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again, yeah?
He cannot make me cry right now. This isn t fair. I am the one who should be calling all the shots, and
to be honest, my mental state cannot take a reprimand from the man I love right at this moment.
 Babe& hey, why are you cryin ? he asks as he moves into the chair beside me, reaches up, and
smoothes the hair away from my eyes.  I didn t mean to upset you, Piper. That isn t what this is
about.
Then what is he trying to do? Him being upset with me or wanting to fight about what happened
before I was taken isn t something I can deal with or ever want to process. I want to forget we ever
went through that and move on to how we are. I need normalcy from him. He doesn t understand that
he will be what keeps me here mentally. He will be the reason that I heal, not anyone else.
 You re breakin me here, darlin . This was supposed to be a good talk, and I fucked it up, like I
always fuck shit up, he growls and goes to stand. I stop him by reaching for his hand and shaking my
head no, and lift my free hand up to gesture him to keep going.
A good talk? I am in desperate need to hear one of those from him.
 It got me thinkin , ya know? That there is a reason me and you are so fuckin close. That our
chemistry is there. It isn t forced. It s just there. We don t need to create it, because we already
fuckin have it. He smirks at me.
Damn that beautiful, crooked smile he has melts me every time.
Okay. So maybe I do need a piece of paper. I grab it and scribble my question down and pass it over
to him. He removes his hand from mine, picks up the pad and reads aloud.
 So, what are you saying? He reads my note and chuckles, sets the pad back in front of me and gives
me all of his attention.  I m sayin , I want to give me and you a shot. He pauses and then continues.
 Why the hell not? We get along, I love you, you love me, and our sex is unfuckingbelievable.
My ears can t be teasing me right now. This is what I wanted. This is what I fought for when breaking
out of that basement. A chance with my best friend. A chance to be truly happy.
I scurry and write down something else. I have to know the answer to this.
 Is this so you can keep a better eye on me? he reads and caveman grunts.  Piper, seriously? Baby, I
know after this, your gun isn t leavin the holster on your body. This has nothin to do with wantin to
keep a better eye on you. Grant you, tomorrow, when Storm comes to sit with you, I ll be a nervous
wreck leavin you, but I know you can handle yourself. You re fuckin Piper, he taunts.  My badass
best friend that weathers anythin thrown at her.
If he only knew how close I was to giving up, he wouldn t be saying these nice things to me. He
would be so disappointed, but I don t dare say a word. He would be beyond hurt.
 This, between me, his hands ghost between us,  and you, has everythin to do with me wantin you
to be mine.
Come again? He is not suggesting what I think he is. He wants to date? He wants to be boyfriend and
girlfriend? What the hell is he saying? I don t speak guy language.
 I see the confusion on your face, beautiful. I want to be with you, and more than just friends. We re
both looking for love while we live so carelessly, so why not look for that love together? With one
another?
Oh, sweet baby Jesus. The tears begin to roll down my face. I fought like hell to survive for him, and
maybe deep down, this is what I really wanted. To be with him. To be his and him be mine. Maybe I
am dreaming, and I am still in that god awful basement. Sniper wanting to be with me is too good to
be true. It is like the heavens are finally pouring the light that I crave down on me.
 I know you can t say anythin because it ll mess up your jaw more, but I expect some sort of
response here, babe.
I snatch up the pad and scribble my words as fast as I can. It takes me forever, but my best friend is
patient with me and understands. Another reason I love him. When I hand the paper over, he again
reads out loud.
 When I was down in that basement and going through my past all over again, he chokes out,  I
wanted to give up. He reads my honest words.  I wanted to give up so bad, but during those last few
hours, I thought about our photo booth fun at the mall. You know the day, he strangles out while he
lays the pad down, reaches into his back pocket for his wallet, and hands me our photos before going
back to finish reading my true words.
 Your face was all that replayed in my mind. Your gray eyes, your crooked smile, your boisterous
laugh, the way you are with me, and the night we were together that you begged me forget. It was
there, stuck in my mind, and it made me fight, fight like hell, because I deserve someone like you.
Someone who cares about me. Someone who would die for me, he whispers those last few words,
 I know deep down that you, Perseus& that person is you.
Sniper takes a deep breath to regain control of himself and continues.  I believe there is a reason you
and I click so well together. Everything about us is in sync, in fine tune together. You know that song
you hate that I play over and over again. He chuckles and nods his head as he reads more.  I am your
lighter to your cigarette. You wouldn t burn without me and vice versa for me.
He sets the pad down, goes to his liquor cabinet to pour a shot, and returns to his seat after he downs
it.
 I have been through a place far worse than hell in my life. I deserve happy, and I want that happy to
be with you. So what I am saying is that if you are serious, and you want to see where we can end up,
I m here. I will always be right here with you, forever and always, he says quietly as he reads my
last words.
He scoots his chair closer to mine, lays down the paper, and gently takes my swollen face into his
hands to peer directly into my eyes.  I m right here, are you? he says with the most caring tone I have
ever heard from him. And when I nod my head, he brings his mouth down to mine, and gives me the
most sensual, soft, slow kiss I have ever had in all my life.
When he lifts his lips away from mine, my toes still curl and the butterflies in my stomach still flail
about as he leans his forehead with care against mine.  We were looking for love in the wrong
places. Wanna bet it was right here all along? His voice cracks and he gives a nervous laugh. I ve
never seen my best friend so emotional.
I reach a shaky hand up to his face and caress his cheek to force him to look into my eyes again. It may
be selfish, but I know this special moment between us is just that, between us. I won t get this Sniper
when others are around, and I will cherish every bit of him when I do get these small glimpses.
 You called me Perseus. He laughs under his breath.  You, and only you, could ever get away with
that. I fuckin hate that name.
I secretly love it. It is a very strong name. The only reason I even know it is because we trade one
secret for another, and that is a secret he gave me in return. This is the first time I have used it.
 So we re gonna do this, Pipe? Huh, darlin ?
I nod my head and he brings his lips down to mine once more. When our mouths touch, we both sigh.
It is as though our hearts are meshed together as one, and we have finally found what we have been
looking for all along.
Each other.
***
Chapter Twenty Four
Sniper
My brother calls me to tell me that him, ZZ, and Storm are on their way and that I will get the start to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]