Page 113 of Luck of the Draw

He elegantly turned over his palm. “Neither do I.”

His tone was so casual that it drew a small, quick laugh from her. “Seriously?”

Brennan held up two fingers as if swearing an oath. “God’s honest truth.” He draped his arm along the back of the couch. “That was fifty percent of the equation of what’s been pissing off my parents so badly. After Josephine, I purposefully started sleeping around with as many women as I could. I have had more one-night stands than I can count, across the United States, in at least thirty different countries, on almost every continent, and I’ve had so many here in New Orleans that I have a very well-known reputation in certain circles. Particularly that of my family.” He spread his palms in front of himself as if presenting the information on a silver platter. “You and I are not that different, and if we are, it’s because I’m worse.”

“Oh please.” She scoffed. “That is not the same at all.”

“It’s not?”

“No.” She scoffed again, parsing through her words, but unable to articulate the reason. “It’s not. You sleeping around is just…you know…” She shrugged. “That’s just something some people do.”

“Yes, and how is it different from what you used to do?” She opened her mouth, but he spoke again before she could. “It is different, honey, and the difference is important.”

“Uhhh…the difference is that I’m ahooker, and you’re just charming and hot.”

Brennan gave her knee a loving squeeze. “Oh, baby doll. Make no mistake. You are charming and hot, too, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. The difference is that I chose to have sex with all those people, and you didn’t.” He paused as if allowing the declaration to marinate in her mind. “I chose that lifestyle. Willingly. Purposefully. Out of rebellion, and anger, and hurt, and pure defiance, and just because I friggin’ felt like it. You didn’t. I would venture to guess that what you were doing wasn’t ever evensexbecause you were either too young to consent or you were doing a job someone forced you into.” His eyes met hers with a sober expression. “It was probably all rape, Skye. I don’t know the details of every encounter you’ve had, but based on what you told me your life was like, I feel pretty confident using that word.”

Skye had always been too afraid to say the word out loud, and her eyes filled. “It’s the right word,” she said, wiping her eye.

“Yeah,” he said gently, his hand resting on her leg while he gently stroked his thumb back and forth. “That’s why there was never any way in hell I was going to kick you out of this house. That’s why you shouldn’t have felt like you deserved to be kicked out of this house. I knew something awful had happened to you. I was about half-right in what I assumed it was, but I also knew that no matter what you told me, the way I feel about you wasn’t going to change, and it didn’t.”

There was nothing Skye could think of to say. Had she stumbled into an alternate universe? A magical place where a handsome, sweet, considerate man could love her despite knowing exactly what she was. Despite declaring that love for her, and her not reciprocating it even though her feelings sure felt like love. But then again, Skye had felt that before. That feeling wasn’t exactly trustworthy.

“Anyway.” Brennan hitched one shoulder. “I think we’d be pretty friggin’ great together. But…y’know.” He shrugged again. “That’s not up to me. It never is.” He shifted to sit back in the corner of the couch again and looked at her. An expression that she hadn’t seen yet from him blanched his aristocratic features. “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”

She shook her head. “Shoot.”

“When we…” Brennan jerked his chin knowingly at her. “Y’know. Like the first night and the next morning…”

“When we had sex,” Skye supplied, mouth quirked in a smile.

“Yeah.” He pressed his mouth closed and clutched the bridge of his nose for a second. “Did you want to? Or did I…y’know…because if I…” He closed his eyes and covered his mouth, silencing himself, and she wanted to cry all over again.

Poor Brennan. Poor beautiful, good-hearted, kind-as-fuck Brennan.

He thinks he raped me, too.

“I did want to,” she said honestly. “It was the first time I ever really wanted to.” Skye inched across the couch lay her torso against his and drew her fingertips over his cheek. “Please believe me that I wanted it, and I loved it. It was the best I’ve ever had by a long shot.”

Brennan opened his eyes and looked at her with a sheepish expression. “Well, now, sweetheart.” He turned his head, perfectly offering his slightly-blushing, stubbly cheek to her, and she kissed it. “You don’t have to go that far.”

She smiled wider and hovered her lips next to his ear. “The only other person to give me an orgasm before you wasme.”

He turned his face to meet her eyes soberly. “That’s a damn shame.”

“Well…” She stroked the back of her fingers across his cheek again. “I think it’s great because it’s one more reason I’m never going to forget you as long as I live.”

His eyes darted from hers for a second as he pressed his lips together. Looking at her again, he suddenly appeared to force his smile into place, but there was now a subtle, glittering sheen on his eyes. “I’ll never forget you either, Skye.”

“Remember what I said about how I’m not having sex with you again?”

Brennan settled his hands on the small of her back, and he drew them up to her shoulders and slid them back down. “Yeah.”

She drew her thumb across his bottom lip. “Can I take that back?”

He kissed the pad of her thumb. “You’re allowed to do anything you want when it comes to that.”

“Would you want to?” Nerves suddenly turned her stomach. “I mean, knowing all that stuff about me?”

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