Page 76 of The Intimacy of Control

Just as he’d started to frown, I interrupted him before he could ask what was wrong. “Will you stay at my house tonight?”

His smile came back, and it felt like I could breathe again. “Of course, sweetheart. I’m always willing to do that.”

“I’ve never let anyone over at my house before. Dating-wise, anyway.”

He squeezed my hand gently. “Really? So I’m that special, huh? I got to come over before we were even dating.”

Oh, he was special alright. More special than I could ever explain to him. “Yeah. Yeah, you are.”

“Does it have something to do with the magic?”

I laughed and shrugged. “Maybe.”

He cupped the side of my face, pulling me in. The tips of our noses pressed together. “Thank God I kept bothering you. Thank God for your bar existing. Thank God for Double Coverage.” A soft, quick kiss against my lips that had me chasing for more. “Thank God for magic.”

“Thank god for magic,” I whispered. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Will you hold me while I sleep? Keep the nightmares at bay?”

Another kiss. “I’ll hold you until the end of time and even after.”

Good. I wanted him forever. I wanted this to be forever. This exact moment when everyone was getting on with their lives around us, the moon was full in the sky, and the city kept going despite everyone else sleeping, but we had stopped. We had paused. Just us against nothing else because nothing else mattered.

No amount of water, no such thing as death, and no nightmare of losing control could ever keep us apart now. I was determined, just as Forrest had been. Determined to keep the magic alive. Determined to bask in the freedom he gave me. Excited to keep breathing the air he controlled for me as long as we were together.

Yeah. Thank God for one-night stands not staying as one-night stands.

We drove separately but found each other in my bed. My bed, my house, his arms. My safe cocoon of love and life, all warm and strong and always there. No nightmares. No worries about what came next. Just us.

chapter twenty-six

We were maybe ten minutes out, and I was freaking the fuck out. Forrest was going on and on about how great everything was going to be and how excited he was, yet I was wondering how many seconds it would take before his brother knocked me out and his mother decided she hated me.

This wasn’t going to end well.

“I have no idea what Mamá is going to make, but I know you’re going to love her cooking. It’s a hell of a lot better than mine. I mean, I’ve learned as much as I can from her, but you know.”

I nodded along, staring straight out the windshield. He was damn near jumping out of his seat, and it was absolutely adorable, but he had no idea. I hadn’t told him about River coming to Driftwood.

Forrest stopped talking for a second, turning his blinker on to turn right. I felt his eyes on me, but only for a second. When I glanced over to check, he glanced back at me. “What’s wrong, sweetie? You’ve been quiet all day.”

“Oh, no reason. Just tired today.”

He frowned, keeping his focus on the road. “Did you have nightmares last night? I didn’t notice if you did. I’m sorry.”

Why did he have to put on that pitiful face of his? It tore at my heart to think he felt bad about me not sleeping, when the truth was, I slept as peacefully as any other night I’d spent with him. We knew we were going to see his mom and River today, so I invited him to stay with me at my house last night. Again. Look at me go—letting him stay at my house and shit when I’d sworn it off entirely before.

Shaking my head, I sighed and leaned against the seat. “No, I didn’t have any nightmares. I just… I’ve never been serious enough with anyone to meet their family before. Not even when I was younger. What if they hate me?”

“They won’t hate you. They couldn’t.”

“I wouldn’t say that. I broke your heart, babe. They have to hate me for that.”

We went through another light, pulling down a smaller, more residential street. There were houses lined up on either side. “For the record, they both said it sounded like you were scared. Mamá said you’d come back to me because you were the one for me. She knew you’d come back.”

I chewed on my bottom lip as we pulled into a driveway that already had two cars parked in it. The house looked small but comforting, and I was suddenly envious of the upbringing Forrest and River must’ve had. I knew it had to have been full of love, no matter what they did or didn’t do.