This is Love, Baby(16)

A wash of dread trickles through me and I make a decision. She’s had enough for one day. I won’t be the bearer of any more bad news.

“I don’t know where he is. But when I went by your house to get your clothes, a neighbor said he’d gone to San Francisco.” The words easily roll off my tongue. “Maybe he was sparing your feelings. Maybe he wanted to tell you in person. And maybe he really is looking for you there.”

Her entire body wracks with sobs and I hug her to me. Me, comforting her, it feels like where I belong. I’ve held her crying body on numerous occasions as she struggled with coming to terms with her mother’s illness.

“San Francisco? What the hell’s in San Francisco? Something’s not right, Brandon. Do you think Gabe hurt him?”

I freeze. “I wouldn’t put it past him. He hurt you.”

She nods and tilts her tearstained face to regard me. “I’ve lost everyone.”

I press a kiss to her forehead. “You haven’t lost me. I’m still here.”

As if my words enrage her, she jerks away from me. Guilt flashes over her features, leaving me puzzled for a moment. Then, she storms from the room on a mission. I chase after her to find her standing in front of Gabe with her hands on her hips, staring at him.

“Wake up!” she snaps and grabs a handful of his hair, pulling his head back.

Gabe doesn’t even flinch. He’s breathing but he’s out cold.

“We can interrogate him later. You should eat something and rest a little.”

She jerks her gaze to mine, disgust written all over her face. “We’re not staying here long. As soon as he wakes up, I’ll get him to tell me where my dad’s at, and then we’ll go find him.”

I cringe, knowing this conversation with Gabe won’t end well. “Fine,” I say, placating her, “but you will eat. You’re pale as hell.”

She relaxes a bit as I walk over to the refrigerator. I open the freezer, hoping to find something easy to make her. Instead, I only find foil-wrapped vegetables.

“What a fucking weirdo,” I murmur in disgust as I widen the freezer to show her.

Her face blazes crimson as she charges for me. I gape at her as she starts grabbing them from inside and begins chunking them at Gabe. They may as well be rocks because each one that manages to hit him makes a thud. I stand there in stunned silence as she throws every last one of them at him.

My Baylee. My sweet, sweet girl. She’s lost.

All that’s left is this angry, distraught little animal. I’m afraid she’ll never be the girl I once knew and loved.

Doesn’t mean I could ever stop loving her. If anything, I love her even more. We’ve both changed. Not just her. She and I are different. We’ve seen things—done things that have altered who we are and forced us to grow wise beyond our years.

When she has nothing left to throw at him, she slaps his unconscious face over and over again. I let her release some of her inner rage and emotion before scooping her into my arms. Her hand clutches onto my neck as I stride with her into the living room. I sit down and bring her with me into my lap.

She smells clean and her skin is soft. My arms grip her tight against me as she curses God, sobs, and screams. We stay like that until she’s nothing but a quivering, sniffling, hiccuping shell of herself.

“Rest now, Baylee,” I murmur against her damp hair. “You’re safe now.”





“WHEN WE MAKE love, I forget to count your breaths,” War murmurs in the dark, his fingertip tickling over my ribcage as he drags it up and down along my skin. “But they’re quicker and more frequent. I like the way they sound, sharp intakes followed by whimpering exhales. And the ragged, uneven way about them is perfection.”

I smile and snuggle against his warm body. “Maybe we should do it again. You know,” I tease as I kiss his neck, “so you can count them.”

A deep, rumbling chuckle reverberates from him, and I fall deeper for him. His laughter has the ability to work itself under my skin and imbed warmth there for eternity. With each laugh or smile, he fills me. I’m whole with this complicated, beautiful man.

“Bay, I’ll make love to you any day,” he says with a growl, “but I can assure you I’ll always forget to count.”

He rolls on top of me and nudges my thighs apart with his knee. When he rests his hardened cock against my belly, I let out a gasp.

“When we fuck,” he murmurs, making sure to enunciate the word as he thrusts against my body, “I only think about you. The black abyss inside my head is obliterated by your light. I’m too absorbed in your tight body and swollen lips. You chase away my demons. I’m nothing more than your servant—put on this earth to worship you until the end of time.”