Chapter 26

I walked across the room and curled into his lap. Joel just held me while stroking my back. I appreciated his understanding my fear. It meant a lot to me. As we sat there watching the fire I thought about how important Joel had become to me. The silence was comforting for now and that seemed like a conversation for another day.

The beginning of the next week felt like the last part of the week before, but soon it was Wednesday and I got to go to work. I drifted into my enormous closet to pick out something business casual that covered Joel's bite mark and Shawna's bruises. There was no way to explain this new life to my work friends.

I touched Joel's bite mark and wondered about it. The rest of his bites healed within a few hours, only this one stayed.

"It's my mark," he called from the bathroom. "It will never fade, that was the intention I had when I made it. I heal my other love bites after I make them."

I shrugged a