Page 23 of Intangible
“I brought your shirt back.” She smiled shyly up at him. He couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face. Reaching a hand down, he wrapped it around hers, pulling her off the step into his arms. Her arms quickly reached around his waist, holding on to him like she might drown. She was cold enough that it was obvious she had been waiting for him for hours.
“Christ, you’re shivering. What am I thinking? Let’s get inside, you can sit in front of the fire while I make us some supper.” Memphis fished the key out of his pocket, opening the door. With a grand gesture, he motioned for Thayer to enter, making her laugh.
“Supper sounds amazing. I can help.”
“Just make yourself comfortable, I got this.” He quickly made a fire in the small fireplace on one side of his living room. “How did you get here? Better question, how did you ever get Knox to let you come? How long do you think I have before Knox strings me up by my ankles? I bet he has a cattle prod with my name on it.”
Memphis grinned at her when she sat down in front of the fire, laughing. Murphy sat down next to her, laying his head in her lap. For Memphis, it was like she had always been here. Like they had never spent a day apart since meeting in that cold cellar.
“I needed a change of scenery for a little while,” she said, petting the dog absently. Memphis looked at her from the door of the fridge with his eyebrows knitted in confusion. “Don’t worry, I’m just taking the rest of the semester off. I’ve already missed too many classes to catch up anyway.”
“Why did you decide to come here? Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see you. But Massachusetts is a long way from here.” He carried the meat he had put into a marinade to the island. “Stir-fry okay?”
“Sounds amazing.” She bent down to hug Murphy, talking to him in that way all women seemed to talk to his dog. He waited a few minutes for her to speak as he began to brown the meat.
“You didn’t answer my question.” The question hadn’t been asked just for idle curiosity. He had no doubt that Knox would show up on his door soon to get her back. Memphis needed to know what to expect. Did he need to hand her over to return to her life or fight to keep her here? As much as he was willing to go toe to toe with the giant to keep her, he wanted for her to be happy and safe even more. If that meant sending her home, then that’s what he would do.
“I didn’t like how things ended. I couldn’t believe you would leave without so much as a goodbye, like I meant nothing.” She had said it so softly, Memphis had to strain to hear her.
“Thayer, I tried to see you. You have to believe you mean more to me than that. I was strong-armed out of the hospital, so I did what I thought was best.” Memphis added the vegetables to the wok as if on autopilot.
“I know. Knox explained why Dad wanted you gone. It’s just… you’re the only one who was there, who knows everything that happened.”
“What are you talking about? Why did your father want me gone?”
“Can I have something to drink? A beer if you have one.” Memphis opened them both a beer, bringing hers over. “He thought something more happened between us in the cellar. He decided that’s why I had on your shirt and wouldn’t let them take it off.”
“Why would he think that?” Memphis asked as he reached the kitchen. “Where would he get that idea?” His voice trailed off as a thought occurred to him. They must have gotten their hands on more than just his military file.
He had been assured that the records from his childhood were sealed, but if it were possible for someone as powerful as the senator to get his hands on redacted military files, it wouldn’t be a huge leap to get sealed juvenile records. It made him angry that they would judge him as a man based on what had happened to him as a boy. He was pulled from his thoughts by Thayer, clearing her throat.
“I think it’s my fault. Apparently, I also talked a lot in my sleep about you. I don’t remember anything after getting in the ambulance until I woke up with Knox sitting in the room. I explained what happened.”
“Huh,” he grunted, staring at the wok for a minute as he angrily stirred the vegetables and meat.
“I wanted to tell you in person how thankful I am for you. Without you, Knox said they would never have found me. I know words are not adequate, but I just want to say thank you, Memphis, for everything you did.”
He looked up to find her beautiful blue eyes shimmering with tears. She was so beautiful and strong that it took his breath away. It didn’t matter what had happened, as long as Thayer was here now, he was happy. He could feel the irritation slip from his face as he looked at her.
“Well, I’m sorry it took so long to figure out where you were. I’m just glad you’re okay.” They stood staring at each other before Memphis turned back to the stove. He needed to change the conversation before it got too heavy.
“Okay, that has to cook for a little longer. I’m going to go throw on a different shirt. Preferably one that doesn’t smell like I’ve wrestled bears in a pigsty all day.” Thayer laughed as he headed around the counter toward the bedroom, pulling his shirt over his head on the way. Thayer sucked in a quick breath.
“You might be more comfortable on the couch. Make yourself at home, I’ll be right back.”
Something sounding like, “Hummf,” was the answer he got. It didn’t slip his notice, though, when her eyes ran down his hard pecs to the muscled abs. He would be lying if he said it hadn’t been a calculated move on his part. Just because he hadn’t been the monster they assumed he was in that cellar didn’t mean he wasn’t insanely attracted to her. It just meant he would take the slow route most men did to get a woman’s attention.
He gave her a smirk when her eyes snapped back up to his before walking into the bedroom.
Memphis took the time he had in private while changing to shoot Knox a text. The fact the man hadn’t already picked her up was baffling to him. Knox had to have had an eye on her since she got home.
Memphis: She’s here. She’s safe.
The reply came back instantly.
Knox: Thank God, we’ve been frantic. You’d better keep your hands off of her.
Memphis: Damn it. To think I had her tied up so nicely face down on my table with her ass in the air. Seriously, what do you people think I am?
