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“You keep my own monsters at bay,” he replied softly. “I haven’t experienced that before, not with anyone else. Your presence forced my nightmares away. You’re like magic.”
A light giggle left my throat and it was so shocking, I stiffened slightly. When was the last time that I laughed? “You’ve only slept next to me one night.”
“Technically two,” he contradicted, “but I think it’s gonna remain true.”
“You were a Marine, right?”
“Once a Marine, always a Marine.” His hand lifted and he stroked down the side of my cheek with one finger and then stopped, dropping his hand fast as he realized what he was doing. “Yeah, to answer your question.”
“That means you’re trained to protect and serve. I understand how you feel obligated right now –”
“It’s not obligation, sunshine.” He cut me off, tilting my chin up. “It’s instinct. And I didn’t have to keep you here, but I wanted to,” he continued. “Because something about you calls to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Something in here,” he pointed to his chest and his head, “feels a pull toward you and I can’t ignore that.”
“You’re really complicated and unpredictable,” I decided aloud. “I’ve never had anyone talk to me the way
you do.”
He shrugged. “I don’t play games or waste time. Just who I am.”
“Maybe you just like puzzles.”
He laughed lightly. “Maybe. I was awfully good at them as a kid.”
Searching his eyes, I swallowed hard. “If something happens to me, look after Nylah. She’s not as strong as I am.”
He flinched like I had slapped him. “Don’t say stuff like that.”
“Promise me.” I touched his cheek with a super light caress. It wasn’t sexual. I’d say it was more exploratory. I hadn’t felt gentleness in so long that a part of me craved the interaction. At the same time, I was terrified.
Patriot caught my hand as I was about to pull away. “It’s okay. Touch me.”
Hesitantly, I let my palm slowly rest all the way against the light stubble on his cheek. Our eyes remained locked the entire time. Patriot inhaled and exhaled, the movement connecting us chest to chest. Curious, I lifted my other hand and cupped his other cheek, both hands resting against his face.
“You’re so warm.” I didn’t know why that was my only observation.
Sex was a simple transaction, two bodies merging for brief moments. Sometimes they fulfilled a need. Other times it was only one-sided.
As our skin touched, my experience with Patriot was so much more than a simple touch, so much deeper than a fleeting intimacy. He closed his eyes and sighed, opening them again with a small smile.
“Do you feel it?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Then you know what I meant.”
I did. “Dale,” I whispered as his grip tightened. “I’m afraid of everything, but the scariest thing of all? It’s wondering if I’ll ever be able to be with a man again.”
“You don’t need to worry,” he whispered, turning his head and placing a kiss on my right palm. “If you weren’t capable, you would never be able to do what you are right now.”
Surprised, I knew he was right.
“I’m gonna be okay.” My words choked off, but I didn’t cry. Instead, I dropped my hands and hugged him around the neck. “Thank you, Patriot. That just gave me so much hope.”
“That’s why I did it, sunshine. Hope is the most powerful emotion in the whole world.”
