“Do you feel it?” I asked quietly.
“What?”
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs and closing my eyes. “It’s like everything is starting.”
An enormous weight had lifted off my shoulders when Damon walked out hours ago. I wondered where he went and if he was safe. I worried that he doubted how much I loved him.
But I didn’t realize how much I’d dreaded him, too.
At least part of me.
Not until he left the house, giving no indication he would come for us again, and the pain in my stomach I’d grown so used to over the years, that I barely noticed anymore, slowly started to fade away. He’d always held on so tightly. Too tightly.
But now it felt like my lungs could hold an ocean. I didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to do anymore, and the best part? I could do anything I wanted do now. Go to school, try on some heels, come home at dawn, travel, volunteer, go to a bar…
Have friends.
“If you want an annulment, I’ll give you one,” Kai said, his lips brushing my hair. “We can start over. Fresh. Maybe have a date. And a proper wedding after I ask you and if you say yes.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “I’ll kiss you like I should’ve.”
I gave a half-smile. I could tell he felt guilty about our “wedding.”
“No.” I raised my hand, looking at my ring. “It’s part of our story, and I don’t want to change it. I like our story.”
His arm slid around my waist, tight and possessive.
“So, what’s next then?” he asked. “What do you want to do with your life now?”
“Everything.”
He breathed out a laugh. I definitely felt uncertain. And guilty. He’d already bought me clothes, but I wouldn’t let him support me. I’d have to figure out something soon. I wouldn’t be happy unless I contributed to our life.
And this house.
I mean our house, I guess.
Which reminded me…
“Why did you keep this house a secret?” I turned my head, looking up at him.
His eyes smiled back down at me. “For the same reason I liked the confessional.”
I pinched my eyebrows together, not sure I understood.
“I like my privacy, and I like my space,” he explained, “and this is the one place where I can be left quiet, hear myself think, and not be distracted. I have perspective here.” He pressed his lips to my temple. “I knew it wouldn’t be a secret forever, but I wanted to enjoy renovating it and living in it before my friends started coming and going.”
“Well, I think you’re going to be distracted with me here,” I pointed out. “I’m not that quiet.”
His chest shook with a laugh behind me. “I don’t mind your distractions.”
I hoped not, because Alex left the lingerie she bought for me for the party the other night, and I planned on closing the gate, locking the doors, and being hugely distracting really soon.
“Are there any other secret passages?” I asked.
“Yes.”
Tingles spread across my body. “Do they lead to fun things?”
“Yes.”