“Okay,” Sarah says, her voice still a little tense. She’s probably kicking herself as much as I am for coming to a popular shopping center.
I should’ve had a better plan for that. Hell, I can do disguises that’ll fool people all the time . . . yet I forgot to even come up with some fake names for Sarah and Carsen, a cover story, anything. I do it all the time when I’m working a story, but it hadn’t occurred to me to do it for a simple shopping trip.
That’s a mistake I won’t make again.
“Listen, Sarah?” I ask as we’re still outside the car. “I promise, I’ll handle this. I’ll do my best to keep Carsen and Keith safe.”
Sarah studies me for a moment, then nods. “I hope so. I believe you.”
Chapter 21
Keith
For the past a week and a half, it feels like a new routine has established itself in my life. I wake up, make sure Carsen’s good for school before Sarah drops her off, then grab a workout before spending a few hours putting together tunes. That little ditty in my head keeps developing, and as I work on it, I’m more and more convinced it can be a good song . . . maybe even my best.
Sometime during the day, Elise either calls or comes over to talk about this and that for articles, showing me rough drafts on what she’s got. More often than not, she stays for dinner, and on those nights, the whole evening is a heady mix of professional and personal as we talk about music and tours and then roll into deep late-night conversations about everything and nothing. One night, she’ll hang with Carsen and we’ll be all about what’s on TV. The next, Elise and I damn-near have ripped the headboard off my bed as we fucked ourselves into a near coma just from an intense quickie before Carsen got home from school.
It’s been amazing to watch how Carsen, Sarah, and Elise have bonded so quickly and easily, although I’m even further outnumbered now, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. I’d worried so much for so long, assuming that I’d be alone until Carsen was grown, turning off that part of my heart, my soul.
But Elise makes it possible to have a connection with my daughter and still have a safe haven where Carsen knows she’s my priority. That takes a special woman, and I’m glad that it’s Elise.
We haven’t retraced those steps we were taking in the parking lot, saying how we feel. We haven’t had a night alone to address those feelings the way I want to. But looking over at her, I smile.
She’s at home in my house, washing up the dinner dishes from our date night-slash-interview and loading the dishwasher the way I like. It’s a small thing, really, just a nuance of daily life, but the simple fact that she’s comfortable doing it here, in my home, makes all the difference.
It resonates deep inside me, a fiery ball of joy singing out at her presence in my life, completing a puzzle at my core that I didn’t even know was missing a piece. I feel solid with her here, and I need her to know that.
Standing in the doorway with my arms crossed over my chest, I watch for one more second before I interrupt her, “Elise.” There’s already gravel and heat in my voice, but I can’t and don’t want to control it.
She looks over at me, a question in her eyes. “Keith?”
“Leave the dishes for later. I need you now. Come with me.” I can see the moment of hesitation on her face, the way she weighs whether she should sass me back, but she must sense the weight in my words. I’m glad. I don’t want to punish her tonight. I want to love her, fuck her, be inside her body so deep she feels my imprint there forever more.
Tonight, I don’t just want her body. I want her soul and her heart. It’s only fair because she has mine.
I press off the doorframe, turning to walk down the hall, feeling her presence behind me as she follows me to the bedroom. As soon as she passes the threshold, I turn, closing the door behind her.
Her eyes track me, her breath already shallow and fast as I slip my shirt over my head and toss it to the floor. I stand in front of her, and I can feel her gaze as she traces the tattoos along my chest and arms. “Strip for me, Elise. I want you naked.”
She doesn’t rush to do as I command. Instead, she takes advantage, knowing her own power even as she submits to what I want. Slowly, she slips the straps of her dress off her shoulders, looking up at me through the fringe of her lashes, a flirtatious faux-innocence on her face as she holds it to her chest.