Page 51 of Moonflower
“No. So he can’t take it up with my landlord.” She bites her lip. “I’d say it was a horrible thing to do, but he has plenty of friends he can stay with. He’s crashed with them on occasion before. Or he could get his own place.”
“It wasn’t a horrible thing to do.” My voice comes out dark and cold. “He treated you like shit. More like a mother than a partner.”
“Trust me,” she says tiredly, “I know.”
For another couple minutes, I hold her in silence. I want to stay up all night and talk. To catch her up on everything she hasn’t been around to hear about. To learn about the ways my beautiful Moonflower has changed over the past couple years.
But we’re all tired, and I want to make the most of tomorrow. Especially if we have to deal with Matt in some way.
Standing, I offer my hand to Cora. “Let’s get some rest.”
Easing herself out from under Ezra, she grabs onto me, and I pull her up.
“I don’t want to leave him out here,” she whispers, staring down at him with a soft smile on her features. Then she leans over him, shaking his shoulder.
He stirs with a groan, slowly blinking his eyes open. “Hmm?”
“Let’s go to bed, Ez.”
It takes him a minute to wake up enough to walk, and then we head into the bedroom hand-in-hand. We end up the same way we were last night, with Cora settled in between us and our arms draped over her.
“I love you guys,” Cora murmurs once the lights are off.
“Love you, too,” I reply.
Ezra says something that’s entirely incomprehensible, and I smile. We know what he meant.
There isn’t a single thing in this world that could make us stop loving you, Cora Grimm.
Chapter eleven
Ezra
In the morning, I wake in Cora’s bed even though the last thing I remember is falling asleep on the couch. My confusion is momentary, stolen away by the beautiful, large brown eyes staring at me.
There’s something strangely vulnerable about realizing someone watched you wake up. With Cora though, it doesn’t weird me out. It fills my head with warm, fuzzy thoughts that remind me of nights spent looking up at the stars on my parents’ roof.
With a deep noise that’s the best good morning I can manage, I pull her into me. I love the feeling of her softness molding to my hard edges. There’s something so comforting about it. So right.
One of her hands rests on my chest, and the other finds its way to my back. With a tiny smile, she runs her fingers up and down my spine.
Perfect. This is perfect. Not only do I get to wake up with Cora, but I have her to myself all morning. I hung out at the coffee shop yesterday so Cora and Wilder could have some alone time together. And today, it’s my turn.
Nuzzling my face in her neck, I breathe in her sweet scent. For years, it’s been one of my favorite smells.
The mattress shifts, and then Wilder’s arm is bumping against mine as he drapes it over Cora’s side. He spoons her, kissing her hair with a sleepy smile.
“I think I’ve died and gone to heaven,” Cora mumbles. “Or I’m having the longest, hottest, sweetest dream.”
“It’s real, Moonflower,” I say, pressing closer to her body.
Wilder only stays in bed for a minute before getting up and throwing on clothes. “I’ll see you guys later. Have fun.”
I laugh when he throws me a wink. He knows exactly what we’re going to do. But first, I just want to spend some time with Cora. I’ve craved connecting with her emotionally, and I’m not passing up the last chance I’ll have before we head home.
“I’m gonna make us coffee,” I say after I hear the front door close. “Come out when you’re ready.”
I have to crawl over her to get out of bed. As I do, I plant a kiss to her forehead, letting myself hover over her for a second. She looks beautiful like this, with her hair all messy and her eyes still half-closed.