Page 102 of Coerced

I was surprised to realize I liked hanging out with him, and not because he was a would-be comedian like Spin or a good conversationalist like Chance. Kerry didn’t hide anything or feel the need to filter. You always knew where you stood with him. He made sure of that.

Especially if you piss him off.

On the return trip to the hotel, I leaned back and closed my eyes. The constant drain of power to control the pain was taxing, and I’d just started to drift off when Kerry called my name.

“Yeah?” I didn’t bother to open my eyes.

“I’ve been thinking about how things probably looked from your view,” he said. “You jumped to a conclusion that made sense.”

“Are we talking about bras?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry I got mad.”

“Hmm.” I nodded off, but jerked awake when he scolded me.

“Warden says, when someone apologizes, you’resupposedto say thank you, whether you accept it or not.”

“Oh. Thank you. I accept.”

“We haven’t had sex.”

“We haven’t?”

What can I say? My brain was muddled by pain and fatigue.

“Notus, idiot!” he snarled. “Me and her! We just kissed for the first time a few days ago.”

“It’s good to take things slow in a relationship,” I yawned.

“Don’t have much choice because I’m not sure I can get naked with someone. Not even her.”

“For crying out loud!” I grumbled, cranky now. “Can’t you talk with Jax about this?”

“He’s not here and you are.”

I didn’t want to have this conversation, but I was a captive audience, so to speak. I might as well contribute my two cents, but, as I opened my mouth, he started talking again.

“I wasn’t looking to talk about it anyway. I just wanted to explain why I got mad. I don’t like you thinking she puts out when she’s almost as innocent as the day she was born. I mean, even her first kiss was with me.”

How could someone like him feel so strongly about protecting a girl’s reputation? In today’s society, no one seemed to have any morals, sexual or otherwise, and virtue was an old-fashioned concept. How could Kerry, who’d lived a decade in darkness, treasure innocence?

Because itwassuch a rare thing in his world.And, insight hit me hard,she’s giving him all her firsts. I wonder if she knows what that does to a guy?

No wonder Kerry was so protective of every little thing about her.

“Is it your nudity issue holding you back?” I asked, curious despite myself.

“Mostly, but there’s something else, too. If, for some insane reason, she’d ever want to get naked withme, she’d be giving me something I can’t give back. How do I balance that? I ain’t got any kind of innocence left to give her in return.”

“Dude.” I opened my eyes and stared at his profile. “You continually amaze me.”

“You don’t have to be a prick about it!”

“I’m serious, not mocking you.” I closed my eyes again. “Most guys only want to score and move on to the next girl. Then there’s you, tainted and tortured, who wants to cherish Gemma. I think that’s amazing.”

“Cherish.” He seemed to taste the word. “I like that. Yeah, you cherish the one you love.”

“Do you have experience with that?”

---