Page 51 of No Fear
Chapter Ten
“What’s your favorite color?”
Rachel bit her lip to hide a smile, “Blue?”
Remy chuckled, “Was that a question? Were you asking me if it’s blue?”
“No. Blue. My favorite color is blue.”
“Hmm, like light blue, clear sky on a summer day blue, or more of a cerulean blue?”
It was her turn to laugh, “You know the difference in sky blue and cerulean?”
“Yeah, I uh… I’ve been working with Colt for a while now and whenever he’s mixing colors he’s always complaining that he can’t get Skylar’s eyes right. He swears it’s because they’re not cerulean, that they’re some special sort of blue specifically designed to torment him. I’ve learned a lot about colors since I started at Fine Lines.” Remy rubbed his foot against her shin, “So, which is it?”
Rachel smiled at the sweet story about Colt and Skylar. She liked that something so tiny about their relationship could make her boyfriend smile when he talked about it. He didn’t smile nearly enough in her opinion but she thought it was very telling that this particular story had stuck with him. It was clear to her that he adored Skylar like a little sister but even more clear that he thought Colt doting on her was pretty special unto itself.
“Neither.”
“Neither?” He looked skeptical.
“Midnight blue. That’s my favorite. Dark, darker than navy. The sky just before everything goes black.”
Remy’s smile softened and his eyes warmed as he leaned forward to brush his mouth over hers. Rachel sighed into the sweet kiss as sparks flared in her belly. The knowing look on his handsome face as he pulled away hinted that he knew as well as she did that midnight blue was the color ofhiseyes.
Dark and mysterious, hinting at unknown dangers, that was Remy. And when his pupils dilated and the black overtook the blue, it was like watching a lunar eclipse. It was beautiful. He was beautiful. But he was also the kind of man that would laugh if she told him he was beautiful so she didn’t bother.
“Mmm…” She licked her lips, “Your turn. Favorite color.”
“Green.”
They’d been playing this game since they woke up. Since it was Sunday they were both off work. They’d slept in and woken wrapped around each other. Both too content to move, they’d simply pulled the blankets over them and spent the past hour getting to know each other better.
It had been Remy’s idea and she knew it was a good one. As convinced as they both were that they belonged together, as explosive as their attraction was, there were too many holes in their fragile foundation for either of them to feel steady yet. No matter how good their chemistry was or how deeply familiar their pasts were to each other, they both needed more.
And they both wanted more. They wanted everything. With each other.
Looking back on their night together, on their morning, Rachel’s only regret was that of all the things she’d told Remy, she hadn’t come clean about the most important secret she was keeping yet.
She wanted to tell him. She did. But every time she worked up the courage, the words got stuck in her throat. Her mind would begin to whirl and that age-old fear she’d always lived with would get the best of her.
She was safe here, in this trailer, with Remy, but when she thought of telling him the truth she started to think about what it would mean if she couldn’t stay here. She’d think about how angry Remy was going to be when he found out she’d known Craig was the traitor and hadn’t told him. She thought about how scared she’d been when her brother walked into the salon yesterday or when he’d confronted her outside the barn and she would remember his threats about what would happen to her when she didn’t have Remy protecting her anymore.
But as scared as she was of Craig, the thing that scared her most was the thought of losing Remy. He had become so important to her in such a short span of time. He had come into her life just when she needed someone most. She trusted him. She loved him. And losing him would destroy her.
So she’d kept her mouth shut. It was what she did best after all. She stayed quiet. She stayed out of the way and hoped nobody noticed her. She prayed that she was wrong and her brother being a traitor had nothing to do with the attacks on Colt. She prayed that Lincoln would figure it out for himself sooner rather than later and she wouldn’t have to choose sides.
Because as much as she hated Craig, and she did hate him, he was still her blood. He had done awful, horrible things to her. He had slapped her, hit hurt, hurt her more times than she could count. He’d let people into her life that drugged her and tried to rape her. He’d ruined her childhood, taken her innocence and twisted her entire life into a nightmare but he was still her brother. Even if he was only her half-brother. He was her family. And she couldn’t be responsible for putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger.
She just couldn’t.
“You’re doing it again.” Remy whispered softly, and his fingers stroking over her cheek brought her back to the present. They were in bed together, cuddling and talking. He was staring at her with that concerned crease between his eyes again. “You’re right in front of me but you disappeared for a minute there.”
“Sorry.” She winced as she cuddled into his touch, “I’m back. I’m here.”
“Where’d you go?”
“N-nowhere, just… worrying, I guess.”
