Page 28 of Mending Our Chance

Realizing how sore my muscles were, I arched backward, arms pulled high overhead. The movement got my blood flowing and I stood up to stretch out. The lights behind me clicked off, and the bathroom door opened with a squeak. By that time I was bent down, letting gravity pull my body to the floor, while stretching out the back of my legs.

“Wow,” Felicity said. “For such a big man, you’re really flexible.”

I chuckled. “I didn’t used to be. But after the physical therapy I decided I liked how limber muscles made me feel so I kept at it.”

Felicity came up behind me and plopped down on the couch. My sixth sense told me that she was assessing me but my ego didn’t mind. In fact, I hoped she liked what she saw… until she reached over and traced the scar on my leg where my shorts revealed the full extent of damage.

“This is new,” she murmured.

“Got it back in October.”

Felicity nodded, sensing that I didn’t want to talk about it. I looked down at the gnarled blotch of red flesh, not yet faded to white. It was time to change the subject. “Let me make some coffee.” I rose and moved to the kitchen.

“You never sit still,” Felicity observed. She was resting her chin on her knees as she watched me. “I can’t figure you out, Marcus.”

“Why don’t you try asking me?” Coffee poured into a mug, and I changed out the eco pod for the next cup. “You still take your coffee black?”

“Yeah.” Felicity sounded far away. I looked over at her and saw tears glistening in her eyes. But this time she swiped at those dark orbs before the water could trickle down her cheeks.

I recognized a trigger when I saw one. The coffee was probably a bad idea, stirring up a memory. I tried to distract her. “Come on, there has to be something you’re dying to find out.”

Felicity sighed and said, “All right, the scar then—did it earn you a purple heart?”

I ground my teeth but managed to speak without bitterness. “Yeah. It was all I wanted, remember? To do something heroic.”

It was my turn to lose myself to a world painted in sorrow. Through the crushing void, I barely heard her ask what happened. Shrugging, I threw away the empty coffee pod and carried the mugs of coffee toward her. “I saved some men but it cost me a friend and taxed me a hole in my leg.”

I stubbornly pushed the fragile memories aside. Given I wanted to take away her pain, getting lost in my own would never work. I walked toward her, focusing on her breathtaking, albeit, sorrowful visage. Setting the steaming mugs on the table, I knelt between her legs, giving them a little shove to allow my wide torso to wedge in between. Her body heat scorched the flesh exposed by my muscle tank.

Looking into her wide, sad eyes, I kept my movements direct and attentive. Reaching out, I brushed her hair over a shoulder to expose the delicate skin of her neck. Her lips parted and her breathing sped up. It told me that we both wanted this, even with the past hanging over us and our future so uncertain. It gave me courage to continue.

My advances were not rejected, and I succumbed to the racing beat of my heart. Because if she let me, I was going to make everything better—now and forever.

Tipping her head to the side, I felt her skin burn against the hardened tips of my fingers. I leaned forward ever so slightly and then waited, seeking permission. When she gave the slightest of nods, a victorious thrill shot through me. No longer hesitating, I leaned down and brushed my lips over the soft skin of her neck. The small hiss that escaped her lips was all the encouragement I needed.

I will make you forget.

Trailing kisses across her jawline, I tasted the salt from her tears. Felicity had come to me for comfort, and although I wasn’t good at that sort of thing, for her, I would try. When I reached her full lips, I captured the bottom one in my teeth and gave it a little suck. Felicity’s groan of pleasure sent my blood south.

Her hands found my bare shoulders and pulled me closer. I tangled my hand in her hair and internally rejoiced when she passionately kissed me back. Running my free hand over her torso, I considered taking the kiss further.

But at the last minute I pulled away. The squeak from Felicity when I broke contact almost made me reconsider my decision, but now wasn’t the time. I held her hands in mine and looked into her eyes. “Felicity, as much as I want to, we can’t right now. Neither one of us is thinking straight, and I refuse to do anything that would make you hate me again—especially now that you’ve finally graced me with your acceptance.”

She closed her eyes, and I waited patiently while she sorted through her reply. I was praying like hell that she wasn’t going to be pissed that I pushed pause. It wasn’t gentlemanly of me to do anything while she was so raw with pain.

Yet, when those eyes opened again, I was disappointed as she agreed, “You’re right. It isn’t time yet.”

She hadn’t, however, completely shut us down. Hoping that she was going to be ready to take things further soon, I decided we would sort out any lingering disappointments of the past or uncertainties about our future at a more opportune time. I scooped her back into my arms and we clung to each other on the couch for a few more hours, the coffee growing cold and completely forgotten. For now, it was enough just to hold her.

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