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“More than I thought it possible to love anyone. I have to say, JoJo, that it scares me because I don’t want to go through what I did with Diane again.”
“I promise never to hurt you intentionally, Brett. You are everything to me.”
He took her lips in a hard kiss.
“And you are everything to me,” he whispered above her lips, then pressed his lips to hers again. “Let’s go to bed.”
JoJo smiled, got to her feet, then laughed when he picked her up and strode down the hallway to the bedroom.
Thunder jerked her awake, and she looked toward the French doors to see the rain bouncing off the cement surrounding the pool, hitting the water as hard as bullets.
She inhaled sharply when lightning lit up the sky, followed by a clap of thunder that shook the house.
“Damn.” Brett sat up. “That sounded way too close.”
“Not even a second between them.”
He threw the sheet off, stood, and walked to the doors. The lightning flashed, and the thunder boomed simultaneously, making JoJo gasp.
“Brett, please get away from the windows.”
He turned to look at her, then strode to the bed and got in beside her.
“That’s a hell of a storm.”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Are you okay?”
“No. Storms terrify me.”
“Why? Did something happen?”
“When I was twelve, I had a horse that I loved so much. Buttercup was a beautiful buckskin born on the ranch. One night, we had a horrible thunderstorm. I watched the storm from my bedroom; she was standing in the yard under a tree. The thunder shook the house, and the lightning lit up the sky within a second. I saw it hit the tree, and Buttercup fell. The ground current from the strike killed her.” She shuddered. “I can’t get that image out of my mind. I grew up thinking that if a current could do that to a horse, it could kill me. People get killed by lightning all the time, and I know that now, but Isawit. That’s why it scares me so much.”
His arms wrapped around her, pulling her tight against him, and he kissed her head.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered.
JoJo nodded but stayed snuggled against him. She had never felt a storm so close before. It shook the entire house, making the windows rattle, and she was sure they would break at any second. She couldn’t stop shaking and was thankful for Brett’s strong arms holding her.
The next flash lit up the room, but the thunder didn’t sound for several seconds, so the storm was moving off, and JoJo sighed with relief.
“The rain’s letting up.” Brett’s voice rumbled under her ear.
She glanced over her shoulder at the doors to see.
“Yes. Let’s get back to sleep.”
“All right. I mean, if you’re not sleepy…”
JoJo elbowed him, making him grunt.
“Is that all you think about?”
He grinned. “With you? Hell yeah.”
“I’ll wake you later.” She kissed his lips, then rolled from him to her side. She smiled when he tugged her back against his chest and wrapped his arm around her waist. She placed her hand over his, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
