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CHAPTER TWENTY

Skylar

It’s late by the time Cassius comes home.

I jump from the couch the second I hear all the bolts unlocking. After getting home an hour ago, I showered and made myself cozy on the couch. I knew that Cassius was at the boxing gym tonight, but I hadn’t realized just how late he would be. I’m not proud enough to admit that I can’t sleep when he’s not here, and if I do, it’s plagued with fear and discomfort that my favorite person isn’t close by.

Racing to the door, I throw myself at him the second he’s across the threshold. He smells like sweat, and it’s delicious—pure Cassius—and I resist the urge to lick his neck as he walks us back into the apartment.

“Hey, sunshine,” he mumbles against the top of my head, his hands wandering down to my ass. “Someone’s happy to see me.”

“I’m always happy to see you,” I hum as I get cozy against his chest. “I missed you.”

Unbearably so. It’s gotten worse in the last few weeks. It’s like I need him by my side constantly.

When I try to lead him to the couch, he chuckles and digs his feet in. “I have to shower.”

“No shower,” I pout, and using all my strength, I drag him the rest of the way into the living room. Somehow, I manage to push him onto the couch, more than likely because he went willingly versus my actual strength getting him there. “Only cuddles.”

He flicks a teasing eyebrow up, looking so fucking hot it should be illegal. There’s always something bordering on cocky with Cassius. It’s never obvious or blunt—he would never be—but almost like a subtle confidence he carries that radiates dominance. Everyone sees him as a chill guy, and he is, but he’s also undeniably sure of himself.

It’s sexy as fuck.

I move to straddle him, feeling the need to be impossibly close, and my eyes widen when he lets out a sharp hiss. Pulling back, I gasp. “What was that?”

“Nothing.” He shakes his head, but the way he bites down on his bottom lip is telling enough. “Just got a little bruised up at the gym.”

He’s about to gently shove me off, but I’m quicker than he thinks. Before he can do anything, my hands are already working his shirt up, and I want to burst into tears at what I see. His entire side is covered in what I’m sure will become the ugliest bruise that’s ever existed. It looks red and swollen and tender, like it’s causing him a great deal of pain, and my heart breaks. “Cassy…”

“Like I said, just a bruise,” he explains, rubbing a soothing hand up and down my side. “It’s no big deal.”

It is a big deal. “They’re allowed to hit you like this at the gym. This looks…”

He captures my wandering hand and brings it to his lips. “It’s fine . I promise.”

Cassius is so strong, though, and I doubt if he were actually in pain he’d say anything. I don’t like the marks, but I let it go, because it’s obvious he doesn’t want to discuss it further. Being careful as hell, I try to ease myself off him, but he holds my hips with an iron grip. “Cass?—”

“Distance is the last thing I want,” he mumbles. Bringing me back down, he rests his head on my shoulder. “Just stay here with me like this for a little bit.”

I nod. He doesn’t have to twist my arm for that. I’ll happily die in Cassius’s arms if it means we can be together forever. I let him cradle himself against me, lightly threading my fingers through his shaggy hair, which in turn makes him moan. As I think about his bruises and the pain he must be in, tears blur my vision. I don’t full-out sob, but I do whimper into the top of his head, so much so that he notices. “Sunshine?”

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I admit on a shaky exhale, holding him tighter against me. “You’re everything to me.”

He tips his head up so I can meet his eyes—warm and comforting—as his lips quirk up. “You’re my world, Skylar.”

I shove his face back against my shoulder and hold him there. We’ve been through so much. From finding each other in that shit home to moving out and building our life together. If it wasn’t for Cassius, I wouldn’t have survived any of it.

So, I hold him. I keep him pressed against my body where he’s safe. I let us sit in our little bubble of peace for just a little bit longer.

Because there’s no darkness when we’re together.