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“You scared him,” Julia explained needlessly

“Great” He rested his head against the back of the chair “I’ve alanted a career in the circus, frightening kids”

“You’re…you’re bleeding,” Julia said and, slowly, so as to keep his brain fro out his mouth, Jesse lifted his head “Your nose” She pointed uselessly at her own lovely nose

He touched the back of his hand to his pained nostrils and his hand came away red and wet

“Here” A handful of tissue appeared under his chin “I’ve got a diaper, too, if that—”

He snatched the tissues, careful to not touch her with his ies won’t be necessary” His lip curved at that ridiculous ie He’d really look scary with a diaper stuck to his nose He heard her soft chuckle and his body went tense, hard He’d tasted her last night in that terrible, wonderful dreaue and filled his fuzzy brain with a biting want He did what he could to clean himself up with the tissues

He heard the rattle of a toy and Julia whispered, “Here you go, buddy It’s yummy”

Julia gave her son a s covered the boy’s face and hands, but his smile ide Jesse felt himself smile back

“He looks like Mitch,” he said stupidly, and the happy little scene in front of hiehammer to it

“That’s what everyone says” Julia’s own s with a toy train and licking frosting off his cheeks “I think he looks like himself”

She tilted her head as if testing her assess him with her blue, blue eyes

That look—that level gaze that soave hi so eleotten, he didn’t kno to handle it

He looked down at his bloodied hands, at the ruined tissues

“Here,” she ar dusted her voice “You missed some”

Before he could stop her, before he even knehat she intended, she stood beside his chair and licked her thumb and used it to clean a spot on his chin and neck