Page 32

Rebeka

A DELICIOUS SCENT CREPTinto the bedroom and stirred me awake what felt like days later. A quick glimpse of the clock indicated it had only been a little over three hours since I lay down. Another waft of something yummy filtered through the room, urging me out of bed and toward the living room. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but he came bearing food, so that was a positive sign. I eased into the living room where he lay on the couch, focused on the ceiling.

“Pizza's still hot,” he said without looking over.

“Thanks, I'm starving.” Not bothering with a plate, I grabbed a piece, flipped the cardboard lid closed, and took a bite. “Oh my goodness. Best pizza ever.” After snagging a paper towel, I perched on a barstool and swiveled to watch him. It was only then that I realized he had on a shirt, which was crazy since I still wore the one he had on earlier, plus new shorts and tennis shoes. The man was decked out head to toe in Under Armour gear. “Did you go out?”

“Yep. I was hungry and decided to stop by Academy to get clothes that fit.” His eyes shifted from the ceiling to me. “I left a note in case you woke up while I was gone.”

“I would’ve gone with you.”

“No, I needed to think.” The deformed cushions of my old couch shifted and parted as he swung his legs over the side to sit up. Leaning forward, he clasped his hands between his spread thighs. “I remember. Everything.”

A piece of hot cheese sucked down my windpipe. “Everything?” I asked between coughing fits. “You need to be more specific,” I gasped.

“I stared at that damn horse.”

“Pony.”

He rolled his eyes and focused on his clasped hands. “I remember us. Remember our talks. And hell, Beks....” With a deep breath, he leaned back and closed his eyes. Our deep connection drew me from the stool to sit beside him. The muscles of his thigh bunched under the comforting hand I placed over it. “I remember what you told me about your dad.”

With my free hand, I tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear and focused on his shoulder. “We didn't have very different childhoods. Yours was worse by far though. I never knew how you did it. Kept going back. Every summer, it took longer and longer for the real Brenton to break free.”

“But I did.”

“For me you did,” I said with a smile.

“I need to know if remembering the past fixed me.”

I shook my head and leaned back against the couch, putting our heads side by side. That close, his body heat seeped over, warming my chilled skin. “You were never broken. Did you turn the air conditioning down?”

“Yes, it was fucking hot in here.”

“Dammit, Brenton, that shit is expensive.”

“I told you I don’t do uncomfortable if I can help it. I’ll pay for the damn bill.” He yanked me back to the couch when I tried to stand. “Sit down and piss me off.”

“You're a selfish bastard for walking away from me half naked earlier.”

Instead of pissing him off like I hoped, a smile pulled his lips up, popping that damn dimple. “Selfish bastard or gentleman. Could go either way.”

“Fucking tease is what you are.”

“Wow,” he breathed. “You don't hold back, do you?”

“Guess that’s another piece of me you haven't remembered yet. I'm pushy when I know what I want. I was the one who seduced you the first time we slept together. Before that I wasn't all innocent either, but that night I wanted more. You tried your best to hold back, you really did, but just like in the kitchen, I begged you. I wanted that connection between us.”

I laced my fingers together and stretched them high above my head, arching my chest into the air.

“Except earlier had nothing to do with connection. It had everything to do with me being horny since our mind-blowing kiss last night, which became unbearable after seeing your tats this morning.”

“Basically you were using me for my body.”

I smiled and rolled my head to look at him. “You have a problem with that, flyboy?”

He barked a loud laugh and met my amused gaze. “The fuck? That's what they say to air force pilots.”

My smile widened. “Oh well, I'm using it now. So, flyboy, you have a problem with me using your body?”