done. And he agreed Rusty had to be taken care of.”
“Of course, he did. Rusty has turned into a liability for him, but you shouldn’t have gone to my father, little raven,” I snapped before I could stop myself, immediately hating my tone.
Her jaw went visibly tight, hurt flashing across her features before she could mask it. “I wasn’t going to let you make further debts with him. For once, let me protect you.”
A war raged inside me. Anger. Fear. Admiration, something dangerously close to awe. “I don’t think I have it in me,” I admitted. “My instinct to keep you safe…to keep you away from my father… It's too damn powerful. Fighting against it is like going into battle against myself.”
“You’re in no shape to be doing any fighting,” she muttered.
“This won’t keep me in bed.”
She looked at me under long, beautiful lashes, those light blue eyes troubled. “Are you mad?”
“I should be.” I huffed. “I am, but I’m also starting to see that you and I are more alike than I considered.
We are both willing to do whatever it takes to keep those we love safe even if it hurts us.
I can’t decide if that will be a problem for us in the future.
” Hell, right now. I didn’t want her involved with my father on any level.
Once he got his claws into you, he didn’t let go. Ever.
Her expression softened. “Let’s hope our future isn’t anything like our past.”
I took a sip of my coffee, not wanting to ruin the morning, but the idea of her alone with my father chilled my blood.
He’s lucky he wasn’t home, or I’d be racing into his office, intentionally starting a fight.
It would have to wait. My father and I would talk, but for now, I wanted to be in this moment with Kaylor.
I popped a strip of bacon into my mouth, a hint of a smile pulling at my lips as I chewed. “So you love me for real this time.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Of all the things you remember from last night, that’s the part that sticks?”
“I hadn’t realized how much I wanted those words to be true until you tried to undo them.”
She pursed her lips. “Hmm.”
“Say it again. I need to hear you say it.”
She angled her head to the side. “Not until you say them. If you want to hear me tell you how much I love you, then you’re going to have to figure out how you feel first.”
This girl had no idea how thoroughly she’d wrecked me.
“You know how I feel about you, little raven.” I loved her.
Why was it so hard for me to say the words?
They were just words, but really, they weren’t.
They were heavy and filled with so much meaning.
I couldn’t take them back, not like she had tried.
Once they were spoken, they were out there.
They changed everything.
Was that what held me back? Was I worried we wouldn’t be the same?
Her hands looped behind my neck, breakfast forgotten. “But just like you, I need to hear you say it.” She tossed my words back at me.
“I don’t know if I can love. I don’t know what it feels like or if I’m capable of such emotions, but the closest thing I’ve come to love is what I feel for you. I can’t live without you. I don’t want you with anyone else.”
Her eyes glistened as she softly laid a hand over my heart. “You’re capable of love, Kreed. More than you might think. I know because I feel it.”
She made it sound so simple, so matter-of-fact, and maybe she was right, but I didn’t want to hurt. Hurting Kayor would kill me.
I thought I loved. The way she challenged me.
The way she looked at me. The way she understood me.
But most of all, the way she accepted me, flawed and all.
Fuck it. I was going to bet my heart on her.
“I love you, little raven. I’ve been in love with you before I knew what it felt like to love someone.
” My fingers brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “There’s only you.”
Her grin bloomed slow and radiant, cheeks flushing pink, and the sight of it nearly dragged me under. “Took you long enough.” She leaned in and kissed the corner of my mouth with heartbreaking tenderness.
The smile was still soft on her lips when she started to pull back, but the moment even an inch of space opened between us, something in me rebelled. “Where do you think you’re going?” I murmured, my fingers curling around her hips, rooting her in place.
“I can’t stay in your bed all day.”
“The fuck you can’t.” My voice rasped low, rough. “Besides, I’m not done with you.”
She tilted her head, feigning innocence, though her eyes sparkled with heat and mischief. “Is that so?”
“Hmm.” I slid a hand up her spine slowly, feeling the way her breath hitched. “It is. I’m waiting.”
She raised a cheeky brow, and the glint in her light-blue eyes told me she knew exactly what I referred to.
“Little raven,” I prompted with a growl.
“You’re so demanding.” Her lips touched mine again. “I love you, Kreed Corvo,” she murmured, her shining eyes finding mine so I could see every ounce of her feelings, nothing hidden, no fear, no hesitation. Just love. Honest. Raw. Disarming.