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At this moment, however, she needed a break. He did, too.
And she knew exactly what would help both of them.
She drew out her cell and texted Beatrice. “The most important thing is to identify that man,” she said to Rory. “You have ten minutes to put his face into the recognition software. There are other people in this building who can and will help with the rest. I know you have a hero complex, and you want to figure it out yourself, but, right now, we’re going to focus on something else.”
“We are?”
She nodded, planted a kiss on him, and headed toward the exit. “Ten minutes, Tephra. As soon as I’m done with you, we’ll get back to this.”
Inside his room, she took a deep breath, her mind going a million miles an hour. Her dad had been at that event with Hannah’s, along with the man with the scar. It was all tied together, and although she didn’t know how, she felt better than she had in days. They finally had a lead, and if she could free up her memories, she would figure out what had happened to her in the alley and why. She would also discover what had happened to her father the night of the fire.
Unlocking her brain required unlocking her heart. She needed to feel confident again, whole again. For a few precious moments, she needed to stop thinking about what had happened—then and now—and distract herself.
In the tiny bathroom she scrubbed her face and took off her clothes. Then she climbed into Rory’s bed and waited.
Rory stopped outside his quarters,his mind, as well as his heart, racing. The desire to untwist this puzzle and put the pieces into order gnawed at him.
His desire to please Amelia, to make her his, was forceful.
To ignore her request—no,demand—would be agony, and if he was honest with himself, he wasn’t strong enough to push it aside.
He needed her. Needed to feel like he wasn’t alone anymore.
Yes, he had his brothers. He had Beatrice and Cal. He had the most amazing support team any guy could, but Amelia was…everything.
She’d given him the key to his freedom, getting him back on his feet. The irony was, he didn’t want to go anywhere except where she was.
At that moment, she was on the other side of the door.
Don’t screw this up.She loves you.
The idea still startled him, even after his discussion with Vivi. Maybe he was lying to himself, because he was the most unlovable of any of them, and through the years, that’s the way he’d wanted it to be. He had to bury so much—so much anger. So much frustration. So much dislike for himself.
You’re not alone anymore, that voice inside his head said. He couldn’t deny it. In his room was the most amazing woman he’d ever met,and she wants to be with me.
He attempted to drown out his doubts, his worries. Old habits die hard, but they fled as he forced himself to grab the door knob.I will not be eighty and regret that I didn’t have at least one night with her.
The room was dark, only a single shaft of light coming in from the window over the bed. Amelia rose like a beautiful shadow, propping herself on an elbow. The sheet fell and her breasts were exposed, creamy and perfect in the light. “You’re late,” she teased.
Automatically, he checked his watch as he closed the door behind him and locked it. “By one minute.”
“With all of this waiting for you,”—she waved a hand over her body. The material draped over her luscious hip and he licked his lips. “I thought you’d be early, eager to get to it.”
She had no idea. He yanked off his shirt—might as well get it over with—and she caught her breath at the sight of his scars. “I’m no stunner like the other guys,” he admitted, turning, so she could see his back as well. “I’ve earned each and every one of these babies, and if that makes me a beast to your beauty, then so be it.”
“I always loved that story. It was a favorite of mine growing up.”
He tried to breathe. “You still want to go through with this?”
“Of course I do, you big dummy.”
Steadying his nerves, he shucked off his pants. He braced himself for another gasp at the scars down his legs, but she was quiet.
“Like I said, I’ve earned every one of them. They each tell a story that I can never escape from. I see them every day and remember how I got them. Vivi claims I should be proud of them, but mostly I use them as reminders of who I used to be and all the things I did. That I can’t do anymore.
“Someday I want you to tell me those stories.” She patted the bed. “You still have too many clothes on.”
The removal of his socks and underwear was quick, and he was already so, so hard. He fumbled with the box of condoms in his nightstand—he’d stolen them from Moe and the kid hadn’t even realized it. Yet. It wasn’t like Rory was going to run over to the local convenience store and grab some, but the script he’d made as homework from Vivi had included birth control.
