Heaven and Hell (Heaven and Hell #1)(92)

“I don’t know your Dad at all. But I know what I’d do, I found out that Oswald kept that from me. Your Dad had to be free to have whatever reaction he wanted to have and not worry about you.”

Okay, I could get that.

However…

“Okay, Sam, but when he was blaming himself, he needed me then.”

“No, honey, you needed him then. He needed to say it, he told you flat out. I didn’t hold you back for the reasons you’re thinkin’. I did it because he had to be free to let that shit go and you weren’t gonna let him.”

This was true.

“Right,” I whispered.

“There it is,” Sam whispered back and there was an unreadable expression on his face, I couldn’t get a lock on it, I just knew it was good.

“There what is?”

“You’re gettin’ to the place I want us to be.”

This time, my head tipped to the side. “What?”

He closed the distance, his hands went to my neck, thumbs to my jaw tipping my head back and his face came to within an inch of mine.

“Fearless,” he murmured.

“Sam, I’m not following.”

“You disagreed with me, you faced your fears, you told me what was on your mind. We disagreed, we talked, we listened. You said you feel safe with me but, Kia, honey, you don’t believe in it. Just now, you took another step toward believing and I gotta tell you, baby, it feels unbelievably f**kin’ good every time you do it when you place a little more trust in me.”

Oh my God.

That was so beautiful. So sweet.

So Sam.

My body swayed into his as my hands that were resting on his waist slid around to wrap around his back and I whispered, “Sam,” but said nothing else because I couldn’t find the words to say.

His hands left my neck and his arms folded around me as he promised quietly, “I’ll earn it all, baby.”

I pressed my lips together, nodded then dipped my chin and did a face plant in his chest.

Sam kissed the top of my head.

And just as I suspected I would never get used to him being so hot, I suspected I would never get used to him being so sweet.

And I really hoped I didn’t.

“We better join the others. Even though I got a week’s allowance of fat sittin’ in my gut, I don’t think it’d be good to dis your Mom on the parfaits at this juncture,” Sam noted, I pulled my face out of his chest and tilted it back to look at him, grinning.

“You would be correct,” I confirmed then asked with curiosity, “You count fat?”

Sam burst out laughing.

I watched and waited patiently for him to finish.

He finally did then answered, telling me something I already knew, “Baby, this body does not come naturally.” Letting me go with one arm but sliding the other one up to my shoulders, he moved to my side before he propelled us to the doors. “But I don’t count fat. You don’t have to count fat to know you’re consuming too much when you eat half a dozen onion rings and go through three napkins doin’ it in order to sop up all the grease.”

He was not wrong about that.

“Told you Mom was a comfort cook,” I muttered as he pushed one of the doors to the dining room open, I pushed the other one and we walked through.

“You did not lie,” I muttered back.

We walked through the dining room and the kitchen but at the backdoor I pulled him to a halt then curled into him and caught his eyes.

“Were you okay with before?” I asked quietly.

“Which before, baby?” he asked back and I laughed softly.

“Well, not the emotional scene with my Dad or the tense scene with Ozzie, the before where half of Heartmeadow came to check you out.”

“Am I slidin’ in bed beside you tonight?” Sam asked and I blinked.

“Uh… I think so.”

Where else would he sleep?

His face dipped closer, “If the answer to that is yes, then yes, I’m okay with half of Heartmeadow coming to check me out.”

There it was again. So damned sweet.

I slid my hand up his chest to curl my fingers around his neck and warned, “You’re also sliding into bed with Memphis and, head’s up, she seems really small but in a bed she expands to five times her size.”

Sam smiled at me. “I think I’ll cope.”

“Good.”

“Your bed is queen-size, Kia, my bed is king. Eventually, Memphis will have plenty of room.”

Sam, me and Memphis in a huge bed where everyone had plenty of room.

That sounded like heaven.

I smiled back.

Mom threw open the door and ordered, “Scooch! It’s parfait time.” Then she hustled Sam and I out of her way, continuing to issue orders, “Kia, sweetie, get the ice cream and nuke it. Thirty seconds, then check. You might need another fifteen. And grab ten bowls, Ozzie is still here.”

“Right, Mom.” I started to move away but Sam caught my hand and I looked back to see his brows raised.

“Nuke it?” he asked quietly.

“Mom doesn’t like hard ice cream so she nukes it soft.”

Sam stared at me.

Then he shook his head.

Then he bent it to touch his mouth to mine.