Page 68 of Iron Willed Warrior

“There’s more where that came from. I promise.” Cole sat down on the shower mat just outside the door. He’d already set a fresh, rolled-up towel within reach, and he used that to dry off a bit. Then, with a devious look, he spread the towel out to cover the short distance between the shower and the tub.

And proceeded to crawl toward me like some Apex predator toward his next meal.

He had said this wouldn’t be sexy?

When he reached the side of the tub, he got in. I moved back to make room. Hot water sloshed around us both.

Cole relaxed with his back to one end of the tub. I turned around so that I sat between his legs, resting against hischest. His right leg was bent, the left stretched out. With us both in the tub, the water had nearly reached the top, so I switched off the faucets.

“Want to turn on the water jets?” he asked.

“I’d rather just sit with you.” Settling back against Cole in the hot water, I was instantly surrounded by comfort. I breathed out and relaxed. “How does this feel so right?” I murmured.

He brought a hand to rest on my stomach. “I keep asking myself the same thing.”

Neither of us spoke for a while, just soaking in the ambience.

“Would you tell me about your family?” I said.

His thumb drew a semi-circle on my stomach. I felt him swallow, and I thought he might not answer me. I remembered from our previous conversations that his family hadn’t helped him after he was wounded. So clearly there were some kind of story there.

I was curious about this man. Cole intrigued me in a way no one else had in a long time. After my ex left, I hadn’t let myself get close enough to someone romantically to get to this step. Not just sharing mind-blowing orgasms, but truths about ourselves. Whetherhewanted to share his past with me was another issue.

“I never knew my biological parents,” he said. “My mom was young when she had me, probably a runaway. That’s the theory, anyway. She abandoned me at a hospital when I was two.”

“Oh, Cole. That’s rough.” I was sure he didn’t want or need useless platitudes. But it was still hard to hear.

“I ended up in foster care. Was placed with a few different families, and the last one stuck. They fostered a lot of kids, and Mom and Dad were older by the time I came to them. But they were great. If anything, they should’ve been moreselfish, because they gave absolutely everything to us and kept nothing in the tank for themselves. Never stopped putting other people first.” His chest moved against me as he breathed. “They both passed away while I was in the service.”

“They sound like amazing people. You must miss them.”

“They were. And…yeah,” he said softly. “I do.”

I rested my head against his shoulder. Reached for the hand that wasn’t already touching me to lace our fingers. “Do you have foster siblings?”

“None that I’m close to. So that’s why my family hasn’t been in the picture for a while. What about you? What’s your family like?”

“I didn’t know my father either. My mom and I lived with her brother. My uncle. He was…not a kind man, unfortunately.” Unlike Cole’s foster parents, my uncle had been a jerk, and my mom hadn’t been willing or able to stand up to him.

“Is this uncle still around?”

I knew that tone. It was the same one Cole used whenever he was getting protective. And potentially murderous towards anyone who’d hurt me. “Yes, but I haven’t seen him in a long time. He wasn’t physically abusive. Uncle Jim loved to tell me how weak I was, how I’d never amount to anything. What a fool I was for studying hard, or applying for scholarships, or thinking about enlisting.”

“I’m sorry, B. Clearly he was wrong.”

My eyes stung, and that made me feel ridiculous. I was glad Cole couldn’t see.

“In a way, he did me a favor. Gave me something to fight against. It was the best feeling in the world when I made it through boot camp. Like a big middle finger to him and anyone else who’d doubted me.” I blinked at the bathroom ceiling, but I was smiling. I hated that I still heard my uncle’svoice in my head sometimes. But I had proved him wrong. About my career accomplishments, at least.

“I sent Uncle Jim an invitation to my graduation ceremony at Quantico after I finished FBI training. He didn’t come, and I didn’t expect him to. But I would’ve loved to see the look on his face. Knowing I was an FBI special agent.” I closed my eyes. All kinds of emotions were bubbling up before I could stop them. “Thank goodness he didn’t find out about my engagement and howthatended. Uncle Jim would’ve been the first to say I told you so.”

“You were engaged?”

Dang it, why had I said that?

Probably because I’d been too comfortable. It was way too easy to let down my guard when I was with Cole.

He had already guessed that someone had broken my heart. Maybe I should just rip the Band-Aid off. Tell him the rest of my deep dark secrets, since the man had been so open with me.

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