Page 92 of Stolen Voices

“I forgive you.”

“You do, huh? Why’s that?” I ask, curious about her reasoning.

“Because I checked you out too. Nice tat, by the way.”

A bark of jovial laughter booms out of me at her confession. “Thanks. Tat for butt seems fair.”

“Yeah.” She sighs wistfully, like she is picturing me half naked again.

Unbidden images of water pouring down her silky skin make my cock harden. “Go to sleep, Callie.”

“Goodnight, Eli.”

“Goodnight, princess.”

I don’t know how long I lie awake, listening to Callie sleep, but when sleep finally takes me, it’s in a new position with Callie’s head on my chest and her legs tangled around mine.

twenty-two

Eli

Ablood-curdlingscreamcutsthrough the darkness, and I wake with a jerk.

I run my hands down my face, wiping away the sheen of sweat covering my forehead as the impressions from my dream linger in the forefront of my mind.

Thank fuck, it was just a dream.

From under the covers of an unfamiliar bed, I glance around the quiet room. After a second, I remember I’m at Cam’s place in Pine Hills. With Callie.

Callie. My hand searches for her, but the sheets beside me are cool to the touch.

What the fuck.She’s gone?

My heart rate speeds up and dread coils in my stomach. My insides twist and knot as a slew of scenarios run through my head. Did someone take her? Is she hurt?Fuck.

Panic has me springing from the bed, ready to search for her, when the toilet flushes and the water runs in the ensuite bathroom. It’s only then that I notice the sliver of light under the door.

I sit on the edge of the bed, calming my racing pulse, and wait for her return. Every fiber in my body relaxes as the light turns off and Callie opens the door. She tiptoes towards the bed, unaware I’m awake.

Her movements are slow and controlled. I’m relieved to see she’s already regained some of her balance and strength floods my body like a warm blanket.

“No need to sneak around, princess.”

Callie yelps, nearly jumping out of her skin at the sound of my booming voice. “Shit.”

I flick on the bedside lamp, finding her standing in the middle of the room with her hand on her throat as she pants.

“Fuck, Eli. You scared the hell out of me. What is wrong with you?”

“Sorry.” I chuckle at her angry outburst. She’s a fighter when she’s scared, and seeing it now, after everything she’s been through, is reassuring. And honestly, it also turns me on. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I wasn’t scared. I was surprised,” she huffs. She carefully walks around the bed and climbs back under the covers. When she turns her eyes on me, my heart pinches in my chest. “I’m sorry for waking you. Was I too loud?”

“No.”You weren’t in bed.

Images of a life with Callie wrapped around me every night fill me with a sense of peace, a contentment I’ve never experienced with a woman before. I don’t make it a habit of staying the night with the women I sleep with. A big bed to myself has always been my preferred method of sleeping.

Until now.