Blood Kiss (Savage Security Series Book 1) Page 23

  He took in her shape, lying naked in his bed, and every ounce of him wanted every ounce of her. She lay there, so trusting and open with him, that he couldn’t help but fall harder for her.

  “Make love to me,” she said, rubbing him and letting her nails graze his balls.

  Yeah, he could do that. He was definitely up for that.

  Two Months Later

  Mike entered the restaurant and saw her sitting at the bistro table. Her eyes were glued to her phone. Every once in a while a smile lit her face. She was either on a social site or reading a ridiculous romance novel. Sometimes she read parts of them aloud to him. He wasn’t sure whether to be amused or terrified by the graphic, unrealistic, corny scenes, but she loved them, so it worked out well for him in the end.

  His life changed the day she walked into the gun store. Her positive energy and light added a warm glow to his life that had been missing for a long time. He hoped that he added something to her life. He wanted to keep her around, and he was seriously thinking about forever.

  Alisha looked up from her phone when the chair across from her moved. “Hey, handsome,” she said as Mike sat down. She loved him. Yes, the word ‘love’ flit through her mind whenever she thought of him.

  She loved him. He was her rock. He’d held her through the storm and carried her through the oppressive darkness that nearly drowned her. But now when she saw him, all she saw was love.

  She knew he loved her. She saw it in his eyes. In the way he let her snuggle into him while he worked on his computer at night and she watched television. She knew it in the way he took care of the little things around her house. He seemed to anticipate her needs and worked to fulfill them before she could even request his help.

  “Thanks for meeting me here,” she said. “I love this place.” The restaurant was always decorated nicely, but it was especially nice with the Christmas decorations. Twinkle lights and large scarlet poinsettias brightened the space.

  “You getting cake for dessert?” Mike asked, already knowing the answer. She never ate at this restaurant without getting a piece to go.

  She smiled. “You know me too well.”

  “How was your appointment?” Mike almost didn’t want to bring it up, but she’d just come from her therapy session. He didn’t want to ignore it either.

  “It went well,” she smiled. She hated the way the town labeled her a hero for saving Mary. That was not how she saw herself. She’d survived a psycho’s obsession with her, and that was it. She did what anyone else would do. Fight for their life. Now she was thankful that as new headlines filtered through the news stations, her return to anonymity grew. Just a little more time and no one would recognize her or even remember her name. That would be wonderful.

  “But I don’t want to talk about that,” Alisha said, reaching across the table and grabbing his hand. Her lip twitched a little as she gave him a nervous smile. “Maybe this isn’t the place for this talk, but I’ve been thinking about it for a while.” She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “You sleep at my place every night.” She leaned a little closer and whispered, “How would you feel about moving in with me?”

  Mike wasn’t sure what she was asking. He wanted clarification. He leaned forward, squeezed her hand and said, “I’ve essentially moved in already. What do you want to change?”

  She withdrew her hand from his and took a sip of her sweet tea. “Well,” she said, not too sure how to proceed. Maybe it was too early for this level of commitment. “I thought it would be nice if you moved in… permanently.”

  The permanently part confused him. Was she asking him to marry him?

  “Sell your condo and move in,” she sputtered. “You could save a ton of money.”

  Ah, now it made sense. He was glad she wasn’t proposing. When that happened, he planned on being the one doing the asking.

  In all honesty, what she asked scared him a little. Selling his condo was a big change, a commitment. But as he looked at Alisha, he knew his condo was just a place to store his stuff.

  “Baby,” he said, taking her hand back into his. “I don’t care about the money. I just want to be home, and home is wherever you are.” He leaned across the bistro table and pressed his lips to hers.

  She’d gone into the gun store to find some security, but what she really found were strong arms to call home.

  Thanks for reading Blood Kiss.

  I hope you enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please consider posting a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Your support makes a huge difference.

  About the Author

  Karen Tjebben lives in central North Carolina with her encouraging and supportive husband, twin daughters, and two hamsters. When her girls left for kindergarten, Karen discovered that she needed to fill her days with something, and that was the beginning of her writing career. She loves to create worlds filled with unique characters that she hopes will delight and raise goose bumps on her readers. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her husband and seeing the world through her daughters’ eyes.

  You can find Karen at:

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karentjebbenauthor

  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/karentjebben/

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/KTjebbenAuthor

  Instagram: https://twitter.com/KTjebbenAuthor

  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7270992.Karen_Tjebben