Page 3 of The Moments You Were Mine

I scoffed.

“What? Since when have I ever reneged on any of our bets?” he asked, a hint of warning in his tone.

“Oh, I think you’ll keep your end—at least until your command hauls you back to training and off on deployment to some far-off part of the world where you’ll do unspeakable things.”

His jaw ticked. “That’s weeks away. And the way you stood up on that board today tells me you’ll be done with classes well before I’m called back.”

He opened the passenger door for me, and I barely prevented myself from rolling my eyes at him. Not only at the gentlemanly move that made our time together feel date-like, when I knew it was the furthest thing he’d intended, but because I knew the real reason for this bet. He didn’t want me near Ace.

As he climbed into the driver’s seat and backed out of the spot, I watched him surreptitiously from under my lashes. He may not admit to the attraction that drifted between us now, but I’d still scored a point today. He hadn’t liked Ace flirting with me. He didn’t want me with another guy. That had to count for something, didn’t it?

Chapter Two

Parker

I’M ON FIRE

Performed by Bruce Springsteen

FIVE YEARS AGO

HER: If you’re available tonight, we’re having a bonfire at the beach. Feel free to join.

HIM: Will country music be blasted?

HER: Perhaps. But I’m not in charge of the music selection. I’m sure you could convince Rae to blast some of the crap you like that makes my ears bleed.

HIM: Or she’ll torture us all with her reggae.

HER: Reggae is growing on me.

HIM: There is absolutely no hope for you, Ducky.

HER: At least I’m willing to explore. You’re the one who refuses to change your mind once it’s set on something.

Fallon laughed at something her friendsaid as they returned to the beach from the restrooms. Her full lips were spread wide, eyes crinkling, as she tossed her long braid behind her shoulder. Her hair was wet from the outdoor shower, and it had turned the color of deep honey or a warm whiskey. The setting sun behind her shot it with amber highlights, giving her a halo and turning her into an angel.

Except, if she was an angel, she was more likely an archangel than the sweet, sitting-on-a-cloud kind. She’d have a fiery sword and armor, and she’d battle the world for her cause.

She’d always been that way, even as a kid, defending those she loved, the land she’d inherited, and her home with a fire absent from many of the adults in her life.

She may only be nineteen, but she’d seen more and taken on more responsibility than anyone I knew. But I was the only one in the crowd of college kids she’d gathered today who knew it.

Since coming to San Diego last year, Fallon had pulled on a different persona. It was as if she was actively trying to forget her roots, trying to pretend she was just like everyone else when, really, she was an heiress. The owner of a five-thousand-acre, five-star resort near the Sierra mountains. It was under her mom’s guardianship at the moment, but when Fallon hit twenty-four, it would become hers.

As she approached the firepit her friends had built, half a dozen guys she called friends followed her with their eyes. I watched them, fury building at the lust on their faces. I hated it. Hated knowing exactly what was going through their minds because it went through mine all too often. I wanted to shut them down, just like I shut my own thoughts down.

As Fallon took the beach chair next to me, I glanced over and nearly choked on the sip of water I’d just taken.

When I’d arrived at the beach, she’d been in a wetsuit, riding the waves on a magenta surfboard. I’d joined her, and we’d gone back and forth from shore to the outside and back for nearly an hour before we’d both called a halt.

Now, the suit was gone, revealing a tiny-ass bikini and miles of warm skin. It wasn’t the fact it showed all her lean muscles and soft curves that had me choking. I’d seen those before—seen them and tried to tame the beast inside me that wanted to touch and lick and savor them. But tonight, it was the fact her fucking pale-blue swimsuit was practically transparent that had me pulling my T-shirt over my head and tossing it at her.

“Cover up,” I snarled.

Her eyes went wide as she caught the black cotton shirt. “Excuse me?”

I leaned toward her, placing my mouth close enough to her ear that I caught that enticing scent of her. Salty seas and wildflowers. Heaven and hell. “You might as well be wearing nothing, Ducky. That suit is fucking see-through.”