Page 21 of Desire Me
“While you all fight over whose territory is whose,” King said, amusement softening the words, “I need to get home to my fiancée.” Walking toward the bed, he gently took Rae’s hand in his and stared down at her for a long moment. “I know you don’t know me right now, but I can’t tell you how relieved I am that we’ve found you. Take care of yourself.” Moving slowly, so as not to startle her, he lifted her hand and brushed a careful kiss along the back. “I’ll be here tomorrow to help any way I can.”
Rae held herself very still but didn’t reject King’s touch. The sight sent jealousy flaring through Saint. It was a ridiculous reaction—King had a fiancée, and he certainly wasn’t touching Rae inappropriately. But he was touching her, and she was allowing it. Saint hadn’t experienced that since he’d found her again.
A slight smirk tilted King’s lips when he turned back to Saint, as if he knew exactly what his friend was thinking. “Saint?” He tipped his head toward the hall.
“I’ll be right back,” Saint said to Rae. His gaze swept Remi’s and Leah’s, both skeptical, before he followed his teammate out of the room.
King was chuckling when he came to a stop just down from Rae’s door, far enough to give them a bit of privacy. “You never have done things halfway, brother.”
Except relationships. Until now.Saint shook his head, aware of the chaotic jumble of emotions filling his chest but unable to sort them out and explain them to his best friend. “They don’t know her any better than I do, King. I can’t leave her unprotected.”
“Agreed. And there’s a difference between someone else adequately protecting someone you care about, and doing it yourself. Been there,” King said, his amusement fading. He slapped a hand onto Saint’s shoulder and squeezed down hard. “I get it. And no matter what lies you tell, I know you’ll treat her honorably. That’s why I didn’t say anything. But we have a helluva lot of backfilling to do before she’s released from the hospital; you know that, right?”
In Saint’s mind, a list had already started to form. He slid his phone from his pocket and waved it at King. “I’ll get on it.” He hesitated. “Think Elliot would help?” Dain would come down on him like a shit-ton of bricks, but Elliot had always operated in the gray. Hell, sometimes she didn’t bother with any light at all.
“The queen of deceit?” King asked, his mind obviously following Saint’s train of thought. “I think she has some skills we can put to use. I’ll call her before work in the morning and see what we can do. In the meantime”—he glanced toward Rae’s closed door—“get to really know her, Saint.” King’s brow creased with concern. “Her world hasn’t just been turned upside down; it’s been obliterated. We’ll do our best to help you help her, but I hate like hell even imagining the fear she’s feeling right now.”
Saint couldn’t even let himself think about it. Their backgrounds gave them a peculiar insight into being in danger—the sheer terror, the helplessness. He knew Charlotte had experienced it, Olivia too. He’d never wanted a woman he cared about to understand what that felt like, but to also have no foundation, no life or memories, no support system to carry her through?
God no. Why Rae? Why his woman?
He shut off the questions and focused on action. “She’ll be safe with me.” It was a vow with more than one meaning, and King understood.
“I know.” He squeezed down again and then released Saint, turning toward the exit. “I’ll call you in the morning.”
∞
His girlfriend.
Living together.
Rae— She closed her eyes, shaken. The name fit just right, like her favorite pair of jeans or a T-shirt she’d loved for years—and Saint was the one who’d given her that and so many more answers. She tried to wrap her head around the most startling declaration, the look in his eyes when they met hers, but she just couldn’t. She’d thought realizing she had no memory of herself was bizarre, but this…
How did she reconcile having an intimate relationship with a man she didn’t even recognize?
The BP cuff surrounding her arm began to inflate, and she startled, a cry escaping before she could choke it off. And she wasn’t the only one—Leah jumped too, as far as Remi’s firm hold on her would allow.
Had Saint held her like that? Would he do it again?
“Leah…” God. Rae rubbed at her head, a sudden ache making her wish all of this would just go away.
The woman who’d taken her under her wing stepped closer and grasped Rae’s other hand. Rae stared at their clasped fingers and imagined it was Saint’s hand holding hers, a hand that had touched her intimately. They were living together, after all. And there was no way that incredibly virile man was celibate. She imagined his tight grip, the strength of those muscular arms and how they must feel holding a woman.
Safe and secure—that’s how they’d feel. When was the last time she’d felt safe and secure?
She didn’t know. She had no memory of it, if it had ever even happened. No family, Saint had said. No past, no family. She couldn’t remember a father or mother, her childhood. Her first kiss.
The first time she’d had sex.
Her first time with Saint. Had she been a virgin then? Had it been good between them? Had those full lips fit perfectly with hers? How had they felt on her skin, her breasts? Between her legs?
Shit! What was she thinking?
Leah’s murmured protest made her realize she was squeezing down on her friend’s hand. She lightened the grip immediately, but couldn’t let go, not with the ability to breathe suddenly choked off by the overwhelming awareness of her lack of memories.
It was Leah who let go, but only to raise her hand and wipe at the tears Rae hadn’t even realized were falling. “R-Rae…” She fumbled on the bedside tray and retrieved a tissue, using it to stem the flow of Rae’s tears. “It’s going to be all right, I promise.”
“Is it?” Rae couldn’t help a little chuckle, but there was zero amusement in the sound. “Is anything going to be all right?”
