“I ruined that didn’t I?”
“Hey.” Aiden tucked a finger beneath Mike’s chin to raise his head back up. “You didn’t ruin anything. We got hot and heavy for a minute and I enjoyed it. Just because we stopped doesn’t mean it was ruined.”
“I...” Mike trailed off, his throat visibly working as he swallowed hard. “Thank you. I guess I should tell you why I don’t want to be touched on my bare skin.”
“You don’t have to share anything you’re not comfortable with.”
“I want to let you know what my land mines are. That way you won’t trip over them again.”
“Okay,” Aiden said as he soothingly rubbed Mike’s arms. “As long asyouwant to share them and you’re not doing it because you think I’m impatient to hear it.”
“I do. I want to get this out.”
Mike cleared his throat but didn’t say anything for several seconds.
Aiden remained quiet, giving him the space to gather his thoughts. Finally, Mike straightened his shoulders, shifting his stance so that he appeared as if he were delivering a report to a superior.
“I’ll give you the basics. A couple years back, my unit was on a mission in Montana. There was a hostile there that had the enhanced human ability to spit an acid-like venom. I took a severe hit from the substance. As a result, I’m scarred. Heavily on my back. Down my right arm and thigh too. And my right hand is damaged.”
“And you don’t want to be touched in those places?” Aiden asked for clarification.
“Right.”
Aiden understood without him saying that if Mike didn’t want to be touched there, he didn’t want to be seen either, which explained the ever-present long sleeves and the glove. Now that he knew the shirts were more than a fashion choice, he inwardly cringed at all the times he’d wished Mike would take off his shirt or wear short sleeves. “I’m glad you told me.”
“I’m sorry.”
Aiden gently tapped Mike’s lips with a single finger, halting the apology. “Stop apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I know my aversion for skin-to-skin contact might make it difficult for us to be intimate. For us to have naked kisses like you said you wanted. So, I understand if you change your mind about being —.”
Aiden popped his finger right back on Mike’s lips, pressing firmly this time to prevent him from finishing that sentence. “None of that. We’ll figure out how to work through this together. Okay?”
After a moment, Mike nodded, so Aiden removed his finger.
“Come on. We’ll finish our patrol for the night. Hopefully you’ll earn more compliments and I can see you blush again.”
