“We should head back.”
A knot forms in my throat. I can’t breathe. I misread the situation. He’s angry with me now.
He offers me his hand, but I ignore it and slide off the rock, not daring to catch his eyes because I doubt I’ll like what I see in them.
I make to head back, and he snatches my wrist and pulls me roughly toward him. As I stumble against his rock-hard chest, he growls, “For the record, darlin’, it’s mutual. Just in case you’re in any doubt about that.”
My mouth drops and his husky whisper burns. “But this is not the time or the place to take advantage of you. You’ve been through a lot, and not just recently. I willnotexploit that for my own gratification, and I meant what I said; you’re safe. I’ve got you.”
I nod, accepting his explanation but hating every word he speaks. I wasn’t lying. I do want him, more than air it seems, but he’s probably right. This isn’t the time or the place to start anything new, and if anything, I feel like a fool for trying.
I nod, fighting back the tears of rejection.
“I understand.”
He exhales sharply. “We should head back. I’m as hungry as a bear.”
“Of course.”
We head back down the trail, and it’s as if everything has changed between us. Boundaries are set in place, and I understand the reasons why. But I don’t like them—at all.
* * *
We split up,and while I set about preparing salad and potatoes, Blade lights the fire outside and prepares to grill steaks. It’s a scene of domesticity that isn’t lost on me, and under different circumstances, I would stay here forever—with him.
He makes me feel safe and is extremely easy on the eye, which is probably why I made such a fool of myself back there. Then there was the interminable kiss. It could have lasted forever, and I would die a happy woman. My last breath, a shared one with a man like him.
It turns out that kissing the person you want to is very different to enduring the kiss of strangers who merely want to take from you.
I’m ashamed of my past, the one I can remember anyway, and the fact that sex featured a lot in it, all of it against my wishes.
It’s funny how things change when you want something. I thought I never wanted a man or woman to touch me again. It turns out I was wrong.
I glance out of the open door and notice Blade with his cell phone pressed to his ear. His brows are furrowed, his anger evident, and I wonder who he is talking to.
Dread curls through my veins as I anticipate life changing. What will it involve for me? I don’t want to think about that.
His eyes lift to mine, and he holds my gaze the entire time while listening to the caller on the end of the line. He gives nothing away in his expression, and my heart thumps as I sense change.
Then he pockets the phone and carries on grilling, and I swallow the lump in my throat and grasp the salad.
“Hey.”
I set the bowl on the wooden table that lives outside and turn to head back for the plates, but his husky drawl stops me in my tracks.
“That was Ryder on the phone. I told him what you said.”
“I see.”
I smile, but it’s a small one because I’m guessing everything will change when he finds my husband. Will they send me back? I may not remember him, but I’m fully aware I want to be as far away from him as possible.
“Are you okay, darlin?”
Blade’s tone is concerned, and I shrug, hating how my life is no longer mine to control.
“Not really.”
“What’s troubling you?”
