Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Z mutters a curse under his breath. He comes over to me, wrapping me in his arms. “Marks can be flighty,” he tries to reassure me. I peek up at him through my lashes.
“Am I annoying?”
“What? Why would you ask that?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “No one ever sticks around.”
“Sweetness.” Z’s hands cup my cheeks, his thumbs pushing my chin up. “Everyone adores you. No one is a stranger in the room when you’re there. That’s a gift, but I think a side part of that is it can spook people. I don’t know Marks’ whole story, but I know it’s not typical. She’s a loner.”
“Her upbringing wasn’t normal.” I know that neither was mine, but mine was, however, filled with my family. It took Marks years to meet Tova in person. I suppose it says something that she hopped on a plane with me and has stuck by my side. “I just hope she didn’t think she had to leave.”
“Marks isn’t going anywhere.”
“What is with you and Marks? How do you two know each other?”
“Come on. I want to feed you. We can talk while I cook.” Z leans in, pressing his mouth to mine. "Fuck, do I love that I can do this whenever I want to now." I smile against his lips. "I really have missed the hell out of you, and I don't mean only these past few weeks."
"I missed you too."
"Things are going to be different. You're not going to doubt what I feel for you." I swear there is a hint of a warning there.
"Good." I don't ever want to question us.
"Marks will be back. People are pulled to you."
"If you say so." Not sure I believe that. It doesn't feel that way.
"I know so." He presses another kiss to my lips. This one is firm and possessive, making sure that I feel it down to my toes.
Chapter Fourteen
Z
“You know I could help?” Cosima offers from her place at the kitchen island, watching me.
“I got it.” Her lips purse, but she quickly masks it. Does she really not know how easily I read her? “Babe, if you really want to help, you can, but I enjoy taking care of you, if you haven’t noticed yet.”
I might have done a huge chunk of it behind the scenes, but I was always there. Maybe one day I’ll tell her all those ways I watched her but not yet. I don’t want to freak her out. We’re in a good place at the moment, and I want to stay here in our little bubble for now and enjoy it before we have to deal with the outside world.
Cosima might think my stalking, or whatever you want to call it, is endearing, but she doesn’t know how deep it has gone. There are so many things I should have immense guilt over, going all the way back to her first years of high school. There were more than a few assholes that I had to put in their place. It was convenient and helpful that schools started putting in cameras all over. It's also very useful when you can hack people's phones and listen to anything you want.
I hadn't stumbled into the deep, dark depths of the internet because I was bored. It started out because of Cosima and that need to always be close to her and know what she was doing. It was the driving force behind why I became so good at what I do. Why the government and other private companies and individuals use me to get them information. Or hide details that they don’t want any other human being laying eyes on.
"I just don't want people to think I can't do things."
"I have never thought that." In fact, she does too many things. Does she really not understand how necessary she is to the people around her?
Cosima can be spontaneous and a bundle of sassy energy, but she is reliable, loyal to her core, and always there when someone needs something. That means more than I think she understands to people, especially people who often are loners or don’t allow themselves to get close to others. Her two best friends are examples of that.
"I know you never did, but I don't want you to think I can't help. That I’m some princess who can’t get her hands dirty.” I can tell how important this is to her, so I’ll need to make sure that I’m hyperaware of it going forward.
"You help by keeping me company."
"All right." I finally get a soft smile from her. “I’ll sit here and look pretty.” That’s the second time she’s made that remark.
“You’re more than pretty, sweetness.” I round the kitchen island, sinking my fingers into her hair. I grip a handful, tilting her head back. “You’re everything to me,” I tell her. She stares up at me with those big, expressive blue eyes of hers. “You hear me?”