“How would I know? I’ve been
here less than six hours.”
“Who needs a glass, right?” She
took a long swig of the liquor. The
alcohol burned her throat but felt
damn good. She took another swig
before meeting his gaze.
“Is that how you’re dealing with
your guilt? Drinking it away?” he
asked.
She held the bottle out toward him.
“Want a taste?”
He looked at her through narrowed
eyes, muscle working overtime in
his jaw.
“C’mon, babe, look at it this
way…maybe a taste will kill you,”
she said.
For the first time since entering the
room, a flicker of humor shot
through his eyes. With a shrug, he
grabbed the bottle and drank
without breaking eye contact.
“I’m still alive,” he said.
“Sorry to disappoint you…again.”
Needing to touch him, she reached
for the scar that zigzagged across
his forehead.
He flinched away from her touch.
“You need to leave. You don’t owe
me anything,” he said without
looking at her face.
She caught her lower lip between
her teeth and studied his bent head
before answering. “This isn’t about
owing you anything.”
He met her gaze then, annoyance
flashing in the brown depths. But
there was something else there,
too…pain so intense she took a
step back.
“What is wrong with you?” he
asked. “Just because I’m in this
chair doesn’t mean that you can
bully me.”
“Am I bullying you?” She grinned
at the idea of bullying him. He’d
always been the badass Marine
with more arrogance than
necessary. Her independence
clashed with his attitude more
often than not, but that had been a
good thing. Maybe—just maybe—
he’d missed it. “I brought you fast
food and alcohol. We even had a
fight. I think you like that I’m here.
I’m livening things up. You looked
pretty bored when I walked in.”
He grabbed her hand before she
could snag another fry. He
squeezed her fingers so hard she
thought her bones would snap.
“Look at me. I’m not the man you
married. I’m not even a Marine
anymore. Look at me.”
She only saw the man she loved
who stared back with desperation
in his eyes. She saw his hair
thicker and longer than she’d ever
seen it before and liked it. She saw
his teeth sink into his lower lip and
wanted them sinking into her skin.
She only saw Michael.
“You’re still the sexiest man on the
planet,” she said.
“You’re delusional.” He dropped
her hand as if the mere touch of
her skin sickened him.
“Maybe I am.”
“What are you getting out of this?”
“A headache.”
“I can’t. I’m changed. We’ll never
be able to be like we were.” He
looked at his legs. “Not like how
you remember me anyway. I’m
different now.”
“So am I. We’re all different.”
“It’s more than that and you know
it. You and me…sex…there will
be…expectations.”
“I see, so I should pretend you
don’t exist because you feel
awkward about sex? You must not
think much of me, Colonel.” She
bit out his rank between clenched
teeth.
“When I see you that’s what I
want, are you satisfied now? Right
now I would like to throw you up
against that counter, rip those jeans
from you and fuck you. I
remember how we were together.
That’s what I want. I can’t do that.
Do you hear me? I can’t have what
I want and seeing you is torture for
me. I can’t have you.”
Silence quaked in the room.
She put both of her hands on his
knees, conscious that he couldn’t
feel her touch. “You keep talking
about what you’ve lost, but you
haven’t lost me. Don’t you see
that? You may not be a Marine
anymore and you may not be able
to walk anymore, but you have me.
I love you. I need you. Can’t that
be enough? And you have your
son. What about him? He needs
you, too. You haven’t lost him.”
“I wish you hadn’t come here.”
“Too bad, I’m here. Deal with it.”
She moved onto his lap and moved
her hands over his shoulders.
“What’s the problem?”
“Stop this,” he whispered.
“You want me to kiss you. You
want to kiss me back.” She could
see it in his eyes, the need, the
desire, the question. “Is that what
you want, Michael?”
“What would that prove?”
“Does it have to prove something?
Can’t a kiss be a kiss?”
“No.”
“Typical man.” She leaned within
a fraction of his lips. “Don’t you
remember high school? Don’t you
remember when a kiss meant
everything?”
In a sudden move, he grabbed the
back of her head and ground his
lips against hers. She knew the
intensity was meant to shock her
so she matched it with her own.
She sat on his lap and plunged her
tongue into the recesses of his
mouth until he moaned. His free
hand squeezed her breast through
the thin material of her blouse but,
instead of hurting, it ignited her
blood.
The Michael she knew still lived
inside this man. She felt him in the
warmth of his mouth, the strength