“You’re not to blame for any of that. The fault lies with the people who tricked you.”
“Yeah, but if I hadn’t—”
“No way, huh-uh.” He shook his head. “I’m not going to let you keep blaming yourself. Jesus, you were just a kid.” He shifted so that he was beside her, wrapped his arm around her,and pulled her close to his side. “Did you ever find out why they took you?”
“Yeah, Proctor was a pervert and he had a thing for young girls.” She sniffled. “He believed he was ‘blessing’ them by … he was going to—”
“You don’t have to say it. I can figure it out for myself.” He rested his cheek atop her head. “I can’t believe you’ve been carrying this around for so long.”
“I was going to therapy for a while, and it helped.” Caleb and Dawn had suggested it. “But I just couldn’t seem to get past the damage I caused so many people.”
His arm tightened gently around her, and they sat in silence.
Being held by him made Luna feel safe in a way she hadn’t in a long time. Which was kinda crazy, considering she spent a good chunk of her life surrounded by some of the most lethal human beings on the planet. But the feeling with Boone was different than what she felt with the others—it felt deeper, more personal.
Oh, no. Was she letting her guard down too soon? Maybe she was setting herself up to be tricked and hurt again.
“Hey, whatever you were just thinking, you need to stop.” Boone pulled back enough to look her in the eyes. “Luna, I am not going to hurt you. I need you to believe that.”
She should probably be alarmed by how well he read her, but she found it sort of comforting.
“I do believe you.” She sat up, swiped the tears from her cheeks, and wiped her hands on her jeans. “Gah. Sorry I cried all over you.”
“You can cry on me anytime you want.” He cupped her face with his hands and slowly leaned in to place a soft kiss to her forehead, then drew back. “Thanks for sharing all of that with me. I know it had to be difficult for you, but now I understand why you were determined to keep me at a distance.”
He shifted to sit in front of her again, their knees touching.
“What aggravates me and scares me the most is that I don’t trustmyself. I’m worried that my instincts are all outta whack. Like … sometimes I have a hard time believing what I know to be true.”Oh, wow.That was the first time she’d ever said those words out loud. Just thinking it usually made her feel weak, but telling him was somehow liberating. “Take you, for example—every indication was that you are a perfectly nice, decent, genuine guy and everyone got along with you super well. But I couldnotbring myself to let go of the doubts I’ve built up in my head.”
“That’s totally understandable.” A strand of hair had come free of her ponytail, and he tucked it over her ear. “You were at a very tough, impressionable age, and I’m guessing all of the upheaval in your life—your folks dying when you were young and being raised by your sister, moving away from the home you loved—left you feeling sad, angry, maybe a little frustrated that you had no control over anything. And then some asshole took advantage of you and manipulated and deceived you in the worst way possible.” His long fingers draped over her knee, and Luna felt a warm zing that went straight to her belly … and other places. “But think of everything you’ve accomplished since then. There’s no way you can be as good at your job as you are without listening to your gut sometimes. Because when we’re out on an op, we’re able to concentrate on getting the job done knowing you’re back here, watching over us. We couldn’t do what we do without you.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She never really thought of it like that.
“Come on.” Boone stood and reached his hand down to her. “How about we head back so the others can take a ride?”
Luna nodded, took his hand, and stood, feeling lighter for having shared her dark past with him.
“Thank you.” She stepped forward, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her cheek against his chest.
Boone instantly circled his arms around her, andholy moly, it felt amazing.
“You’re welcome.” His deep voice rumbled through her entire body.
The whinny from one of the horses broke through the barrier of the tree branches—and their intimate moment.
“Sounds like someone’s ready to go.” She gave a quick squeeze before releasing him.
“Sassy’s always ready to go,” he joked. He reached down, lifted the blanket and shook it out before rolling it back up again.
Luna held the bottles of water in one hand, took his hand with the other, and followed him from beneath the canopy.
She looked at him as he walked ahead of her, wondering how she could have ever not trusted him. Well, as of right now, that all changed. Luna was done pushing him away, and she was ready to see where things went between them.
CHAPTER SIX
“Seethetroughthereby the side of the barn?” Boone pointed, and she nodded. “Let’s pull up there and we’ll give them some water before they head out again.”
He clicked his tongue, and Sassy ambled toward the trough. He gave a light tug on her reins. She stopped and immediately lowered her mouth into the water.
