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“Is your trust something I can still earn back or is it too late for us?”
She blew out a somber breath. “Honestly, Finn, I want to trust you. I don’t want us to end. I still want forever with you. I’m willing to give us a chance, but I need to see progress and consistency like Dr. Cole said.”
Finn’s gaze swept the room before landing back on her. “I want forever with you too. And I’m willing to try to communicate better with you. I’ll try not to overstep when it comes to protecting you.”
She gave him a small smile. “That’s all I ask.”
He ran a hand over the back of his neck. “Then it’s time I was honest with you about some other things.”
Panic lanced across her chest as her pulse quickened. Worry cinched her guts into knots. What now?
“Those nightmares I woke up from a couple times? And that time in the kitchen when you surprised me?” He looked at her.
“Yeah?”
“I’m pretty sure they were memories.”
She blinked, understanding wrapping around her.
“I think I remember right before the accident. And then some time when I was deployed. I think . . . I think I killed someone over there.” His voice broke.
She reached out to his thigh, squeezing in comfort. “You were in a war zone. You did what you had to to survive and come back to me.”
He bit his bottom lip. “I remember talking about you to my friend, the one I was in the accident with, Smithson.”
Charli’s mouth tipped in a sad smile. “You two were pretty close when you were both serving; when you were in the same unit. His husband called the other day to see how you were doing.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Zack said he’d love to see you sometime but he understood if it was too much, especially since we assumed you didn’t really remember Eric.”
“I wish he’d made it through the accident. It feels like I should be grieving him, but I don’t really know him.” Finn’s hand rested over hers, his thumb drawing lazy circles on the soft flesh sending a buzz of energy pulling through her. “I remember Smithson talking about proposing to Zack and how much he seemed to love him. We also spoke about how much I adored you, and how lucky we were to have found you both.”
It wasn’t necessarily a memory of her, but of his love for her. She was grateful for that at least. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”
“At first I didn’t tell you because you felt like a stranger to me. And then I was still processing the fact that I was a killer. And I had come so close to hurting you. I didn’t want you to think of me as a monster.”
She shook her head, tipping his chin up to look at her with her hand. His rough stubble scratched against her flesh as his gaze met hers. “I would never think of you that way. You did what you had to do. Survival isn’t always pretty. It’s messy and dark and even violent for some. You would never take a life unless you thought it was absolutely necessary.”
“How can you be so sure?”
She placed her other hand over his heart. “I don’t know the details, but I know you.”
“Can I kiss you?” he asked, leaning his forehead against hers.
Part of her was terrified of the intimate act, letting him back in with so much on the line. The other part of her wanted to offer him some solace and connect with her husband.
“Yes.” Her voice came out with a breath.
His lips fused to hers, hungry yet slow, almost reverent. She opened for him as he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, his thumb tracing the edge of her jaw. Heat bloomed in her core, spreading to her limbs faster than a wildfire.
She raked her teeth over his bottom lip. He groaned before dipping his tongue inside to taste her.
Charli pulled away, staring into the glassy eyes filled with unbridled desire across from her as she caught her breath.
“I promise to be here for you in whatever capacity you need. I swear I’m gonna earn back your trust and be the man you deserve. I’ll wait as long as you want. But I’m not going anywhere, Charli-baby.” He ran his thumb over her bottom lip, still slick with the taste of him. “Thank you . . . for loving me enough to not give up.”
“Always.”
