Ever After by Jones Lisa Renee

Author:Jones, Lisa Renee
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Julie Patra Publishing
Published: 2018-10-09T16:00:00+00:00

***

Cole

Normal.

That word stays with me the rest of the night while we visit with Cat and Reese. I want normal, I want to settle back in with Lori, but I don’t want a version of normal where she feels she has to be the same super-human she was when she met me. I don’t want a normal that includes that armor with me. And I did that to her with my box of fucking demons. In my need to protect her, I made her try to protect me. I’m going to fix that, and I’m going to start down that path tonight.

Well-fed and wined, we slip into the back of a hired car, and I pull her close, my hand on her leg. I never thought about kids until tonight, but with Lori, I want it all. Everything. Despite the punch in my chest when that test was negative, I’m grateful that she’s not pregnant yet. We need to learn us first. We need to get past this one damn case that hasn’t fully let us go, and travel a few more, just because we can. Because we’re us.

We don’t speak on the ride home, but the awareness between us is that palpable intense awareness I have known with no one but Lori. It’s like a burn that slowly consumes, demands, even takes, but you give yourself to it willingly. And that’s where I need Lori, where I almost had her, but she’s pulled back, and neither of us even saw it happen. That’s how much I was focused on how that attack affected me. What it made me feel when I was never what was important.

We arrive at the building and I help her exit, pulling her to me, my hands on her waist as I kiss her. “We’re home. Our home.”

“Yes,” she whispers. “Our home.”

I lace my fingers with hers and we start walking when my cellphone buzzes with a text. I fight the urge to throw the damn thing, but I snake it from my pocket and read the message from Royce while we cross the lobby. Once we’re at the elevator, and actually, in the car, I stick my phone back into my pocket. “That was from Royce,” I say, keying in our floor. “He says there’s more to Ashley’s ex than meets the eye. He might be CIA. He can’t get a straight answer.”

“CIA?” Lori asks incredulously. “That’s unexpected. At least that means he’s not dangerous.”

“Royce said CIA doesn’t mean he’s not dirty or dangerous. We should hold for more information. We’re not telling Ashley yet. He wants to wait. We’ll know more in the morning.” The elevator dings and we enter. “And now we’re really home.” I take her hand. “Come on.” The minute I’m touching her again, the air is charged between us. I lead her down the hallway and once we’re in the apartment, we leave our bags behind and I have her hand again, with one destination in mind: our bedroom.

We walk there in silence, and I know she can tell there is more on my mind than undressing.

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