Page 116 of Bad For Me (Rock Canyon, Idaho 5)

“So your brother’s staying with your dad until he can be discharged, and I raced here to find you because Val couldn’t see your house through the storm.” She didn’t think she’d ever spoken so fast in her life.

“It sounds like you had quite the night.” His voice began shaking with laughter, and just that short burst showered her with warmth.

“The point I was trying to make is that I love you. I love you so much that if I lost you, it would kill all the beauty left in this world. Because you were the one who showed me that the world could be beautiful again. That love could be amazing and real.

“I’ve been working on myself, actually. I restarted the Twelve-Step program and have been trying to make amends with people that I’ve hurt.” Her throat squeezed so tight, she could hardly get the words out. “Like you. I know all you ever wanted was to love me and be there for me. I know I shut you out and hurt you, but I’ve been trying to learn healthy ways to communicate. I’m seeing a counselor twice a week, and she’s really helped me learn how to forgive myself. What happened wasn’t my fault, but blaming myself gave me a sense of control in situations where I had no control whatsoever. It’s a work in progress, and I’m learning to love myself . . . but I’m ready.

“Fate brought you to me,” she said, sobbing now, “and I won’t give you up without a fight.”

Everett stared down at her thoughtfully, and just when she was sure he was going to tell her it was too late, he smiled. “But you don’t believe in fate.”

“But you do,” she said, hope warming her like sunshine. “And I believe in you.”

Before she could say anything else, he lifted her against him and wrapped her legs around his waist, taking her mouth with his.

Callie held on to the back of his head, opening her mouth wide. The kiss was messy, their noses bumping and teeth clacking, but neither of them could stop devouring the other.

“Fuck, Callie,” he said against her mouth, his voice raw. Everett started carrying her down the hallway.

Heart pounding, she stopped him in the doorway. “Wait.”

“Callie,” he started, but she covered his mouth with her hand.

“Trust me.” With her other hand, she patted the wall until she found the light switch. As she flipped it up and light flooded the room, she said, “You may continue.”

His lips twitched as she pulled her hand away from his mouth. “I may, huh?”

“Will you shut up and kiss me?”

He did, his arms sliding up her back to tangle in her wet hair, and she moaned as he took her bottom lip into his mouth, sucking it sharply. When they reached the edge of the bed, she unhooked her legs and slid down his body. Her hands grabbed the bottom of his T-shirt and jerked it up, breaking away from him as he helped her drag it over his head.

She pushed him back, and he sat on the bed, watching her with eyes that were dark as burnt sequoia. Before she lost her nerve, she unbuttoned her coat and discarded her sweatshirt and bra, standing topless in her sweatpants.

No T-shirt. No bra. Just her skin and scars.

“Callie,” he said, reaching for her.

She evaded his hands to push her sweats around her ankles, stepping out of them slowly in just her underwear. She was freezing without the warmth of his body, but she wanted him to look, to see why she had been so scared to let him touch her.

Closing her eyes, she waited for him to say something, anything.

She jumped when his finger trailed gently across her stomach.

“Look at me.”

His command shook her to her core, but she did as he asked. Everett slid his finger over each white scar, watching her face as he did so.

“I love you,” Everett said.

Her throat tightened with sobs as he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her to him, kissing the scar in the middle of her chest, the one that had missed her lung by a millimeter.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to be ready,” Callie said.

“You’re here now.” His lips lingered over the skin above her belly button before he brought his mouth back up to hers.

Callie lowered her forehead to his, releasing a shaky breath. “I wish I could take it all back.”

“I don’t.” She pulled away from him, even as he continued. “If he hadn’t attacked you, you never would have come to Rock Canyon. We never would have met. I hate that you went through hell for years and that you suffered. But without your past, you and I wouldn’t have a future.”