Independence by Shelly Crane Read Free Book Online Page A

of our kind at every turn. We weren't sneaking off on a getaway, we were rescuing your friends."
    "I'm sorry," I muttered again.
    He poked his head out of the shower curtain . "Don’t be. You're the freaking Visionary. You can do whatever the hell you want to." He grinned. "By the way, " he started and closed the curtain to finish, "there's only two toothbrushes. You wanna share one and they can share the other ?"
    Share a toothbrush with him? I'd never even thought about that before. Did married people share toothbrushes normally? His mocking voice belted over the waterfall, "Don't over think this, baby." He poked his head out once more. "My tongue has been in your mouth. Your tongue has been in my mouth. We've already shared fluids. It's not a big deal."
    "I know," I said and scoffed like I hadn't been worried at all. "I know that." He chuckled and shut the door once more. I unwrapped one of the cheapest toothbrushes I'd ever laid eyes on. I brushed my teeth and then wiped off the sleep and mascara gunk from under my eyes. "So what's the plan for today?"
    "We'll leave as soon as they're ready and head back to my place. They need to see us there. They would expect us to go to my apartment. We'll just sneak them in and then figure out what to do from there. I don’t know how far their plan goes. If they are watching us or just toying with us, you know?"
    I grumbled, "When are they going to learn that they shouldn't mess with a Jacobson?"
    He chuckled again and then the water shut off. "Hand me a towel, babe?"
    I grabbed one and tossed it over. He came out seconds later, dripping and grinning as he watched me. He was waiting for me to freak out like I'd done in the palace. But something had changed in me. My body was taking over in a new way. I wasn't on defense anymore. I was on offense . And he had better watch it or he was going to get tackled.
    I walked to him across the damp floor and rubbed the hollow star o n his shoulder with my thumb. "What's this one for?"
    He glanced at it and back down at me. "Uh…rebellion?" He grinned. "I wanted to get more tattoos, matching the whole moon and filigree theme for our families. Dad wasn't happy about that. Even though my own body put a tattoo on me." He rubbed his wrist. "Oh, well. He got over it. Mom was on my side with that one. He doesn’t fight with Mom for very long."
    "I bet," I said an d laughed remembering the way Peter smacked her behind at the beach house. "I'm sure your mom can be pretty persuasive."
    He ticked his head to the shower. "You going to get in?"
    I nodded. "I left the toothbrush on the sink."
    Once again, if he thought I was going to cower and tell him to scram, he was wrong. I pulled my shirt off as I walked to the shower and took the rest off after I closed the door, tossing it over the top. I saw him in my peripheral and he stood there for a long time. He was thinking about the change in me. H e didn't really understand it; w hy the imprint in my body was all of sudden so intent on… whatever it was trying to do. But he was intrigued. He was thinking about our wedding night. About how he thought I was going to be scared and incredibly nervous. He had been surprised in the best way in the car last night.
    He wanted us to go forward. Always moving forward.
    Our bodies were tuned to it, latched onto the idea of being completely comfortable and satisfied in the other. I had been so wrapped up with the Visionary stuff that I had fought that off somehow, and when all that seemed to fade away to a manageable amount, my body said, 'Uhuh, we're back in business.'
    I smiled and poked my head out the shower door just like he had done. "Don’t over think this, baby," I repeated back to him and raised my eyebrows at him before shutting the door. He laughed and I heard the faucet water turn on. Soon I was done and putting back on those grungy clothes.
    As soon as I opened the bathroom door, Caleb looked my way from the window. "All scrubbadubbed?"
    I nodded. He