“You two seem so different.”
Lucky released a half laugh under her breath. “She can be a lot, but she’s always been by my side.”
“It’s good to have someone who really knows you in your life.”
“Like you have your brothers?”
“Yes.” He backed out of her driveway and pulled onto the road. “It’s how I want to know you and you to know me.”
“Well, we’re going to be in close quarters, so…”
He put his hand on her thigh. “It’s going to be okay, Lucky. I know this is kind of fast, but it also feels inevitable.”
She turned her head on the headrest and stared at him while he drove them home. “What took you so long, then?”
He glanced at her, surprise lighting his eyes. “All those rumors about me being gruff and difficult and that I had a short fuse…they were all true. I wasn’t in a good headspace when I left the military. I’d seen too much, done too many horrific things in the name of democracy and freedom. Necessary things. And they left their mark and warped my mind for a while. There were times—still are times—when I lose myself in the nightmares. Awake and asleep. I’ve worked really hard the past couple of years with a therapist and by helping others to recover. But sometimes it all comes back to me. Not as often anymore. I know what to do to keep myself grounded.”
She put her hand over his on the steering wheel he gripped so tightly his knuckles were white. “If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here to listen.”
He reached out and dug his fingers into the hair at the back of her neck beneath her braid. “I appreciate that more than you know. And it goes both ways. I’ve watched you sleep in the hospital. I know you’re plagued by nightmares of what happened to you. You call out in your sleep. All I can say is that it gets better as you process what happened. Therapy helps.”
She cocked her brow at him. “You’ve been watching me sleep.”
He shrugged. “I couldn’t help myself. You were right there in front of me. Finally.” He pulled into the long driveway to his family’s land. “I couldn’t concentrate on anything but you, thinking about all we might have lost.”
“Everything we could have now?” she asked tentatively.
He stopped in front of his house, shut off the car, and turned to her. “I want youherewith me more than anything.”
Chapter Eight
Was it too presumptuous to saywelcome hometo her the second they walked in the door of his place? Probably. Did he want to say that? Yes. Absolutely. But he didn’t want to scare her off. Even if it was what he wanted and how he felt.
His therapist would probably tell him to slow down and think first. He’d had two years to think about what he wanted. Her. Here. With him. Shared meals. Long talks. Movie nights. Kissing goodnight and good morning. Soft caresses and a lot of making love any way she wanted it.
Yeah, maybe he needed to slow his roll and let her settle in. She’d had a shit few days.
His phone chimed with a text.
MASON: We just hit town. Want to check on you and your girl.
MASON: How is she? We can’t wait to meet her.
Shit. He didn’t want to overwhelm Lucky with his cousin and best friend.
HAWK: Just walked in the door with her. She needs some rest.
HAWK: Give us a couple hours before you drop by.
MASON: See you then.
“Is everything okay? Do you need to go to work or something? You don’t have to keep babysitting me.”
He dropped her bag on the floor and took two steps to close the distance he hated between them. “I’m not babysitting you. I’m taking care of you. So tell me what you need right now?”
She let out a weary sigh. “It’s all been too much. I’m…so damn tired.” Her shoulders slumped and she looked ready to drop right there.
He cupped her face and stared into her sleep bruised eyes. “Okay. Here’s where things get real. Do you want to sleep alone or with me?”
