Chapter 47
FORTY-SEVEN
Blakely
The panic of the night terror lingered when I woke up to Devon’s lips on my forehead and his arms wrapped around me.
“You’re okay,” he murmured against my skin and brushed a soothing hand down my back and over his T-shirt that I’d worn to bed. Exhaustion made it difficult to open my eyes, but I somehow managed. “Go back to sleep.”
The few hours I had slept were already a fucking miracle, because the second my eyes opened, my mind started working.
“I don’t think I can,” I mumbled into his chest. I burrowed deeper, trying to suffocate the thoughts.
When we’d made it to Devon’s place early that morning, I’d been too wound up to sleep immediately. So, we stayed up playing Uno and watching Tato and Stormy have a standoff across the room. They were both wary of the other and unwilling to make the first move.
“We’ve only slept for four hours.” I groaned and willed sleep to find me again. But any attempt was useless when someone started banging on the door. Reflexively, I tensed, and Devon’s arms tightened around me .
“Dev, I know Blakely’s in there, too, because I saw her car out front, but we were supposed to have breakfast this morning! Get your ass up!”
“Fuck,” he groaned and wiped at his eyes.
“I’ll be in the kitchen, and I have a surprise for you!”
“What do you think the likelihood is of her leaving us alone if I don’t go down there?” he asked.
“None. Absolutely zero percent chance. She’ll be back up here in five minutes, probably.”
He mumbled his agreement and pushed a few locks of my curly, chaotic hair out of my face before he leaned down for a quick, chaste kiss. “You make it really hard to leave this bed when waking up next to you is all I’ve ever wanted.”
I was suddenly very aware of my heart in my chest and the way it was thumping against my rib cage. He was so sweet and so perfect and so mine. I reached my hand up and did the same thing to him—brushing away a few stray strands of dark red hair that had fallen forward onto his forehead. It was just long enough on top that it brushed his brow.
“I don’t know how I didn’t realize it before.”
“Realize what?”
My fingers trailed over the side of his face, over his freckled-dusted cheek, and over his scruffy jaw. I surveyed the subtle lines around his eyes and across his forehead. The scar above his lip from running into a parked car as a kid and the slight bump in his nose from the same accident.
“That it was always supposed to be you. I didn’t realize it before, but I should have.”
I brushed my thumb over his smirk and kissed it quickly. He hummed over my mouth and wrapped his hand around my hip to tug me closer. My thigh pressed against his dick, which was half-hard behind his briefs.
“I’m glad you finally realized it because I can’t relate. I’ve known all along that it was you I wanted. That I needed .”
His words were warm and truthful, and I felt like I was fucking glowing under the echo of them. I leaned in for another kiss, dropping my hand down his chest and enjoying the minor reprieve from, well, everything.
But Devon’s phone started vibrating on the nightstand, and the blissful moment was broken.
Unsure of the wooden stairs, Tato cautiously followed me down from Devon’s apartment. He’d gone down twenty minutes earlier to placate his sister, leaving me to begrudgingly roll out of bed. I threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and attempted to cover up the dark, deep-set circles under my eyes.
It was futile, but at least I didn’t look as dead as I felt.
I was hoping the coffee Devon promised would also help with that.
I’d also taken the time to call Detective Baker on Devon’s phone and tell him about the cookies. He agreed to send an officer to my house later that day to pick them up as evidence.
Tato stopped in the grass and then proceeded to sniff around, identifying the new and exciting smells. Normally, I would have let him take all the time he needed, but I couldn’t help but glance over my shoulder. My eyes scanned the fenceline and bounced between the windows of the homes around us that overlooked the backyard.
I’d never been a paranoid person, but everything had changed. Now, it felt like he was constantly watching me, lining up his next shot behind his camera lens.
Tato nudged my hand hanging by my side, and I jumped a mile in the air. God, I needed to calm down.
“Let’s go, bud,” I said, waving him along as I walked toward the back door. He trotted by my side and stepped through the door just in front of me. He spotted Devon in the kitchen, and his tail immediately started wagging.
I understood the reaction because I, too, couldn’t contain my excitement. But rather than my tail wagging, I smiled .
“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, rounding the counter with a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. He passed it to me, and I cupped the warm mug in both of my hands. Taking my first sip, I peered at Devon over the lip, but he was looking warily over my shoulder.
Cautiously, I spun around. Shelly was seated in a comfortable chair closest to the front door and only managed a tight-lipped smile in my direction. Farther into the room, Sydney was sitting atop the coffee table, smiling wide and greeting Tato with all the attention he desired.
Then a man stood from the couch, and I realized why both Devon and Shelly looked like they were in pain. He was about my height—almost six feet—and wore a wide smile as he stepped around the couch toward me.
His dark brown hair was messily styled, and thin, wire-framed glasses were poised on his nose. His smile didn’t falter as he stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Julian, Sydney’s boyfriend.”
My eyes nearly popped out of my head, but no matter how surprised I was, I couldn’t be rude. I shifted the coffee cup to one hand and shook his outstretched hand.
“Great,” Shelly said abruptly, pushing up from her chair. “Now that everyone’s here, we can eat.”
Her smile as she passed was not an expression she often wore. It was both uncomfortable and annoyed.
“Oh, please let me help, Ms. Graham,” Julian exclaimed. He followed her into the kitchen, and Sydney bounced over to me and Devon. Her excitement was intense, especially when I’d only had a sip of coffee on top of my four hours of sleep.
She clasped my free hand and squeezed it as she squealed. “Blake, isn’t he so cute?”
I put on my best faux smile and nodded. “ The cutest.”
Too enthralled by the introduction of her new boyfriend, she didn’t hear any sarcasm in my response, but Devon did. He coughed back a laugh behind me, and I shot him a warning look over my shoulder .
“I can’t wait for you to get to know him more. He’s so smart and so talented.” She quickly bounced away, and I watched her bounce directly into Julian’s arms. He was talking Shelly’s ear off, but she was paying more attention to the quiche she was taking out of the oven.
In front of me, Devon’s feelings were uncharacteristically written all over his face. He glared at Julian with his arm still slung over his sister’s shoulder. I rolled my lips to suppress my smile and nudged his arm.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had to tell you this before, but control your facial expression, babe.” I chuckled and sipped my coffee. He’d made it perfectly—a sprinkle of brown sugar and a good amount of cream.
He shook his head and looked down at me, sipping from his own mug.
“I’m guessing neither of you knew he was coming?”
“No. This is the surprise she was so excited to show me, us.”
I shrugged and scratched Tato’s head as he came to stand beside me. “He seems…nice,” I said, struggling for a word that could describe the man I’d only just met. “But he also seems a lot older than her.”
Devon gripped his mug so tightly, I was surprised it didn’t shatter in his hand. Trying to ease his frustration, I looped my hand around his elbow and leaned my head on his shoulder. I smiled when he visibly relaxed.
“He is. That’s a topic we haven’t discussed yet.”
“Something to look forward to.”