Chapter 10

After Kelly ate dinner, I told her to go take a shower while I carried Marco's food downstairs to him. We ended up gaming for a while, and he asked me some questions about what it is I do for a living. He's a bright kid, and I could tell that he understands a lot more than anyone gives him credit for. Well, maybe not Kelly. It's clear she thinks he's the best kid in the world, and so far I can't disagree.

After he eats and we talk, he can hardly keep his eyes open. He tells me goodnight as I climb the stairs back to the main floor and set the alarm again. There's an extra system I like to set at night that's triggered by motion throughout the house.

On the top floor are spare rooms, but none of them have beds. This isn't my residence full-time, so I don't have it set up for more than one or two people to stay. That means it's the couch for me tonight, but I want to check on Kelly first.

When I nudge open the door of the bedroom, I'm kind of surprised to see her still awake. The bedside lamp is on, and she's sitting up reading a book.

"What have you got there?" I ask, and she looks up.

"Oh sorry." She closes it, but I wave her off.

"Don't be sorry. You can have anything you want." I don't miss the way her eyes dart over my body before she holds up the book.

"Whose is this?"

I cock my head to the side so I can read the title and then I smile. "Mine."

"You like Harry Potter?" She looks skeptical as I go over to the dresser and grab some pajama pants.

"Who doesn't?" When I glance back at her, I notice she's wearing the shirt I got out for her earlier.

"I guess me?" She shrugs. "I've never read it. We didn't have a lot of books around our house. Although I'm sure that's not a big surprise."

I walk over to the closet and pull my shirt off. I can feel her eyes on me as I toss it into the hamper and then unbutton my pants. When I look over my shoulder, I see her quickly turn away before I take those off too and pull on the pajama pants.

"It was one of the first things I remember reading in my foster home," I say as I walk back over to the bed.

"You were in foster care?" I nod, and she gets a sad look in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I had it pretty good with the places I stayed. The first home had a ton of books, and I remember them telling me I could have as many as I wanted. I didn't read much, so I just grabbed the first one I saw. They didn't have a TV, so there wasn't much else to do."

"What happened to your parents?" Kelly asks quietly, and I decide to throw caution to the wind and stretch out on the bed beside her.

She's still tucked under the blankets while I'm lying on top, so that makes this totally not sexual. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

"My birth mom died right after I was born, and I went into the system. My bio dad was in and out of jail until he died a few years back. Nothing special."

"Sounds familiar." She turns on her side to face me, and we stare at each other for a long moment. "Will you tell me who you had to call earlier?"

"My foster brother Maxim. He did some data work for me in the past, and I asked him for help. He made it look like the transaction took place. I wasn't going to give your father the money, but he made it look like I did. It gives you some breathing room."

As if on cue, she lets out a deep sigh. "Thank you. For all of this."

"I also called Bruce and Katherine. I told them the truth about you and Paul."

"Oh no, Luke, you?—"

"It needed to happen," I tell her and reach out to take her hand. I can see the worry in her eyes, but I rub my thumb over her wrist, and she relaxes. "They need to be able to protect themselves from what Paul has gotten you into."

"I know you're right, I just hate for them to think badly of me. They were so kind, and all I did was lie to them." She bites her bottom lip before her eyes meet mine. "Does that make me a terrible person?"

"No." I pull her closer to me and cup her cheek. "You were doing what you needed to do to survive. You were protecting Marco and yourself and that's never wrong."

"You're being too nice to me."

I shake my head as I brush the soft skin along her jaw. "I have a feeling it's been so long since someone cared for you that you've forgotten what it's like."

"Maybe so." She looks into my eyes, and there's something that passes between us. Something earth-shattering.

"If you let me, I'll remind you."

"Luke," she whispers before I place my lips on hers.

This time when we kiss it's so tender it feels like I'm sealing my words between us. It's a vow I'm placing in her soul and one that I'll honor every day of my life. I'm not sure how this happened so fast, but the second I saw her, I knew she was the one. No one before her has ever made me feel this way, and I already know that I'll go the rest of my life only loving her. It's too soon to say it out loud, but I can show her.

"Let me kiss you," I say against her lips, and she smiles.

"Isn't that what you're doing?"

My lips trail down her neck as my hand slides to her bare thigh. "Let me kiss you everywhere."