Midnight Hour (Shadow Falls: After Dark #4)(113)

thu-thump she felt his pain. She remembered what the armadillo had said about her feeling other’s emotions.

“Are you okay?” She lifted her head.

He shot her a smile, one that wasn’t a complete lie, but he used his smiles to cover his pain.

“Hard day,” he said. “But now I’m good.”

“You want to talk about it?”

He spoke quickly. “No. It’s not that I don’t want to share, Miranda, but I don’t want to go back there right now. I don’t want that here.

”

She placed her hand on his chest, knowing his heart hurt. “We don’t have to tell each other everything. Not right away. We can tell each

other later.”

He kissed her. It was the first real kiss he’d given her in a few days. It felt good, so good she shifted, rested on top of him, and let the

kiss deepen. She ran her fingers over his abs, loving the ripples. He slipped his hand under her pajama top, touching her naked back.

Loving it. Needing more. She sat up and pulled her top off.

They touched, they tasted, they kissed. They’d set these rules and abided by them in the past. Anything above the belt. Lost in the magic and

the delicious feeling, she wanted more. She started to slip off her pajama bottoms.

He caught her hand, broke the kiss, but leaned in so close they breathed the same birthday-cake scented air. “No. Not like this. Soon though.

”

He smiled then. A real smile. One that reached down inside her and made her happy. Hopeful.

“I love you,” he whispered as he slid her top over her head. When he did, she noticed—as Della had put it—she had her tattoo groove on. But

she wasn’t the least bit self-conscious. She saw the way his eyes watched the shirt lower over her breasts. He didn’t seem to mind.

“I love you, too,” she said, then giggled. “More than ice cream.”

He countered. “More than flying.”

She brushed her finger over his smile. “My Peter.”

He lifted up on his elbow. “That reminds me. How did things go with your mom?”

She told him about the conversation with her mom, and even got teary-eyed. “But the good news is, you’re not the only one who comes from

rough stock.” She told him about the rape and the murder.

Afterward, he told her about his mom’s pimples.

“I didn’t do that. I swear.”

“Yes you did.” He kissed again. It got hot again. Hands went back to touching. But her shirt stayed on.

He finally pulled away, breathing hard. Everything about him … hard.

“We need to sleep,” he said, his voice deep and husky.

Coming back down from that high, and staying down, was hard. Especially with him, still shirtless, pressed against her.

As she lay there listening to him breathe, she couldn’t help but think about what the armadillo had said and worry about how it would go down.





Chapter Thirty-three

On Tuesday before lunch, Shawn walked into the hospital. This could be a big mistake. But damn it, he kept hearing Miranda. Then decide what

you want. Don’t let your mother’s opinions override what you feel.

Was his reluctance to get involved with anyone other than a Wiccan because of his mother? She’d certainly preached it to him all his life. So

yeah, maybe it was?

He didn’t like that answer, so he decided to play with fire. He’d decided to stop avoiding Lily. See what happened.

He’d even asked Burnett for this assignment. Mr. Crow had gotten out of the hospital a couple of days ago. And now Lily was being discharged,

too. Burnett had put a guard 24-7 on the house.

They’d told the Crows the truth. Or part of the truth. They suspected it was Lily’s family behind the robbery. Until they were caught, a

guard would be watching them. Since the two goons Jax had hired to kill her had been caught, some of the pressure was off. But not completely.

Jax could send someone else.

When he got to her door, Lucas was standing guard.

The were nodded. “They’re bringing her walking papers any minute. You got it from here?”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Shawn had noticed a little awkwardness from both Lucas and Chase as if they worried he might somehow blame them for not

warning him about Perry and Miranda. Yeah, it dinged Shawn’s ego a bit, but he wasn’t going to let it affect their friendship. Or work

relationship.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open.

Lily sat in the bed dressed to go. When her gaze found him, her eyes widened. He couldn’t tell if it was from anger or surprise.

“Well, look who the dog dragged up.” Her words came off angry, but her tone wasn’t. Color him confused.

“I’ve been putting in a lot of work hours.” It wasn’t a lie.

“I bet.”

Her backpack, opened, was beside her. He remembered when it had been full of money. Remembered he’d been responsible for a lot of her pain

since.

“Need help packing?”

“Nope. It’s done.” She studied him. “You the one giving me a lift home?”

He nodded, prepared to be slammed with insults.