Page 22 of Stoker's Serenity
“Why you laugh like that?” he demanded.
“I’m not beautiful.” I denied it automatically.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Ren, and I’m the one looking at you, and I say you are.”
I swallowed hard. “Did I mention I’m really bad at this whole dating thing?”
“You mentioned it,” he said, and smoothed a hand over my body, over the tee.
“You can’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He chuckled. “No, I can’t. Do me a favor and close your eyes.” I did as he asked and closed them, and he murmured, “Good, now repeat after me: I am a beautiful woman.”
“What? No. I’m not saying that,” I giggled.
“Come on now! Not going to let you sleep until you humor me.”
He went straight for my ticklish spot like he just knew where it was.
“Oh, ho! Leverage!” he cried, triumphant.
“Hey, no! Stop that!” I cried, laughing.
“Not until you give me what I want,” he declared and rolled onto his side toward me, intent on torturing me with tickling touches to my ribs until I capitulated.
“Okay, okay! I am a beautiful woman!”
“Thank you, and you’re damn right you are. Never forget it.” And to make his point, he covered my mouth with his with a kiss that had me practically arching off the bed and into his arms.
* * *
“Ren,”he whispered in my ear and I winced, cuddling further into the warm nest of blankets on my bed.
“Ren, baby, kiss me goodbye, I gotta go to work.”
I whimpered and sat up, flinging my arms around him and attempted to drag him back into bed.
“No, I don’t want you to go.”
He laughed and kissed me, his fingers along the side of my neck, thumb stroking along my jaw.
“I don’t want to go either, but I have to. You go back to sleep and call me tonight, yeah?”
“Mm, I promise,” I murmured.
“K.” He pecked me on the tip of my nose and withdrew from my grasp and I felt bereft for the moment. I closed my eyes and listened to the birds chirp outside, his bootfalls as he descended the stairs and eventually, his truck firing up out at the street.
I sighed, missing him already and half afraid I was growing far too attached far too quickly.
8
Stoker…
“Where the fuck were you last night?” Marlin asked as I dropped into my seat at the table.
“Stayed in Lauderdale,” I said, and his eyebrows shot up.
“Oh?”
