Cat covered herself before lifting him and setting him into a portable crib by the bed she planned to sleep in and pulled the blanket over him.
The expression on her face tugged at his heart because the love she had for the boy was so apparent. He wondered if his own mother ever looked at him like that and guessed not. She rarely came to see him as a child and let the nannies mother him.
He once heard her say to his father that she would never have another child because King ruined her figure. Fuck, she was a cold bitch. Hell, she still was, and his father was a little better.
King followed her out of the room and back to the kitchen.
“Thank you for cleaning up,” she said.
He went to the microwave and pulled their plates out. “I saved our food since we haven’t eaten yet.”
“I’m not really hungr—”
“Too bad.”
Her chin came up. “You have no right to tell me what to do.”
He sighed. “I know. It’s just that you look so tired and you’re so thin, I don’t think you can go much longer without food and sleep.”
“I get plenty of both.”
“Baby, I know you. You have dark circles under your eyes, and I can see your clavicle bone because it stands out so much.”
“You don’t know me at all, so quit saying that.”
“But I do.”
“No, because if you knew me, you would know I’d never have been with another man.”
“I know that now. I fucked up.”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
Fuck yes, it did, but he needed to put the talk off until she was taken care of. “Can you sit down and eat a few bites, please?”
She sighed and grabbed her plate. Neither talked as they ate the cold spaghetti. He glanced at her plate when she pushed it away and was pleased to see she’d eaten close to half.
He followed her into the kitchen and dried the plates she handed him after washing them. It was something they’d done many times in the past.
He hated the lost look she had as she gazed around the room.
“So, what’s going to happen with you?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“What do you want from me?”
“First off, I want to make sure you don’t run.”
“I won’t right now, but if I think you’re a threat to us, I’ll be gone.”
He wiped a hand down his face. “I would never do that. I swear to you.”
She nodded, but he could tell she didn’t believe him.
“I’d like to go to bed. Can you see yourself out?”
“I’ll sleep in the other bedroom.”
He could tell she wanted to say no, but she just nodded and walked off. This was the first step to the rest of their lives, and he needed to remind himself to take it slow or lose her for good.