Page 56 of Need

I thought about it before I answered. Two minutes ago, the number would have been higher. “Four.”

“Tell me why.”

Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked at him. His face was full of concern. “I was... remembering. Things.”

His head tilted slightly to one side. “What triggered your memory?”

“I could hear you,” I whispered. “In the bathroom.”

His brow furrowed. He seemed confused for a moment, then his eyes softened in understanding and he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. “I wish I could take all those unpleasant memories from you, love.”

I clung to him. He had no idea how much his words meant to me. I wished he could take them all away, too, but just having him with me helped so much.

His lips lingered in my hair. “What’s for dinner tonight?”

“Fish.”

“Fish?”

I nodded against his lapel.

Taking a step back, he laced his fingers with mine and we walked back out to the kitchen.

After we finished dinner, he went to his chair as he always did. I cleaned up, and walked over to him. He opened his arms for me, and I sat down on his lap.

This was my happy place. If I had to pick one spot in the world I’d rather be than any other, it would be here, sitting in his lap.

As the evening wore on, I began to feel a little disappointed. We talked as we always did, only now, every time I made a face he made me tell him why and what it meant, but never once did he mention or lead me to believe we would be ending the night any differently than we had last night. Yes, I’d panicked when he’d touched me the other night, but before that, it had actually felt really good. I liked when he touched me, and I badly wanted to try again.

When nine thirty came, he patted me on my leg letting me know he wanted me to stand. Other than the gentle caresses and kisses he always gave me whenever we were close, he didn’t try to touch me.

I followed his instructions to go change into my nightclothes, get one of my books, and meet him in his bedroom.

Walking back into his bedroom, I paused at the door when I saw him standing by his bed in nothing but his boxers. Maybe this was it. We’d never done anything in his bedroom before, but now that I was sleeping in here—maybe. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed when he saw me.

He grabbed something off the bed before walking toward the bathroom. “Sit here outside the door and read while I shower.”

Again, he disappeared into the bathroom, but didn’t close the door. I sat on the floor obediently, opened my book, and waited.

Chapter Thirteen

Brianna

The next day was much the same. He kissed me goodbye before leaving for work, and again when he came home, but there was nothing beyond that. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t know how. He caught me frowning once, and asked me what was wrong. I just said that I’d missed him. It was true. I did miss him. I missed him touching me like he had been. Friday night, I fell asleep lying on the floor beside his bed just as I had for the last two nights.

Instead of waking up naturally on Saturday morning as I usually did, the phone rang pulling us both from sleep.

“Hello,” he answered groggily. Suddenly, he was on his feet and swiftly walking out of the room.

It took me a moment to register what had just happened, but then I remembered I was supposed to stay with him. I jumped to my feet, anxious, and scrambled after him.

He was in the kitchen, the phone pressed hard against his ear. There was a scowl on his face as he continued to talk to whoever was on the other end of the line. Standing still was difficult, and I didn’t know what I was supposed to do.

After a few more minutes, he hung up and tossed the phone on the counter. He ran his fingers roughly through his hair, and took a deep breath before looking up and seeing me standing there, my lips pressed tight together.

His face softened a little as he walked toward me. He still didn’t look happy, and I wanted to try and make it better. He’d said I could always go to him, but was this the same thing? I decided to take the chance. Before he could take the last steps separating us, I went to him.

Immediately he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. “Are you all right?” he asked. I could hear the concern in his voice.