Page 156 of Chalk Outline

There’s something about her that I just can’t help but love. She has this radiant smile that fills me with joy. Her features are sweet and carefree, yet still soft and relaxed. And those loving eyes of hers are filled with so much warmth and affection.

Love.

So much love.

She loves me as much as I love her.

“I need to tell you something,” I start.

“What?” Her brows pull together, then flash widely with a realization. “If there’s a snake behind me, just kill it.”

We need to work on her fear of snakes.

“No. It’s not that. I found a place for us away from Salem and all the chaos there. We could start fresh,” I say hesitantly. I know she’s lived there her whole life, and being near her grandma is a perk; she always has someone to watch over her and be there for her. But I just want us to travel around the world. I want to show her all the things I’ve seen and still want to see with her.

We will be free for good once I eliminate all our threats.

The hand that grips my throat moves up to cup my cheek, and I lean into it, soaking in the sensation of her satiny skin against my growing stubble. She drops the gun beside us to free her other hand. Wisps of hair stick to my face, and she brushes them away.

“I would be honored.”

She exhales a long, soft sigh. Her fingers toy with mine on either side of us, sparks ignite in that simple contact, sending shivers down our spines. I know this because we both tilt our hips—me up, her down—while we grind against each other. The comfort we find in our touch alone satisfies us.

She doesn’t mind that I’m sweating and that dirt clings to me like a second skin.

She never cared about these trivial things.

Whenever the rain fell on us, she embraced it. And when everything closed in on us, she held me tighter and refused to let go.

I am madly in love with her because I never stopped. My heart swells, and my chest puffs out whenever I see her. I am so honored to be her crying shoulder and the reason she wakes up smiling in the morning. I am honored that she looks at me with undying love in her eyes, a twinkle that can last forever like a promised kiss.

“Tell me something about yourself from before we met,” I prompt. “Something good and something I wouldn’t like to hear.”

“Hmm…”

“Something I didn’t know about you.”

“I’m pretty boring.”

“Anything but,” I correct. “Go on.”

“I played the saxophone from age seven to sixteen. I thought it was pretty cool and asked Grandma to play it, so she hired an online tutor, and I practiced it for years until I got tired of it.”

No way.

“Wait… that’s why there’s a glass cabinet in your Grandma’s house in the living room with different saxophones.” I’m pretty sure my excitement shows on my face.

“Yup! She collected them like trophies and thought that would make me play it again when I stopped.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

“I stopped, so it didn’t matter.”

“Itsomatters.“ I knead her thighs. “I want to hear you play someday.”

“Okay,” she doesn’t hesitate.

“Really?”