Page 67 of Sizzling Nights

Her backpack was a burden, and she slipped it off her arms and wrapped them around Marco's shoulders and her head rested next to his.

Marco's hands smoothed up and down her back and he finally spoke to her. "I'm sorry, Baby. Please forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive." She spoke into his neck. "You didn't hurt me. I was scared but not hurt."

His arms tightened around her body. "I'd never hurt you."

"I wasn't sure if you'd think I was the enemy."

Tears spilled from her eyes and fell on Marco's shoulder and neck. She heard him sniff and felt his body shudder and she tightened her grip on his shoulders. They sat still together, holding on to each other as if their lives depended on the other. And in that moment, she felt as though hers did depend on Marco. She felt a closeness she'd never had in her life for another person. Something not even making love to him made her feel. They each shared something terrible. The ravages of war had raged through them both in different ways, but the aftereffects still haunted them.

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Marco woke and immediately felt for Theresa. She lay next to him, her back to him, and she was curled up in such a way it looked as though she were cold or scared.

He rolled over and wrapped his arms around her, pressing his body to her back. She yawned and relaxed, her fingers wove themselves into his. She kissed his fingers and he allowed them a moment to just be.

Finally, he lifted up on his elbow and laid his head in his hand, then pulled Theresa's shoulder so she was on her back.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"You were lying almost in the fetal position."

Her eyes looked up into his and a small frown appeared on her beautiful face. "Sometimes after I've had an attack, I do that in my sleep. My therapist said it's self-soothing. My dreams after an attack are fractured and usually dark. I curl up to protect myself."

His fingers moved a lock of hair that stuck to her cheek. Then he caressed her face with the back of his fingers. "We both had a rough night."

"Why did that alarm go off?"

"We aren't sure. Wes is looking into it. Today I'm going to do a thorough check of things with him. He'll be out here at eight this morning. Neither of us could see anything on the cameras last night. Today we'll walk around the outside and see if anything looks out of place. We'll check all the cameras and make sure everything is good."

Her eyes stared into his. "Are you okay after last night?"

He frowned slightly then took a deep breath. "Yes. Normally after an attack, I feel exhausted. It uses up all my energy. I couldn't see anything wrong last night on the cameras, Wes confirmed the same and that's when I had my attack. It's almost autopilot for me. We were safe, no present danger, then my body has an attack, then I'm better."

Her hand reached up and smoothed his cheek, then slid around and cupped the nape of his neck, pulling him down to her lips. He kissed her softly. He loved the way her lips felt against his. It was a rush, feeling her soft lips touch his.

He lifted his head. "That was nice."

She smiled. "Yes, it was."

"How often do you have your PTSD attacks?"

She took a deep breath. Not too often anymore. It's almost as if I forbade my body from having one. I was on the run and needed to always keep my wits about me or I'd be killed. So, this is the first one I've had in about a year."

"I'm not sure how I feel about that."

She rolled over to face him. She rested her head in her hand, mimicking his pose, and stared into his eyes for a long time. "I think you should feel good. I mean, in a way. It meant I felt safe enough with you to have an attack. Somehow, I knew we were okay. I felt like you were handling it. That might be wrong of me because if you needed me, I'd one thousand percent be here for you."

He swallowed. "I get it."

She smiled. "How often do you get attacks?"

"Since I met you, that's my first. The other night, I was surprised one didn't come on. Last night, I thought because of the way we were woken up, so abruptly and during a deep sleep, it messed with my head."

"Yeah. I think so too."

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