Chapter 27 #3
She relaxed back into my arms, her fingers playing with the belt loop of my trousers. “Uh, well, I went to work, stopped at the grocery store, and then came home, and Jae and I put dinner in the ov—”
My heart thumped louder. “Home,” I hummed into her neck, as I placed a kiss against her throat. “I like the sound of that.”
She huffed and I could just tell without seeing her eyes that she was rolling them. “You know what I meant, shitbird.”
I chuckled, moving her hair over her shoulder to kiss her neck. “I know. I just like the sound of you and me sharing a home.” I trailed my lips up her neck, and she shivered. “You cooked?”
“Mmhmm.”
“It smells delicious,” I whispered, finally kissing her soft lips. I felt her smile against my mouth. “When will it be ready?”
“Soon.”
“Great,” I murmured, kissing her once more. “I’m starving.”
I walked backwards a few steps, unbuttoning my uniform coat as I went.
I threw it onto the armchair in the corner of my room, and Shiloh’s eyes landed on my arms. I bit back a smile, not so subtly flexing as I removed my shirt.
I unfastened my belt next, but froze as she closed the distance between us, eyes fixed on my chest.
I realized she had yet to see me shirtless and was now getting to view the tattoo I'd told her about.
She leaned closer, her eyes studying the ink.
“I don’t…” she trailed off, her hand reaching up to me and freezing in the space between us.
“It’s okay. You can touch me.”
She flicked her eyes up to mine for a moment before letting her fingertips brush the hair on my pecs. I shuddered under her touch, my skin pebbling with goosebumps. She traced the letters of her name inscribed on the blade of the scythe.
“Wow,” she whispered. Her finger followed the outline of the grim reaper and stopped at the long red hair hanging down from the body it was holding.
She withdrew her hand and stepped back to look at me fully.
“This is amazing. I mean, it’s intense, and a little bit strange considering I’m not dead, but…
I like it.” I smiled at her compliment. “Do you regret it now that you know I’m still alive? ”
Her hand dropped to her side.
“Not for a second. I wanted a way to carry a piece of you with me for the rest of my life. And for the last four years and seven months this has helped me feel connected to you. I didn’t want…I didn’t want you to be forgotten.”
Shiloh gave me a sad smile before stepping back.
“I should finish,” she muttered, nodding towards the vacuum.
“Sure,” I nodded. “You need any help with getting dinner ready?”
“No. It’ll be ready in,” she paused, grasping me wrist and turning my arm so she could see my watch, “fifteen minutes.”
“You want to relax with me for a minute?” I bit my lip waiting for her response.
She contemplated for a moment before shrugging, “Um, okay. Sure.”
My stomach filled with butterflies, and I gestured for her to join me on the bed. She hesitated before climbing under the covers, avoiding looking at me as I removed my trousers and replaced my clothes with a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.
I climbed in beside her, covering us both with the comforter before pulling her body flush against my front. I hummed in contentment, and she hooked her leg over my hip, burrowing into my chest.
“Have I told you how much I love you?” I asked.
She snorted and I laughed softly, gently squeezing her.
“Well, I do. I love you. A lot.”
“I know,” she mumbled.
“Good.”
We laid there in the silence for a long moment before she suddenly spoke.
“You don’t think I’m being selfish?”
I pulled back so I could see her face. “What do you mean?”
“Asking you and Jae to keep me a secret from your family.”
I sighed, my eyes closing briefly before I held her hazel stare.
“It’s not selfish. It’s self-preservation, Shy.
You quite literally could be harmed if we don’t keep you a secret.
And it’s not your fault that you’re in this position in the first place.
If anyone’s being selfish here, it’s me.
I asked you to stay and you freaking left Witness Protection.
You’ve welcomed me into your new life, you’re giving me—us a second chance.
I would never be able to walk away from this, from us.
If that means that we need to keep things between the three of us and your friends, then, I’m sorry, but my family can suck it. ”
Shiloh scoffed and shoved my chest, earning a chuckle from me. I pulled her face towards mine with a sobering expression, eyes bouncing between hers as I made sure she was hearing me.
“I mean it. Your safety is my number one priority, baby. I will not put your life in danger.”
She swallowed, staring at me. A nervous energy filled my body before I let the question out.
“Speaking of…how does it work if I want to take you out? On a date, that is.”
Shiloh looked like she was holding back a wider smile than the hint of one she was giving me.
“What do you mean?”
“Like…going out in public. Is that a bad idea?” She chewed her bottom lip, and it took everything in me not to pull it from between her teeth.
Not to capture it with my own mouth instead.
“I mean, we went to that bowling alley with your friends. Are there limits to what we should be doing together in public?”
“Um, as long as it’s not, like, a publicly televised show or something, we’re fine to go out on a date.”
“Okay,” I nodded with a smile, excitement bubbling in my chest as I thought about what we could do together.
As I thought about getting to show just a little bit of the world that she was mine and I was hers.
As I thought about all the ways I wanted to spoil her with my attention and my time.
“You haven’t made any plans for tomorrow, have you? ”
She frowned. “I’m going home, tomorrow, remember? Your family flies in on Sunday.”
“I was thinking that after Church, which you are still more than welcome to attend with me, we could have a date. A proper one. I never…” I paused, licking my lips as I glanced over her shoulder in thought.
We were meant to have gone on our first date just days after she ‘died’.
I had planned to take her to the light show Granby put on every December for the holidays.
My eyes bounced back to hers. “I never got the chance to take you out like I had planned. And I want to. Really want to.”
We both jumped at the sound of an alarm going off. My eyes roamed to the dresser where Shiloh’s phone was ringing obnoxiously.
“Dinner. I’ve got to check the chicken,” she explained, untangling herself from my limbs.
I sighed, lazily watching her as she straightened her clothes—my clothes that she must have changed into when she got home from work earlier.
“So?” I asked, stomach tensed as I waited for her to reply.
“Um…yeah. I’d love to,” she said, cheeks turning pink.
She hurried out of the room, and I smiled at how damn adorable she was.