Page 26 of Love Bites
Did that mean that I'd met him a long time ago? That would explain why I couldn't remember that meeting.
It did not explain why he'd been starring in so many of my recent dreams.
"Just tell me what's going on."
Robert—or whatever he liked to be called now—glanced at the barkeeper, who was talking to another customer now, before turning back to me. "There isn't much to say, really. If there are things you have forgotten, it's because you wanted to forget them. I realize this response won't satisfy your curiosity, but it's all I can tell you."
Well, at least he was admitting that there was something weird going on. "How do I get my memories back?"
"You don't, and that's for the best too." He raised his wine glass to his lips. "Those memories were causing you undue stress. Your past self let go of them willingly."
"Were you the one who took them?"
The mysterious man remained silent for what felt like a full minute. His eyes lingered on my neck and my skin prickled, almost as if it remembered what my mind didn't. "How would I take your memories?" he asked eventually.
"How would I know? I don't even remember it happening!" This was frustrating. Especially because he had a point. How could anyone just take my memories? It didn't make any sense.
"I suggest you stop worrying about it and start looking forward instead of back."
Easy for him to say. He hadn't suddenly discovered that he couldn't remember his own parents. He also probably didn't dream of a sexy stranger every night. Or wake up in the middle of the night needing to puke.
But I could also tell that I wasn't gonna get any further with this line of arguing. "At least tell me your name."
The stranger took another sip of his wine before responding. "You may call me Talon."
That was a weird name, but it suited him. I was also pretty sure that I'd heard it before, even though I couldn't say where. What was more, I was pretty sure that I'd seen him naked before, and not just in my dreams. "Have we ever fucked?" I asked, the words escaping my lips before I could properly think them through.
Talon didn't say anything, he just regarded me with this look on his face that made me feel like I was a preschooler who didn't know how to talk to an adult.
"It's just... I keep having these dreams," I tried to explain myself, suddenly feeling like I needed to. "Dreams of you and me."
"Those are just dreams," Talon said, but his grip tightened around the stem of his glass as if he needed something to distract himself from the things I was saying. Which made me think thatmaybe,I had a chance with him after all.
I shouldn't have wanted one. This guy was a veritable nutcase if he took part in erasing people's memories and all—and I sure as hell didn't want to have my memories erased a second time, but my dick didn't care about any of that. My dick cared about his refined bone structure and how much I wanted to bone him.
And besides, I could tell that I had nothing to fear from this man.HowI knew that, I couldn't tell you, but I felt comfortable in his presence. So much so that I scooted a little closer.
He was holding his wine glass and I took a whiff of it. It didn't smell like red wine, but I wasn't a big wine connoisseur or anything, so maybe this was just how the really good stuff smelled? Talon seemed like the kind of man who would only drink expensive wine. Actually, the longer the smell remained in my nose, the more appealing it became.
"Trust me, you wouldn't like this," Talon said, putting his glass down. My eyes stayed fixed on it.
"It smells good."
"It would make you sick."
"You think I can't hold my liquor?" Before he could stop me, I grabbed the glass from the table, the red liquid inside of it coming dangerously close to spilling as I lifted it to my mouth.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Talon warned.
I smiled at him, and drank. When the taste of the red liquid first hit my tongue, I nearly spit it back out, but I didn't want to lose face in front of Talon, so I made myself swallow. "What the hell is this?" I sputtered. It had tastedmetallic.
"I told you you wouldn't like it." Talon snatched the glass back from me in one swift motion.
"No, I..." I stared at the wine. Even though it had tasted gross to me, I wanted more of it. "Let me try again."
"I don't think you want that."
"Don't tell me what I want." I made to grab the glass again, but he was holding it out of reach. "Didn't your mom teach you how to share?"
