He’d just found her nipple with his thumb when he stiffened and pulled away. The sound of his curse pulled her out of her haze, and she followed his gaze to the stovetop.
Flames. They were bright as they rose over the frying pan.
The flames were too hot. Too bright.
Charlie…where was he?
She glanced around her bedroom, searching. He wasn’t there. She looked at the bedroom door again, where the flames were alive and angry. He was out there.
“Sky.”
She blinked.
The fire in the pan was gone, and Becket was in front of her again, concern in his eyes.
“Are you okay?”
Instead of answering his question, she swallowed. “You put the fire out?”
“Yeah, I turned the heat off and threw a lid on.” His brows flickered. “Where’d you go?”
“I—” She stopped, the words not making it out. Her heart was beating too fast and her stomach was still doing little rolls. She hadn’t had a flashback for months. “I should get ready for work.”
She slid off the counter and took a step toward the stairs, but Becket gently caught her wrist, stopping her. It took her three long seconds to turn back toward him.
His brows were still slashed together. “You didn’t answer my question. Are you okay?”
No. But if she told him that, she’d have to reveal other things. Things about fear creeping inside her. But not for her safety—his.
“I just need to get ready for work.”
* * *
Becket’s fingerswere tense around the wheel as he made his way to The Tea House. He was meeting his brother and sister for coffee, but he couldn’t get Sky off his mind.
That wasn’t the first time she’d reacted like that to flames. The fear had been so palpable that he’d almost felt it. And damn if her skin hadn’t gone pale. Because of her house fire in Cheyenne? Because it had caused her to lose Charlie?
He wished she’d talk to him about it. Was it a flashback she’d experienced? Did she get them often? He had so many damn questions.
Last night had been… Fuck, it had been everything. And he’d thought it would bring them closer.
So why couldn’t she talk to him about what she was feeling this morning?
He pulled into the parking lot of The Tea House and took out his phone to text her.
Becket: Hey, Peaches. You get to work okay?
Her three dots appeared immediately.
Sky: I did. No thanks to you.
He chuckled, because she wasn’t wrong. Once breakfast was ready, he’d gone upstairs and found her in the shower.
Becket: I’m pretty sure you’re the one who told me to get in the shower with you.
Sky: You opened the door and stood there shirtless… You set me up.
His dick twitched at the memory of her naked and wet beneath the spray of water.
