Chapter 1 #2
Higgins gave him a real smile that met his eyes and made him look even more handsome than he already did with his red hair, green eyes, and freckles across his nose and cheeks. Despite his big and bulky six-three frame, his face was almost boyish. Cute.
He gave a small wave, saying, “Thank you, Miles,” and walked out the door, shutting it behind him, clearly knowing it was better to leave on a high note rather than push for more.
Miles was silent for a solid minute, staring at the door, before he let out a shuddering breath, almost crumbling before my eyes.
Without a word, I pulled him into my arms.
He came with ease, and Sola leapt from his shoulder, and the fact that she trusted me to comfort him made me smile at the firebird as she landed on the back of the couch, staring at us.
When the envelope got squished between us, I eased it out of Miles’s hands and threw it onto the small table near the door since it was the closest thing around.
Then I concentrated on giving him the biggest bear hug ever.
I wrapped my bigger body around him, cradling him in my arms, rubbing his back, and running my fingers through his hair. I wanted him to feel cared for, comforted, and I wanted him to feel how much affection I already held for the man.
He trembled in my arms for a few minutes, then stuffed his face against the side of my neck and wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me tightly to him.
“I’ve got you, sugar butt.”
He snorted at that and gave me a squeeze. “Thanks, White Knight.”
I smiled against his hair, then pressed a kiss there, still rubbing his back with one hand as I cradled the back of his head, and the other, lightly massaging his scalp.
We stayed that way for a long time.
It was the comfort both of us needed in that moment, and the longer we hugged one another, the calmer I became.
When Miles finally pulled away, he wouldn’t meet my eyes, and his cheeks suddenly flamed before he even uttered a word.
Since he was being adorable, I kissed his forehead. How could I resist?
He took a breath, glanced at my eyes and away again, then quietly asked, “Do… do you want to stay tonight? I know we both have work in the morning, but I thought that maybe we could just…”
I knew without asking what the end of that sentence was. Cuddle in bed. I had no idea how or why I knew that, but I did. Maybe it was just a feeling.
Gently, I nudged his chin up with my knuckle and offered him a small smile. “I would love to stay tonight.” I leaned in to press a soft kiss to his lips.
He shuddered against me, a breath of relief against my lips.
“I know you have questions, but I don’t… I’m not…” He sighed and leaned his forehead against my chest, mumbling the rest of his sentence. “I don’t know if I can get into it tonight. It’s been… this weekend was… a lot. And I feel like a dirty cloth that’s been wrung out and hung up to dry.”
I… understood that feeling well, unfortunately.
And it was true, this weekend really had been a lot. I knew all the emotions he’d been dealing with had been overwhelming, not to mention his own fear of gnomes and everything else we’d discovered.
I rubbed his arms. “We don’t have to talk about it tonight.”
He looked up at me. “You sure? You’re not… you’re not mad at me?” His brow furrowed. “I don’t think I’ve ever had to ask anyone that question before.”
I snorted since that was probably true. Being a null meant he couldn’t read my emotions the way he did everyone else.
I was sure that was a new sensation for him.
No wonder he was nervous; he didn’t know how to navigate this.
“I’m not mad. Confused and maybe a little…
hurt that you didn’t tell me, but we only just started dating.
I can’t expect to know everything about you or your past yet. ”
His eyes searched mine for a moment. “I wasn’t trying to hide it from you, I just… I don’t like talking about it.”
I nodded since I’d picked up on that. Miles was generally kind of closed off and had trouble letting people in. From the little I’d learned this weekend, it was no wonder he was that way. He hadn’t had anyone in his corner in a long time—perhaps never.
“I’m sorry, Win. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I’m really sorry. I—”
I cut him off with a kiss. “It’s alright, sweetheart. We don’t have to talk about it tonight.” I wanted to, boy, did I want to. But I didn’t think either of us was up for any kind of emotional conversation right now.
“What if you come over tomorrow for dinner? We can talk then.”
That made me smile and pull him in for a quick hug. The fact that he was inviting me over so soon made my chest warm. “That sounds wonderful.”
He took a deep breath, almost like he was breathing me in, then pulled away. “Thank you for understanding, Win.”
I kissed his lips. “Are you ready for bed now?”
He searched my eyes for a moment, then nodded.
I smiled. “Okay.” I kissed him again because I could. Now that I was allowed to kiss him and touch him, I wasn’t going to be able to stop. “Let’s go to bed. I can go home to get ready in the morning. I’ll give Faerie Be Gone my two-weeks’ notice.”
“You still want to work with me?”
As if the answer would’ve ever been no. “Of course.”
He smiled, took a breath, then grabbed my hand, gently pulling me toward the stairs. I followed without pause all the way to his bedroom.
Since we were both already in sweatpants and t-shirts, I climbed into bed and opened my arms. Miles switched off the light and surprised me by climbing right into my arms and snuggling in.
He was so unused to comforting touches that I’d expected to have to drag him to me.
But I’d definitely take this anytime. I kissed his hair and held him tightly.
Goliath hopped on the bed and lounged across our legs, making me laugh and say, “Dude, you can’t get on Miles’s furniture like that.”
Miles patted my chest with a soft chuckle. “He’s fine. I don’t mind.”
“You’re gonna mind when your legs fall asleep and you wake up covered in fur.”
He snorted again and waved me off.
Odin climbed right on top of him and settled on his hip—since he was on his side—so I supposed he was used to being covered in animals.
Even Sola joined the party, perching on the headboard right above our heads.
I gave him a squeeze and another kiss on the top of his head.
We had a lot to talk about—like how the hell he didn’t tell me he used to be a detective, like seriously, what the hell?—but that could wait.
Knowing that didn’t change how I felt about him. It maybe made me a bit wary because I had a record, and I wasn’t sure how that looked for him to be dating an ex-con. But my feelings absolutely hadn’t changed.
I’d told him before that I hoped he’d be my boyfriend one day, and hopefully, we’d be even more to each other in the future, and I’d meant it.
Having him in my arms went a long way to mending the hurt I felt. And even though I was confused and curious, I pushed all of that away and focused on his soft breath ghosting across my collarbone and the way his hand fisted my shirt like he was afraid I’d slip away in the middle of the night.
He definitely didn’t have to worry about that.
I was right where I wanted to be.
And right now, I was pretty sure we both just needed lots of cuddles and a good night’s sleep.
Everything else could wait.