Free Every Breath by Tasha Ivey Page A

her dish on the counter, I select a can of cat food from the pantry. “Well, Madame Darcy, tonight’s selection is a fantastic feast of salmon in gravy.” She looks up at me in disdain, not sold on the “fantastic” part. But as soon as I dump the food into the bowl, she becomes a little more enthusiastic and weaves herself in and out of my legs in a figure eight pattern. I have to step over her to walk toward the mat on the floor where I keep her food and water, and she slinks behind me, right on my heels, until I put it on the floor.
    However, she merely sniffs at it once, darts from the room, and scrambles up the stairs. I am confused until I hear the soft rap at the door. That explains it.
    “Hi, beautiful,” Drew croons as I barely crack the door open. “These flowers are for you.”
    I pull the door open a little more, and he takes that as an invitation to shove the flowers inside at me. “Drew? What are you doing here?”
    “I’ll explain if I can come in.”
    I nod and allow him to enter before I take the roses into the kitchen to put them in some water. Roses aren’t my favorite, but these are gorgeous—cream-colored with a fuchsia blush at the tip of each petal. And I’m confused about why he’s giving them to me. I haven’t heard from him in a few days, so I assumed he didn’t want to speak with me anymore. I thought it was pretty safe to assume that our relationship was over.
    I turn on my heel to make my way back to the living room, but I run into the hard wall of Drew’s chest. His arms envelop me completely and squeeze me into him until we can’t possibly get any closer. He buries his face into my hair, and I feel his chest rise as he breathes in the scent of my hair. “Damn, Makenna, it’s only been a few days, and I’ve missed you like crazy.”
    As much as I hate to admit it, his embrace does feel nice, and before I can stop myself, I snuggle against him. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried about you.” Okay, so not really worried, but slightly curious is close to the same thing, isn’t it?
    He squeezes me a little tighter. “I can’t wait to tell you all about it, but first, I just want to hold my girl for a minute. Is that okay?”
    Hear that? My girl. That’s almost sweet enough to make me forget about being irritated. Almost. Despite the way he’s clinging to me helplessly, I’m just not the kind of woman who forgets these things too easily. But in the meantime, I’ll enjoy being crushed against him, not that I have much choice in the matter.
    He pulls himself back and brushes my hair from my face. He slowly lowers his mouth to my forehead, then to my temple, then to my cheekbone, my jaw. And just when I can feel that knot of panic expanding in my stomach, just when my heart threatens to pound right out of my chest, he stops. It’s so easy to forget, but I know he’s always careful not to cross that line. I don’t have anything to worry about with Drew. Until that moment I’m ready for more, I’m safe with him.
    To show my appreciation, I stretch myself up on my tiptoes and plant a soft kiss on his cheek. “I’m glad I’m your girl, Drew. But to be honest, I thought that was all over these last few days.”
    “Not even close.” He shakes his head and takes my hand. “Let’s talk.” He leads me over to the kitchen table, even pulling the chair out for me before he seats himself. “You know when I came to talk to you at school last week, and you flipped out on me?”
    I nod. “Not something I’m likely to forget for a while.”
    His eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles. “It’s okay. I survived. But . . . what I . . .” He sighs. “Okay, this isn’t working for me.”
    I feel my eyes go wide. “What?”
    “Oh! No! Not you. I meant this seating arrangement we have going on. You’re too far away from me. Come with me.”
    He drags me to my feet and guides me into the living room, where we simultaneously fall back into the love seat. He’s so