He could practically feel her angerblistering against his skin. No matter how jealous the knowledge ofanother man touching her made him, she was right. There were manywho never would have made it out of that fire, never mind gettingthrough everything that followed. She’d done what she needed to doto survive and stay anchored to this world. If she hadn’t, he neverwould have found her.
Now that hehadfound her, he woulddo everything he could to keep her. If he became ensnared in hisjealousy, he would ruin things with her. There may be an intricatebond between them, but they would have to work at trust and love.Being mated did not guarantee those things, and he wanted them bothwith her.
“You shouldn’t be ashamed of anything thathas made you who you are today, Mia,” he replied. “I’m not evensure of the number of women I’ve been with, let alone remember alltheir names.”
She’d kick him in the nuts if he ever judgedher for the men she’d been with, but she had to admit the idea ofother women out there, knowing what it was like to be with him,made her blood boil.
“I know the number,” she said.
He nodded as he held his hands out beforehim in a conciliatory gesture. Her gaze fell to his reddened,chapped skin. The last of her annoyance melted away when sherealized he’d done that to himself in order to keep from touchingher. In that instant, she knew where the end of this conversationwould lead them.
She lifted her gaze to his as she spoke hernext words. “But there’s only one who will matter.”
Red flashed through his eyes, his nostrilsflared as he inhaled sharply. He took a step toward her beforeclasping his hands behind his back and moving away once more. “Yes,there is.”
The gravelly sound of his voice and theravenous promise in his eyes sent a shiver of pleasure down herspine. Oh yes, he’d be completely different from all the others.She didn’t care what she had to do; shewouldfigure out away to be with him. Today.
“What did you do after Florida?” heasked.
“From Florida I moved to Arizona, then NewOrleans, Vegas, Dallas, Salt Lake City, and Santa Fe, before goingon to Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and finally L.A. I was inL.A. when I realized I’d been running for far too long and it wastime to stop. I moved back to Connecticut and started piecing mylife back together.”
“How did you do that?” David inquired.
“One day at a time.”
She stepped away from the door and walkedaround him toward the window. Unlike the hideousness of David’s redroom, her room was painted an off-white that emphasized the deepblue carpet and drapes surrounding the large picture window. Metalshutters were rigged to descend over the window at the press of abutton, although she’d never hit that button as she much preferredto fall asleep to the stars and wake to the early morningsunlight.
Mia stopped before the window to gaze out atthe snow before turning to perch on the edge of her bed. The thickmattress sank beneath her weight. She’d only spent a couple yearsliving mainly on the street, but afterward she’d always beengrateful for the softness of a mattress beneath her. While beingheld captive, a mattress had become a luxury she’d never believedshe’d experience again.
Now it was a bit of heaven that never failedto make her sigh in contentment.
Mia gripped her knees when David settledonto the bed six inches away from her. She turned her head to him,her breath catching in her chest as his eyes sparkled in the raysof the sun streaming over him. Without thinking, she stretched herhand up to his cheek. He stiffened but made no move to touch her.Mia pulled her hand away.
“Sorry,” she murmured.
“Don’teverapologize for touchingme, Mia.”
Her hands gripped her legs again.
“So, one day at a time,” David prompted whenit became apparent she wasn’t going to speak again.
“I tried yoga, but it wasn’t for me. Triedmeditation too with no luck. From the time I was a little girluntil the fire, Ilovedthe stars. I’d often lie out atnight staring at their changing patterns and dreaming of beingamongst them. Many times my dad would join me and we would lie outbeneath them together. He showed me the constellations and stars heknew. The ones he didn’t, I would research and find out on my own.The planetarium was one of my favorite places to go, and I’d dragmy parents there at least once a month. They loved me so much,” shewhispered.
He hated the sadness playing over herfeatures at the mention of her parents. “Of course they did.”
“So when I woke up and realized the life I’dbeen living for the past four years wasn’t what my parents wouldwant for me, I turned to the stars again to help get me througheverything.” She told him about her travels and how she wouldexplore the stars at every new place she went to. Told him abouther time volunteering at the shelter and the money she scrapedtogether for the kids.
“My dream is to see the Aurora Borealis. I’dlove to see the stars from space too one day, but I figure seeingthe Northern Lights is a far more achievable goal right now,” shesaid.
“I agree.”
David watched the nuance of emotions playingover her face as she focused on the window again. She went fromwistful to sad, then to excited and happy while she spoke. A smallsmile played at the corners of her lips.
“Maybe one day, if I live long enough, therewill be a time when people go into space as easily as they flyacross the country,” she said. “I can hope so anyway.StarWarswas always my favorite movie. I’dloveto be ableto fly something like theMillennium Falconthroughspace.”
He lifted an eyebrow at that. “Was Han Soloyour first crush?”
“I was always more of a Chewie girl.”
