“Good,” he murmured into the top of my hair. “Now, sucks, but we gotta move you.”
“Yes, it does suck.” I tipped my head back. “But then I’ll be moved. Travis and me will be safe and in a nice place. And that’ll be that.”
“Yeah,” he replied on a grin.
“So maybe you’ll kiss me so we can get on with that and get it over with,” I suggested.
“Yeah,” he repeated on a smile.
But he didn’t kiss me.
So I called, “Joker?”
“Carissa Teodoro in my arms in my bed askin’ me to kiss her,” he said quietly like he wasn’t talking to me and he couldn’t quite believe his words were true.
I felt my body grow still.
Then I forced the stillness out and rolled Carson “Joker” Steele to his back, with me on top, murmuring, “He won’t kiss me, I’ll kiss him.”
And I commenced in doing just that.
Lucky for me, Carson “Joker” Steele liked it.
So he kissed me back.
* * *
I stood in Tyra’s house—my house—dead on my feet but still taking it all in as Joker closed the door on the last to leave, Tabby and Shy.
I was in.
Not in in the sense that tomorrow I had to unpack all I could before starting back to work the next day at the same time getting laundry done and also getting to the grocery store as well as back to my old place to do a deep clean.
In as in everything was unpacked, my pictures were even hung on the walls, the boxes were taken away, and I didn’t have to go back to my old place except to take back my keys.
This was because the men had moved the stuff, put together the furniture, set up the TV and asked me where I wanted things so they could put them up on the walls. Snapper had even mounted my Dustbuster in the utility room.
This was done while the women unpacked, and it wasn’t just Tyra, Tabby, and Lanie. Elvira had showed, bringing with her women named Gwen and Tess (who were gorgeous, nice, and had tons of energy). Not to mention other Chaos women came, including, to my disbelief but in the end deep gratitude, Stacy (Joker had understated it; she wasn’t just a decent woman, she was really nice).
My dishes were in the cupboards. My bed was made. Travis’s toys were in their baskets. My TV was good to go and the cable already worked. My clothes were in the closet. And with Stacy leading the crew at my old place before showing at the new, my apartment was spotless and I had a bunch of images on my phone that she took and texted to me to prove that fact should my landlord decide to mess with me.
“Carrie?” Joker called.
I looked to him and announced, “I’m gonna need to buy more pastries.”
His lips twitched and I liked it.
But seriously, I really missed the beard.
He came to stand in front of me and put his hands to my hips.
“You gonna fall asleep on your feet or you gonna be able to make it to your bed?”
I had a strict rule, no matter what the day brought: clean sheets, clean body to put in those sheets.
I didn’t eat bonbons while everyone was working.
I needed a shower.
“I have to shower,” I told him.
His fingers dug into my hips as he muttered, “Do that. I’ll leave you to it. Stop ’round tomorrow.”
He was leaving?
Before I could think if it was right or wrong, I lifted my hands quickly and took hold of his T-shirt in both fists.
His eyes heated.
It was right.
Thank goodness.
“My bed is very comfy,” I whispered.
It was kind of shy but I didn’t care. I needed to say it so he wouldn’t leave.
“You want me there with you?”
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 mattress 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.