Page 71 of No Fear
Chapter Thirteen
“Mmm…”
Remy paused his hands where he’d been stroking over her beautiful body but she didn’t wake. She didn’t move. She made a warm, humming noise that made the ache in his chest even more pronounced. When he’d woken up a half hour ago, he’d been content just to stare at her, amazed that she was here with him. He’d remembered every detail of their night together, of what it sounded like when she told him she loved him, what it had felt like to join their bodies, and of course the more he’d thought about that, the more his hands had seemed to develop a mind of their own.
He had to touch her. He couldn’t seem to stop himself. Hell, from the first day he met her he’d found it impossible not to touch her. He’d tried to go slow, tried not to push her, but the truth was, he’d known she was his and she hadn’t left his thoughts, or his sight, much since.
How many times had he gone over to Skylar’s salon in the last month? How many times had he let Skylar trim his hair when it hadn’t needed trimming? Too many really, because she’d started gigging whenever he walked through the door. But since Skylar liked him she’d let him get away with it, let him make his excuses to spend time with Rachel and so he had.
No matter what else he’d had going on, he’d found ways to see Rachel. Sometimes it was getting to work early so he could walk her in. Sometimes it was convincing Skylar to go to lunch with her boyfriend so he could spend his lunch next door with Rachel. And sometimes he got to walk her home if he managed to cut out of the shop at the same time she was leaving the salon.
But in all of those instances, in all of those days and weeks, this was what he’d known they were moving towards. This. The two of them. Together. Forever. They still had things to talk about, to learn about each other, but this was the start. This was the beginning of the rest of their lives.
They loved each other and this, waking up in bed with her, wrapped around her, was the best morning of his life.
Remy stroked his fingers over the small scar on her shoulder. He’d never noticed it before. Of course, usually when she was topless he was much more focused on her breasts. Now, the sheet was tucked around her but the soft cream of her skin called to him and he couldn’t help but notice the small slash of scar that dotted her otherwise perfect skin. He leaned down, kissing it softly, hating that something had caused her pain.
“Mmm…” Rachel moaned again and shifted, curling against him, “Remy?”
“Mmhmm.” He kissed her shoulder again.
“I was hoping last night wasn’t a dream.”
“Not a dream. I’m here, baby.”
Her eyes fluttered open, soft and sleepy, “Morning.”
“Good morning, you mean.” He smirked when she raised an eyebrow. “With you here, there’s definitely such a thing as a good morning.”
Rachel giggled, “Such a sweet talker.”
“Only with you.” He leaned down to kiss her but she turned her face away.
“Morning breath. Let me go brush my teeth.”
He chuckled this time and tipped her chin back towards him, “Kiss me, Rach.”
She pursed her lips but leaned up and kissed him. A perfunctory brush of her lips over his. Pressure and nothing more. And he laughed when she tried to pull away. He caught her and tugged her back, kissing her soundly, kissing her until she gave up her discomfort and kissed him back.
“Mmm, that’s better.” He winked as she shoved at his chest. “You always taste good, babe.”
“I need to brush my teeth.”
“In a minute, hold on.” He traced a finger over the scar again and frowned, “How did this happen?”
“What? Oh…” Rachel reached up to touch the scar, as if she’d forgotten it was even there, “It’s nothing. Just an old scar from when I was a kid.”
“Rach.” He didn’t like the tone of her voice, “Tell me.”
“When I was about…” She paused and bit her lip, staring at the ceiling as if thinking really hard, “Seven, I guess? There were these kids in my class that started picking on me. They would make fun of my clothes, the fact that I lived in the trailer park, that Mom worked at the diner and Dad was… well, a criminal.”
“They hurt you?”
“Yeah they… at recess one day I was playing on the merry-go-round and this older girl named Stella, she wanted her friends to ride. She pushed me off and I fell into the edge of the slide. It cut me pretty bad and I had to go to the hospital for stitches.”
“Damn.” Remy rubbed his finger over the scar, “I kinda want to beat up a seven year old girl.”
“No need.” Rachel laughed and then her mood sobered, “Craig took care of it.”
