“I’m not sure why I’m saying all this. Except that I feel like I can talk to you. I mean, I talk to Rafe. Eden. My teammates. But you… it’s different. I’m not sure why. It just is.”
“It feels different to me, too.” Draping one leg over his, I turn into his body, so we’re partially embracing. Indy hugs me closer and strokes his hand down my back. “I’ve never felt like this with anyone before.”
His hand stills. “Like how?”
“Like… I don’t have to pretend to be normal around you.”
“Pretend to be normal?”
“Act like I don’t have my implants. Act like I can go to crowded places and hear everything just fine, when I can’t.” Pulling my hair into a loose ponytail, I continue, “I never wear my hair pulled back. Because then people could see them. Which is stupid, and I know I should be fine with it by now. It’s just… I hate the attention. But with you…”
As I let go of my hair, Indy gathers it into his hand, gently holding it back. “You don’t need to hide anything, Bea. Not one thing. You’re perfect just as you are.”
Tears spring to my eyes, unexpected and unbidden.
Aside from my parents, no one’s ever told me I’m perfect. Not knowing the truth of who I am.
“Bea?” Indy’s voice dips with worry. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean?—”
“No, don’t apologize. It was just… really nice. What you said. And… I think the same thing about you.”
He immediately shakes his head. “No, it’s not the same. With me… it’s not just my hand. It’s… like I said. I’m not the same. And I don’t think I ever will be.”
“Indy.” A lump rises in my throat.
It hurts to hear him say something like that. To hear that he really thinks he’s less when it’s so far from the truth.
I climb onto his lap so I’m straddling him. Then I take his face in my hands and hold his gaze. “I didn’t know you before,” I start, “but I know who you are now. And I likethisIndy.”
“But—”
“I like you as you are,” I add firmly. “A little grumpy sometimes. Because really, who isn’t? You’re strong. Determined. Loyal. Caring. You took a huge risk because you believed in me. And even when I was mad at you, you were patient. You let me be upset instead of pushing me to forgive you.”
“Bea.” He leans forward to kiss me. “Hearing you say that…”
“It’s true. Maybe that old Indy was fun. And he liked to do crazy things like jumping off waterfalls and walking a tightrope between buildings. But I want…”
He sucks in a breath. “You want what?”
My heart jumps. “I want you. Not some other Indy from years ago. The Indy in front of me right now.”
Feeling bolder than I’ve ever been, I reach my hand between his legs. “I want you. Maybe it’s too soon, or maybe you’re not interested in me that way?—”
His arousal—and yes, it isdefinitelyaroused—jerks in my hand. “Bea,” he grits through a clenched jaw, “are you sure?”
Nervous butterflies burst to life in my belly. “Do you… want me? Or am I reading things wrong?”
In a blink, Indy flips me over and braces himself above me. His eyes flare with heat. “Shit, Bea. Do I want you?” Holding himself up with his prosthetic hand, he palms my cheek with the other. “OfcourseI want you. I’ve wanted you since?—”
He stops. Dull spots of red color his cheeks.
And oh, my. How adorably sexy is that?
This tough guy, who thought nothing of storming a hospital to break me out of it, who risked his life over and over for his country, who thinks just because he’s missing a hand he’s somehow broken—blushing.
Heart thumping hard, I ask, “How long?”
His eyes burn into mine. “Since the first day we met.”
