Dead of Summer - Page 116

“I won’t go anywhere. So long as you at least consider not running me over with a semi, should you get the chance.”

“No promises,” I reply, glad he can’t see the grin on my face as I close my eyes and breathe in his scent mixed with sex. “But I’ll get back to you when I decide.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

He stayed.

That’s the first thought that crosses my mind when I open my eyes into the very early, mostly still dark sky outside of my window. I can’t see the sun, but strips of pink paint the dark sky through the trees above the cabin.

And around my waist, warm and heavy, rests Kayde’s arm. Nervously, I pick up my hand to stroke my fingers along his tanned skin that makes my olive complexion look pale in comparison.

He isn’t awake, but when he shifts behind me and lets out a breath against my shoulder, I pause. Kayde shifts a little, burying his face against me, and murmurs something that doesn’t sound like a real sentence.

“Yeah,” I agree in a whisper anyway, wondering how deep of a sleeper he is. “I agree.”

Kayde shocks me with a tired chuckle, and kisses my shoulder. “Do you?” he purrs, voice just as soft. “I’d think you most certainly would not agree with me, Summer.”

Somehow I manage not to jump, or stiffen, or startle even the least bit. I suck in a breath and lean my head back a little, putting my ear close to his lips. “So what am I agreeing with?” I ask, still chasing sleep from the edges of my brain. I can feel the pleasurable soreness in my lower abdomen, and as if he can read my mind, Kayde’s arm shifts so he can splay his fingers against my stomach.

“I said I love you,” he tells me after a moment, his hand pressing me back against him.

And while him being awake hadn’t startled me, nor had the fact that he’s still here, this does it. My breath catches as my throat closes in surprise, and I stare up at my window with wide eyes while having no idea what to say. “Oh,” I murmur at last, feeling hyperaware of every small move of his body against mine.

“Yeah.” Kayde chuckles and nips at my shoulder. “I have to go, baby girl.”

“Why?” My brain clearly isn’t working at full capacity, since I can’t figure out why in the world he’s going to deprive me of his radiator-like warmth.

This time Kayde nips my shoulder lightly, and draws away a second later before sighing, “Because if we walk out of here when the kids are up, or the other counselors, it’s going to get back to Fink. You know how they are. We’re already Crestview’s worst kept secret, apart from Liza and Kinsley. But even they try not to let anyone realize they’re sleeping together.” That seems stupid to me, since everyone knows they are. But he’s right; a bunch of preteens learning about our nightly activities would be…probably not great for us. And I certainly wouldn’t get invited back to be a camp counselor here again.

If I’m even coming back next year.

I know for a fact Kinsley won’t be. She has too much going on in her life, and with Liza now part of the deal, she has no reason to come back. Any job she’s been offered will net her more money than this, and since Liza lives close to us, she doesn’t need to come here to make her move.

But I still haven’t decided where that leaves me.

“That’s fair, I suppose.” The words come out in a grumble, and I can’t help my groan of protest when Kayde pulls away completely. Belatedly, I roll over, watching him pull on his t-shirt and shorts. “Though I do feel incredibly offended. I’ll never get over this slight against my character.”

That earns me a side-eyed glance from Kayde, though I can see the smile twitching at his lips. “My poor sweetheart,” he purrs, crossing the cabin and leaning down to kiss my nose. I grumble at that too, turning my face into the pillow. “Go back to sleep, baby. You don’t need to be up for another hour.”

“We’ll see,” are the only words I’ll give him, though I do curl up on his side of the bed and bury my face in the pillow that smells like him. And if I suck in a deep breath of his scent as my eyes fall closed again, Kayde is at least nice enough not to mention it. Instead, he crosses back to me and presses one last kiss to my temple, then leans down to murmur in my ear.

The door closes behind him seconds later as he leaves, but I’m too busy with his last words running through my head on repeat to really notice.

I love you more than anything, Summer.

Like hell he does, I remind myself. He hasn’t known me long enough for that.

“You’re flailing again, Melody. You too, Lily.” Kayde’s words are kind but firm, and I peek up at them from over my sunglasses as he stands at the edge of the pool where two of my girls and three of his boys are doing laps. With their free day, the kids could decide to do pretty much anything, but only a few of them had been interested in Kayde’s swimming lessons.

Or more precisely, competitive swimming lessons. So far he’s taught them two or three different styles, and I’d had to stifle a laugh when they’d attempted to butterfly themselves across the pool. But Kayde had only given me a withering glance and I’d managed to shut up.

I glance up at them again, content to soak up the sun in a chair next to the pool while the kids try to impress my sociopath. Melody, in particular, strives to be the best with form and speed, and it would take an idiot not to see that Kayde likes her more than the others.

I wonder if it’s the sociopath in her that draws him in like a big brother, or something else entirely. Mel does have a great personality, and the maturity some adults don’t possess. Like Darcy. But if I had to guess, I’d say that it’s the…wrongness about them.

Which I’ve stopped denying, since I’ve started actually paying attention to the similarities between her and Kayde. There are too many to count, really. The same shrewd way they observe people, for one. The easy mask I see Melody put on around others.

The ability to stay calm in any situation, even ones that should bother a twelve-year-old.