Lyric grins sinfully. “Because your nipples could cut glass right now, and you once told me that that song always comes to mind when you’re horny.”
Heat infuses my body, and my pussy spasms as I imagine his fingers pinching my nipples while his mouth assaults my clit.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lie.
His grin slips into a frown. “Right, sorry.”
Instant regret washes over me like a bucket of ice water. I still haven’t confessed that my memories have returned, so of course, he thinks that I was referring to that.
Waving away his apology, I say, “I know how you can make it up to me.”
“Oh yeah?”
I nod. “I’d really love to visit my parents’ graves.”
I asked him about this a few days ago, but he said it wasn’t a good time. When I pressed the issue, he explained that a funeral for a Shadow Sixer was scheduled, and he was too busy getting ready for that. That service was set for yesterday, and apparently, the deceased’s sister was the only person to show, and the Kings weren’t able to do whatever they had planned.
“Please, Lyric,” I plead when he hesitates. “I think…” Taking a deep breath, I blow it out before continuing. “I think going could help me remember.”
He heaves a sigh. “Okay, we can go. But we can’t stay too long.”
Excitement and sadness battle within me. Getting out of the clubhouse will be good, as will visiting my parents, but I also worry that seeing their final resting place will trigger emotions I’m not sure I want to experience.
I loved my parents, and the fire that killed them was devastating. It was Lyric who got me through it, and I have to trust that he can do it again.
The wind catchesmy hair as I stare down at the granite headstones marking the final resting place of Roger and Sandy Kensington. When they died, nightmares about the fire plagued me, but it’s been a while since I’ve had them. Unfortunately, nightmares don’t wait for sleep to rear their ugly head, and I relive the moment I was told about their deaths right here in the cemetery.
“They might not have always known how to show it, but they loved you,” Lyric says, yanking me back into the light.
“I know,” I say, nodding. “I just…”
“What?” He turns me to face him and tips my chin up so I can’t look away. “You just what?”
Tears fill my eyes, and I blink them away. “I wish I hadn’t cancelled my plans with them that day,” I blurt without thinking. “I was supposed to meet them for dinner, and if I hadn’t been so damn selfish, maybe they’d still be here.”
“You can’t think like that,” he says, cupping my cheeks.
“It’s impossible not to. They would’ve been with me at the restaurant had I not chosen to go shopping instead.”
“You were young, Mellie. If anyone is to blame, it’s the guy they hired to fix their furnace. He told them he’d fixed the problem, but the fire marshal’s report stated that he failed to cap off the old gas line he replaced.”
“I get that, but that still doesn’t change the fact that they’d be alive if I met them for dinner.”
“I’ve told you before, and I’ll tell you again, their deaths are not on—” He flattens his lips and clenches his jaw. After staring at me for what feels like a lifetime, he speaks. “Your memory is back.”
It’s not a question, and I realize that I’ve recounted moments in my past with such detail that there’s no other conclusion he could draw.
Shit.
“Yes,” I admit quietly.
Lyric drops his arms to his sides and takes a step back, then two more. “How long?” he grits.
Signing, I wrap my arms around myself in an effort to ward off the cold that his distance creates. “Does it matter?”
“Of course, it fucking matters,” he snaps. “How long, Mellie?”
“Since the fight with Peach,” I admit, and when he opens his mouth, I hold up a hand to stop him from interrupting. “I didn’t say anything because I was worried that it was a fluke. I didn’t want to get your hopes up if the memories didn’t stick.”
