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All I could do was laugh. “It’s going to take time.” A hell of a lot of time.
“Well, cowboy,” she purred as she shifted around to face me. “There’s a dazzling outside art show I used to go to. I noticed a flyer this morning. It’s in town for a few days.”
“Art show?” I winced hearing her suggestion.
“Oh, so the big he-man couldn’t handle something like that.”
“Baby. I can handle anything. You just don’t know what I’m made of.”
“I’d say piss and vinegar.” When she gave me a saucy look, I issued a low growl.
How the hell did she manage to peel away so many protective layers? “Is there music at this great event? Food?”
“Why, yes, growing boy. There’s even wine and beer. And who knows, you might get some inspiration, even if you won’t admit you had a good time. We could go for a couple hours after I get off work tomorrow. Of course, that’s after your appointment in the morning.” The woman had baited me, and I’d fallen for it.
Every time she challenged me, I wanted to rip off her clothes. The caveman in me was coming out again. “Fine. I’ll pick you up.”
“And the appointment?”
I gave her a hard look. “I’ll be there.”
“Uh-huh.” She bit down on her lower lip, and I could tell it was to keep from laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“You. I can imagine what you’ll say about being at the event. ‘This is girlie stuff. What am I doing here? Can we go now? I’ll just sit over here and have a beer or five while you shop.’ Right?” She mimicked my voice far too well.
“Very funny, lady. Careful imitating me.”
“Did I do a good job? Brooding? Intolerable? Grouchy?”
I took her by the hand, yanking her toward me. “Woman. You have no idea what you do to me, but we need to work on that mouth of yours.”
“My mouth? Yours screams for a bar of soap.” While we both laughed, I knew that our physical attraction would only go but so far. She needed to be able to trust me. The only way to do that was to share aspects of my life I never wanted to address again.
Another moment of awkward silence settled between us, and it gnawed at me. We had to be able to talk. Her sharp inhale was enough to twist all the muscles in my gut.
“I’m so sorry about what you went through. I know that is woefully inadequate since I couldn’t imagine the torture, the not knowing.” As she brushed her fingers against my cheek, I nuzzled into her hand. She was so gentle, so incredibly loving.
From the moment she’d walked into my house, I’d expected to see pity in her eyes. I’d seen none of that, only raw determination to get what she wanted out of me. And now, her gaze had softened, allowing me to see past the armor she’d placed around herself. “In Kandahar, my unit was given instructions that turned out to be bogus. We thought we were rescuing some innocents. Instead, it was a setup, and we were attacked. We were all determined to take out as many of the insurgents as possible until our commanding officer realized that it was a deathtrap. But I noticed a young girl, at least I thought I saw her hiding then trying to run away and I reacted on instinct, going after her.”
“Oh, wow. Did she exist?”
“What haunts me to this day is that I don’t know. I was attacked from behind, knocked unconscious. When I woke up, I was in a shithole with at least a dozen other Marines from various units. I’d been bloodied and beaten, and that’s all you need to know about what I went through. The men of my unit did try and save me against direct orders, but the assholes keeping me had been tipped off. They set the building we were housed in on fire. But that was just the beginning of the nightmare. I was presumed dead sometime after that, confirmed when my dog tags were found on another man’s burned body.”
“Why didn’t they check dental records or fingerprints?”
“From what I was told, it wasn’t possible, but I’m not entirely certain. What I do know is that I’ve wasted a lot of time blaming everybody for what I went through. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future or if I’ll ever fully recover, but I know what I want and that’s you in my life. And maybe one day you can trust me enough to tell me who’s terrorizing you.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Grumpy,” she said as she wrapped her arms around my neck. “That’s what the sheriff came to tell me. There’s a custodian who was a little too sweet on me and took things much too far. He didn’t do any harm, just scared me.”
“What’s his name?”
Her body tensed, another telling sign. “Why? So you can beat him up?”
“I won’t do that. I promise.” I’d do what was necessary in order to protect what belongs to me. My chest ached, the protector in me already armed and ready, if only in my mind.
Chasity hesitated before answering. “Drake Myers. Before you go down that brutal path, he’s not a bad guy, just a man who didn’t realize the girl he had an infatuation with was damaged.”
