ILY (Deaf Hearts, #2)

by Cora Rose

I can’t believe I went from a nationally certified ASL-English interpreter to a madman who scours the dark web.

“I’m always stressed. It’s my most dominant personality trait. My mom used to call me a nervous nugget.”

“He was flirting with you,” Echo says, and I arch an eyebrow at him. “Well, I feel very sorry for him. He has terrible taste in men.” Echo nudges me, and I glance up at him. “I think his taste is alright.”

I blink at him. “Thorne? Are you fucking with me?” “No. That’s my name.” “I mean, Leaf and Thorne. That’s pretty fucking funny, right?”

“It’s probably the breaker. Do you know where the box is?” “Dude, I don’t even know where I am half the time.” Something about the way he says that gets to me. I hum softly and drag him in, curling fingers around his jaw and holding him while I take a long, slow, deep kiss. I keep finding myself wanting to take care of this poor, chaotic bastard.

He listened. He held me. He made me feel safe and sane, and that wasn’t something I’d felt in a long, long time. This is too complicated. I want to go back to groundhog hunting and insanity, please and thank you. It’s wild there, but it’s easier than feelings.

Pulling out a package of bread, I remember he’s filled my kitchen with groceries too. He saw this pathetic, sad sack of shit making bad choices, and instead of throwing me in cuffs, he tucked me in and made me comfort food.

My heart aches a little for him. It’s easy to tell now that he’s not keeping secrets that he’s been a very lonely man. Just like me. With a lot less sex, I’m starting to think.

These are things I’ve never had before. My own firsts. Being cared for with tender touches and quiet kisses as we both pull on boxers.

“How was your first time with a man, Mr. FBI man?” I finally ask, my stomach and heart both full. “Like I knew it would be,” he says, his hand drifting across my abdomen to my thumping heart. “And what would that be?” “Didn’t you hear me say it? It was perfect, Leaf. Just like you.”

“Just leave me to die.” I slip my hand under his and wait for his fingers to curl around me before I sign, ‘No.’ I hope he gets it. He laughs, so he must. “I just got you. If you could, you know, not do that for at least five more decades, that would be great.”

“I’m obsessed with you,” he says. He signs it too, just so he knows that I can see it and can understand. I hold on to those words, tucking them inside the space behind my heart. “Same” is all I can say, my hand moving up to sign it before falling between us.

He shakes his head and steps back into me. ‘You make things interesting,’ he signs, then pulls my fingers to his lips and kisses the tips of each one. “You are gorgeous and sexy, and you make me feel things I didn’t know I could. You make me feel like there might be a place in the world for me after all.”

Thorne grins and then rolls his lips between his teeth. “Fine, I love you. There. You happy?” “Immensely,” I breathe, feeling something well up inside of me.

“And, just so you know, I love you too. In case that wasn’t clear.” I lift my hand, adding it in ASL—the I-L-Y on my fingers forming into one single sign to convey this very big feeling in my chest.

When he pulls back, he’s breathing a little hard. “When it’s over, I want to come back here.” “Here here?” He shrugs. “It’s not like they’re going to set it on fire. There will be a way to rebuild. They’ll take out whatever they find, and we can start fresh.” We.

He presses a finger to my lips, his mouth not smiling, but his eyes kind of are. “I’m all the sures.”

And the way he holds me, it fucking feels like forever.

“I’m rich.” I grin down at him as I pin him on his back and brace myself over his chest. “I have gold bars! I’m going to melt them down and use them to make a toilet!”

“Maybe we can make a small gold groundhog statue for Michael.”

There’s a feeling in my chest I can’t entirely describe in words, but I know it. It’s starting to replace the empty loneliness of the past decade. It’s a feeling of being full and satisfied and… Content, I realize. And happy. And for the first time since all this started, I feel a little bit sane.