I nodded.

“You want me in the shower with you?”

Suddenly, I wasn’t dead on my feet. Suddenly, I had a lot of energy.

And I needed a shower.

I nodded again.

He smiled. It was a new smile and it was amazing. So much so, I felt it all over my body.

But then he stated, “I’m starved.”

It was seven thirty. I’d ordered a bunch of pizzas but we’d eaten them hours ago.

“Shower,” Joker declared and I focused on him again. “Get you clean, order in, we eat. You fall asleep in your food, I’ll get you to bed.” He dipped his face closer. “I’ll take you for a Blizzard tomorrow.”

Something to look forward to.

In fact, lots of somethings.

I grinned at him. “That’s a deal.”

He bent his head and touched his mouth to mine.

It felt sweet.

He lifted his head. “Let’s do this.”

“Joker?”

“Right here.”

I flattened my hands to his chest, loving those words, loving they were true, loving all that he made them mean.

“Thank you for everything.”

“You don’t have to—”

I pressed hard against his chest and lifted up on my toes to touch my mouth to his.

Once I did that and he quieted, I said softly, “I know I don’t. And I love that I don’t. But I need to. So,” I slid my hands up to his shoulders and curled my fingers around, “thank you.”

He made a noise I liked in the back of his throat, bent his head, and kissed me.

Continuing to do it, he shuffled me to the shower.

In the shower, I didn’t conk him on the jaw with my head.

Though I did scratch him and hard.

He was right, since I’d let go and relaxed, I found out he liked it.

A lot.

After our shower, I didn’t fall asleep in my shrimp fried rice.

But I did fall asleep the instant my head settled on Carson “Joker” Steele’s chest in my bed.

And I did it with his arms around me.

After that, I slept deep.

And easy.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Let the Healing Begin

Joker

JOKER TRIED TO quiet the rustling of the plastic bags as he unpacked the groceries he went out to get while Carissa slept in.

She could finish up the generic ketchup, and then she was done with that shit.

He couldn’t say this was generous. He didn’t like generic ketchup and he intended to eat at her house and do it frequently.

So she was definitely done with that shit.

He also intended to sleep in her bed and do that frequently too.

It was partially about her mattress. It was firm but comfortable. His mattresses at the Compound weren’t great. He’d inherited his room from Dog after the man left for Grand Junction, and his brothers had clearly not replaced them when he’d inherited the room years ago.