“How bad is that cut?” Chay stood in front of me and cupped my chin, turning my head to the side so he could see the cut on my neck. “Deep?”
“Not very. It’s fine.” I tried to brush his hand away.
He grabbed some gauze and sterile water and cleaned the blood away. “I don’t think you need stitches. We’ll have to see if the bleeding stops.” He put a bandage over it and taped it in place. Chay cupped my chin in his hand and peered into my eyes. “Are you hurt anywhere else?” He placed a kiss on my forehead.
“I hurt everywhere.” I gave a small laugh. “But, no. Let me clean your cut.”
He had rubbed the blood with the back of his sleeve, smearing it over his face. Sitting down, he lifted his face to me. I rubbed it gently with a warm, wet cloth.
“It’s not too bad. Just a lot of blood and dirt mostly.” I put butterfly tape across it.
Chay wrapped his hands around my waist, his fingers tight against my skin. “I meant what I said.”
My hands stilled, and I looked into his blue-green eyes. I knew exactly what he meant. My mind centered on the five words he’d said, and warmth built in my chest. A slow, languid contentedness flowed through me. It was different from the jolts of sizzling current I felt when we kissed. But it felt right. It fit, like my body had been missing that piece of the puzzle. The hot stuff still bubbled just under the surface, but this new emotion was stronger, permanent. It took our relationship somewhere new. A better place. Love.
I twirled a lock of his hair around my finger and looked into his eyes. “It was kind of a weird time and place.”
“I know.” He nodded, and one side of his mouth twitched in a half grin. “But our relationship is built on weird. Even so, I meant it.”
I felt the sizzle run up my arm, through my chest, and reach out. The current connected to Chay and his emotions washed over me. I saw anger directed at Azazel. I saw rage directed at Jake—this time, I saw a memory to go with the emotion. It was me. The demon held me with the dagger at my throat; a trail of blood ran down my chest.
I saw protectiveness, caring, trust, longing, love—and there was another vision to go with his feelings. Me. The day he first met me. The day we had milkshakes at his uncle’s shop. Him watching me sleep in his lap at the zoo. Me laughing at something he said, him wiping my tears away after the woman died at the waterway. Memory after memory of me and the emotions he felt with each one.
Tears filled my eyes. It was almost too much. It filled my heart. I knew I loved Chay. I knew it before that night. I couldn’t remember my life without him in it; he’d filled a void I hadn’t known existed. Without him, I was incomplete. But until that moment, seeing me through his eyes, I didn’t know how strongly he felt. And the realization gave me the most exquisite joy. But it scared me at the same time. How could I live with myself if he was ever hurt because of his feelings for me? I looked down and broke our connection.
I licked my lips and swiped at my eyes. “Me too. With everything in me,” I whispered.
He gripped the collar of my shirt and pulled me down to him. His kiss was whisper soft. So gentle. I opened my mouth to him and pressed myself closer, taking the kiss deeper. He groaned in my mouth. The people in the room faded. The memory of the fight and the circumstances that brought us to that point dissolved. We were just two people realizing how deep their feelings for each other ran.
“Get a room,” Drew drawled, walking by to grab a Coke.
“No. No, no. There’ll be no room getting,” my dad said, and I laughed against Chay’s lips.
Chay pulled back and grinned at me.
He’s mine. How did I get so lucky?
***
“Did you notice Muriel tonight?” Chay asked after everyone had left. We swayed on the swing on the back deck.
I picked at a piece of peeling nail polish. “When?” I knew what he was going to say. I didn’t want to hear it.
“During and after the fight.”
I dropped my hand and sighed. “I didn’t see her during,” I said. “I was a little busy.”
“I caught a glimpse of her. She was just watching. She didn’t fight. And when we came in, everyone had injuries except her.”
I looked at him. “What are you gettin’ at?” As soon as our gazes touched, the electrical cord sparked to life. I sucked in a breath. He was worried and scared for me. Fear was associated with Muriel, but in a different way. He was scared of her. Or of what she could do.
“I don’t know. I just think it’s odd, that’s all,” he said. He gave me a quick kiss—too quick—and our connection was broken. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” I touched my lips with my fingertips, my thoughts a million miles away.
“I’ll pick you up.”
Muriel didn’t fight? Is she going to turn? Has she turned? I didn’t get the same vibe off her that I did from Steven. But I don’t really know how to use this electrical vibe thingy yet, so who knows if I even did it right.