Page 91 of Royal Flush

Maybe the relaxed feelings would prove to be a one-time situation but I knew whatever happened between us, I’d remember this time fondly.

“Yes, you are,” he muttered into my ear.

I jabbed my elbow into him. “I’m serious. Look at all the constellations.” I pointed to the sky.

“Pretty little spots of light.”

“Have you never looked up at the sky before?”

“Maybe when there’s an approaching storm.”

I jabbed him against for emphasis. “You’re incorrigible. I don’t buy it. Given our location and the lack of bright light, you can see things most people will never pay attention to their entire lives. See that one?”

“Which one?”

“Follow my finger and close one eye. Did you?”

He laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”

“That’s Ursa Major. Orion.” I cocked my head slightly. “See the one that kind of looks like a horse.”

“Maybe.”

“Relax your mind. That’s Centaurus.”

“Beautiful just like the woman finding them. I’m curious. How did you know so much about stars?”

I shrugged and felt a hit of sadness derived from my past. “When I was a little girl, after the first attack on our family, my father locked us all down. He installed security cameras everywhere, hired guards to stand watch and even had me home schooled for a length of time. I wasn’t allowed to do what I’d done before, going out with friends. There were no family dinners, not that they’d been a highlight since my parents usually fought. There were no school programs so after some whining and begging, my father bought me a telescope.”

“Wow. I didn’t know you were basically incarcerated.”

“Well, almost losing your life can do that. He was scared for all of us, one show of emotion I wasn’t used to. The other was his brief moment of acting like a father when setting up the instrument he’d purchased. He’d even bought a couple books on astronomy for me, explaining the solar system in a way no textbook had been before. I know this sounds odd, but it was the closest I’d felt to my father my entire life. Granted, it didn’t last but I cherished that and the memory.”

I felt his body tensing.

“He had his reasons for trying to keep us safe but weeks turned into months.” My words faded slightly and I was tired of hating my thoughts and memories of the past. “Anyway, I fell in love with the stars and have felt that way since. They were my tiny refuge, just seeing them allowing me erase some of the… bad things that happened.”

I should have known he wouldn’t allow what I’d just said to fade into nothing. Maybe I honestly wanted to share with him my darkest hour. That’s what trusting someone was all about. Right? With the exception of Ashton, no one knew my dark secret. I’d planned on keeping it that way.

His deep exhale was an indication I’d been right that he wouldn’t let it go. He wrapped his fingers around mine, pulling my hand to his lips.

I was already shivering slightly from being in his hold but the intimacy of what he was doing was more pronounced. “We all go through things in our lives that bring back bad memories.”

“I doubt you’ve ever had a nasty little issue your entire life. Unless you were arrested as a young man.” I tried to laugh but it sounded fake.

“Why, yes, I was. However, I was the idiot who was caught red-handed trying to steal a car.”

“You?” I lifted my head, still laughing especially since he was serious.

“Oh, yes. Of course my older brother put me up to it but that didn’t matter. I got the scared straight moment.”

“The what?”

“You know, when the cops slap you inside a jail cell with a couple huge men who were told to give me a hard time?”

“Did it work?”

“You bet,” he said, laughing. “My father didn’t need to dole out any further punishment. I couldn’t talk about what had happened for weeks.”

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