Ice slid through my veins. “I can stay. But I can sleep in the guest room if that’s why you asked me to stay.”

“I thought you were smarter than that.”

I scowled at Brody. “Don’t be rude.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” he chided and tugged me so that I lay on his chest. “I want you, Shay. And you’re going to have to learn to trust that.”

I made a humming noise but said nothing. I couldn’t give him my trust simply because he demanded it or even because I wanted to. It took time and careful tending. But Brody’s words tonight…they went a long way to planting those seeds.

24

Brody

I picked up a rubber band from my pile on the counter. Leaning back on my stool, I aimed at the cup on the kitchen table and let it fly. I let out a series of curses when I missed the mark by half an inch.

“Am I interrupting?” Shay deadpanned as she entered the kitchen.

I snatched her wrist as she passed, tugging her onto my lap and kissing her neck. “You’re never interrupting.” I inhaled deeply as I nuzzled the spot behind Shay’s ear that always made her squirm. She no longer panicked or froze when I moved to touch her, no longer pushed me away after we’d lost ourselves in a kiss. But I was following her lead, and she hadn’t given me any signs that she was ready to take things further either. That was fine with me. I got my body wrapped around hers each night, and the taste of her on my tongue every day.

Shay twisted in my lap. “When was the last time you were in your studio?”

The happy buzz of having Shay close melted away. “It’s been a while.” I hadn’t set foot in the sunporch since the day Parker had been here. Now, almost a week had passed. There’d been no leads on the murderer, but no other deaths either. The islands were holding their collective breaths. And I was doing my part by not putting any other images out into the world.

“Brody…” She pressed a palm to my cheek, moving in close. “You can’t let someone this sick have control. You can’t let them steal the thing you love most in the world.”

I pushed to my feet, forcing Shay up as I went. I crossed to the kitchen table, picking up my array of rubber bands. “Don’t you do the same thing?” It was a cheap shot, and I knew it. But it was also the truth. Shay had been so concerned about staying safe, she’d all but erased herself from existence.

Shay was quiet for a moment. “It’s different.”