Page 115 of Burn Bag

And then he sank inside me and made love to me.

“What about this one?”he asked, showing me an SUV that looked more like it was outfitted for a military campaign in the desert.

“Aren’t we supposed to be shopping for you?”

Scowling, he shut the door of the driver’s side and stalked over to me. “I need something you can drive around in.”

My hands twisted in front of me as I ducked my head, nervous as hell. “Um…that’s the thing…”

“What’s the thing?” he asked, tilting my chin up so I had no choice but to look at him.

My heart hammered in my chest the longer I stared at him. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t get behind the wheel again. I wasn’t ready. And as my eyes filled with tears, I knew he knew it.

His eyes softened as he pulled me in for a hug. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “You don’t have to get behind the wheel yet.”

“I’m sorry.” I buried my face in his chest as tears leaked from my eyes. I tried to hold back the sob building, but it was all too much. I still felt guilty as hell from smashing up his truck, the business, and a friend. But it wasn’t just that. Whenever I closed my eyes, I still saw the building ahead of me. I saw the man waving his arms at me to stop. And I still felt the terror, knowing I wouldn’t be able to stop in time.

“Hey, it’s fine. We’ll keep looking.”

“Not for me. I just can’t do it.”

“I know. You don’t have to. Not yet.”

I nodded, understanding that he would try to make me eventually. I could hear it in his voice. Stepping back, he pressed a kiss to my forehead and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

“So, a truck, huh?”

“Yeah, we should find you a truck.”

“Well, good luck with that. So far, I haven’t seen much of anything that I like.”

Again, nerves skittered through me. I wasn’t sure he would like my suggestion, or my interference, but I didn’t want him to miss out. “Um…I may have put some money down on a truck for you.”

He stiffened, turning slightly to me. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I didn’t want anyone else to get it until you saw it. You don’t have to take it,” I rushed on. “It was just to hold it until you could see it.”

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, but instead of yelling at me for interfering, he grinned. “Okay, let’s go look at it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. How bad could it be?”

Smiling, I decided to freak him out just a little, even though that might be a little mean given the circumstances.

“Well, I think it’s beautiful. It’s baby blue?—”

“It’s what?”

“And it’s got this big engine.”

“Big engine, huh?”

I beamed up at him. “2.7 liter four-cylinder. That’s big, right?”

He grimaced, but tried not to look too disappointed. “So, where is this truck?”

“Mason’s.”

---