Page 188 of Zero Chance

“How the hell do you always make it last so long?”he asked, unable to stop touching me and running his hand up my arm.

With a smile, I kissed his cheek.“Like I said, Ireallylike being with you.”

He met my gaze, looking drugged and spent, but he offered me a tired grin and announced, “Magic woman.”

I scoffed but did like the praise.

Tucking a piece of my long bangs behind my ear, he sent me an affectionate smile before kissing the tip of my nose.“Be right back.Gonna get rid of this thing real quick.”

“Okay.”I waited until he was gone before I released a thankful breath and grinned up at the ceiling, so very glad I’d been wrong about everything that had been freaking me out.

I sat up and cleaned myself with a tissue from his box on his desk.

I had my panties andhisshirt on by the time he returned.

“Oh man.”He sounded disappointed as he slowed to a stop in the doorway, shutting the door as he stepped inside.“It’s clothes time again, huh?I already miss the naked portion of the evening.”

And he picked up his boxer briefs from the floor to slide them on.

“You can stay naked,” I offered, eyeing his perfect body as he moved.

He sent me an arched eyebrow before murmuring, “Nope.I’m going to make you work for it and charm me back out of them again later.”

I smiled, ready for that challenge, until he climbed back onto the mattress with me and pulled me into his arms so close and tight, it reminded me of when I’d first come in.

“You never told me what your bad day was about,” I realized with a start.

He tensed slightly.“Shit.Right.I forgot about that.”

44

WAVERLY

“What happened?”I asked in concern, pulling my face back enough to see reluctance enter Keene’s gaze.

He huffed out an annoyed breath and took my hand to kiss my palm before grumbling, “Fucking Nursing Fundamentals class.”

“Bad test?”I guessed, already grimacing for him because I’d seen some of his study cards, and there was no way I’d be able to remember half the crazy Latin terms he had to.

But he shook his head.“No.They showed these videos all hour.They were all personal testimonies from different rape victims.”

I went still.But he wasn’t looking at me.

Motioning helplessly around the room, he said, “Because, you know, we’re going to have to deal with victims like that someday if we go into the medical field, especially if we want to be gynecologists like I do.But Jesus.”

He shook his head miserably and closed his eyes.“I couldn’t do it.I ended up walking out halfway through and throwing up in the grass outside.”

“Oh, Keene.”My heart went out to him even as it began to pound with dread.But if he couldn’t even stomach listening to strangers’ stories, there was no way I could ever tell himmine.And I’d just been beginning to think I should maybe tell him someday, too.To prove to my mother that it wouldn’t scare him away.

“Seriously.”He shook his head aggressively, his jaw going tight with anger.“I cannotfathomhow some monsters out there can distort how good and wonderful and fun sex can be.They turn it into a nightmare.And the people they destroy.God.That shit’s going to stick with those victims for the rest of their fucking lives.How do—how can people just do that—take away the control someone else has over their own body, invade them in the most intimate, invasive way, and crush that person’s soul like they’re nothing?I just—I want to kill them.I want to kill every single motherfucker who thinks rape is the way to go.I’ll never understand it.”

His muscles had gone tense, so I rested my cheek on his shoulder and whispered, “Me neither.”

Keene dipped his face, kissing my temple.“There was this one testimony,” he started, hoarsely.“The one that sent me over the edge.The girl was only ten fucking years old when it started.Ten,” he choked out, his voice shaking.

Burying his face in my hair, he drew in a deep breath and added, “She was attending this center for weekly meetings.It sounded a lot like the grief center where I met my friends.You know, the one that had the big scandal with the—with the director.”

A tremor worked through me, but I nodded.“I remember.”

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