Five Weeks (Seven Series #3)(61)

A smile touched my lips. “Maybe you should put that in a song.”
Jericho held my gaze with his pensive eyes. “Hawk’s dead. Just so you know.”
I nodded. “I had a feeling.”
“You’re a tough girl, Isabelle. Don’t let what happened harden you, but don’t let it weaken you either.”
“How do I do that?”
He turned his left shoulder toward me and pointed at his tattoo. “Balance. I didn’t fill in the guitar because I needed something to remind me. Not all black. Not all white. Not all full and not all empty. I’m not perfect, and I’ll always be without something. But that’s okay, as long as I don’t let one or the other consume me.”
I smoothed my fingers over the tattoo and looked up at him. “I thought maybe you just ran out of ink.”
He burst out laughing and wow, what a smile. Jericho didn’t just have nice lips, but his whole mouth worked in the most mysterious way. A sweep of his tongue, a casual smile, and the words he spoke. Not just in song, but in private.
“How come you only got one tattoo? I bet people gave you heat for that. No skulls, no daggers, no badass dragon?”
A current of possession rose in his tone. “Sometimes one good thing is all you need.”
“I’m sorry that bitch stole your guitar. If it makes you feel any better, she’s probably working on her fifth husband.”
“The only thing she stole was my future,” he said, pulling me against him and wrapping his arms around the small of my back. “But I got it back, and I’m not letting go.”
A knock sounded at the door as it creaked open. An older woman peered in and glanced at my plate. “I’ve put some things in the bathroom for you to clean up with. Do you want something else to eat? I have a fruit salad in the fridge, and lunch will be ready in about an hour.”
“No, I don’t want to be any trouble. Thanks for what you’ve done for me.”
“Lynn, I’m setting up a room for Isabelle down the hall. Tell Austin I’m heading out in a few minutes to pick up her things. I also need to grab some cheese popcorn.”
I concealed my smile when he winked at me.
She peered suspiciously between us and closed the door.
“Lynn’s having issues coping with some of the Shifter drama that goes on. We can’t change who we are because a human lives in the house, but they’re family and we protect them just the same. Austin thinks she’s going to send Maizy away soon. His hands are tied since he’s not the father. Lexi’s trying to talk her into staying, but after this incident, I don’t know. She’s been pretty quiet this morning.”
“Can you blame her? She’s human and has a little girl to look after. Parents want the best for their kids.”
“How many do you want?”
“What?”
Jericho chuckled. “How. Many. Do. You. Want?”
Okay, I started to blush. Especially when he tightened his grip and planted a soft peck on my forehead. Everything about the way he touched me was restrained and polite—Jericho handled me like a cornered animal who might run.
“Six.”
His eyes widened and he leaned back. “Six? What the shit?”
“Don’t you want a band?”
He gripped both sides of my head and kissed my forehead. “Still the same old Isabelle. Why don’t you shift again? I’ll leave you alone and you can let your wolf out for as long as she wants.”
“I’ll tear up your room.”
Jericho leaned against the door and began fooling with a ring on his finger. “It’s just stuff. I want those marks off your wrists.”
I traced a finger over them. “I don’t think they’re going to heal all the way.”#p#分页标题#e#
“And your back,” he said in a controlled breath.
“Those marks don’t hurt and they’ll fade. Hawk put me through a lot, but you know I grew up in a fighting household. I’m not going to allow him to ruin my life. I’m going back to work this week and—”
“You are asshat crazy if you think you’re going to work.”
“Oh?” I put my hands on my hips and stared him down.
“Yeah. Oh. You can’t go on pretending nothing happened.”
“I can still work,” I argued. “It shouldn’t affect my ability to serve food and beer on a tray. Maybe at night I’ll do a little crying in my bed and have some nightmares, but my life has to go on. Shifters are born with thick skin because growing up in the Breed world is no cakewalk. I’m not a delicate flower that needs to be protected from the wind. I’m a wildflower—a sunflower. Punish me with drought and heat, and I’ll grow stronger.”