Page 138 of Control Freak

Shiloh exhaled shakily. “Good. Then I just want to put it all behind me.” He turned, smiling at me. “My life is here now.”

“Good answer,” I murmured.

We were back in the GTO before Shiloh spoke again.

“Curtis was wrong about one thing.”

“Just one?” I asked.

“He said I wouldn’t need you if I had the money, but that’s not true. I’ll always need you, Holden.”

I reached for his hand. Shiloh eyed me like I was a dangerous animal about to bite.

“I’m okay to touch,” I said. “Promise.”

“Okay, I wasn’t sure after…everything.”

Everything being my major panic attack.

“Your touch could never be like theirs,” I said. “I needed a little time for my nervous system to calm down, but right now, I want nothing more than to hold your hand and know that you’re safe.”

“Then I’d love to hold your hand, Holden Cross.”

Shiloh slipped his fingers between mine, and it was like coming home. A swell of comfort swept through me. In the beginning, it had been difficult to touch. I’d had to fight my instincts to pull away. But now? Shiloh’s hand was like my own, always welcome.

I squeezed his hand a little tighter, heart swelling. “Let’s go home.”

CHAPTER 33

Shiloh

I wokethe next morning to soft kisses trailing over my shoulder and down my arm.

I sighed and opened my eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the early morning light filtering through the blinds on the window. We’d gotten back late last night, and I’d crashed hard after the emotional roller coaster of the past couple of days.

“Good morning,” I rasped.

“It sure is,” Holden murmured, lifting his head to look at me from only a few inches away. Dark brown hair fell across his forehead, a sharp contrast to his bright blue eyes. “But how are you doing?”

Everything from last night hit me. The confrontation on the roadside. The way Holden’s whole family—myfamily too now—fought for me.

Brick and Curtis had left with their tails between their legs, and even if they wanted to come back and prove something, they couldn’t. Dalton had made sure of that.

“I still can’t believe this is finally over,” I said. “No more hiding out, no more looking over my shoulder.”

“Yeah, you deserve that.” He licked his lips, looking a little nervous. “You said last night that your life was here now.”

I rolled my head toward him. “Yeah?”

“Does that mean, um, that you’ll move in here?” He paused. “Permanently, I mean. With me.”

My heart skipped. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Do you want me here?”

“Always, Shy. I love you.”

I smiled. “Well, Ihavegotten kind of attached to this bed.”

“Just the bed, huh?”