Page 44 of Forsaken Fate

“Brynna,” I went on. “I want you. More than is probably good for either of us. But I think I want to know you just as much.”

She took her hand back and looked up at me. “Yeah. That’s probably not good either, right?”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

She shrugged. “Theo, I’m just tired today. Tired of everything except for you.”

“Okay.” I reached out and helped her peel her jacket off her shoulders. It was an old leather bomber jacket. It had frayed patches on the front and another on the sleeve. “This looks legit,” I said. “Is it?”

She ran a hand over it as I took it and laid it carefully over the chair near the desk. She nodded.

“Someone you knew?” I asked.

Brynna tucked a hair behind her ear and gave me a half smile but wouldn’t answer.

“You can trust me, you know,” I said. “I know you have secrets. I’ve watched you. There are moments when I think I’m seeing the real Brynna. Mostly when it’s just us. But then, you have this mask you wear.”

Saying that much to her was a risk. She could slap me; she could tell me to fuck off. Worst of all, she could decide to leave. Somehow, though, I knew she wouldn’t.

“You can trust me, too,” she said.

“I think I already know that.” I gestured to the desk where I had set my mother’s teakwood jewelry box.

She nodded. “I’m still sorry that happened to you.”

My turn to shrug. “I think something just as bad happened to you, didn’t it?”

Her eyes flickered and she looked away. I’d pushed a button.

“Will you just stay here?” I said. I hadn’t planned what I said. It just came out and the second it did it felt right.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, don’t leave. We don’t have to do anything. I mean I want to. All I’ve been thinking about is how much I want to. But ...”

“Am I that pathetic?” Brynna’s laugh was soft.

“You’re not. I just ... I just think maybe you need peace more and I kind of like the idea of being the one to give it to you. And taking advantage of vulnerable women isn’t my thing.”

The smile that lit her face was breathtaking. “You mean just, like ... sleep together?”

“What,” I raised a brow. “You don’t think I can take it?”

“What if I can’t?” She let out a bright laugh and stood up. She put her arms around me and I pulled her against me. Her head came to rest in the hollow of my chest, and she fit there like she belonged. Her voice was soft as she pressed her cheek in.

“I do trust you, Theo. I don’t know why. And you’re right. I do feel like myself when it’s just us. But I have to keep my secrets. Just a little while longer.”

I kissed the top of her head. “I can live with that. Just don’t lie to me.”

She nodded against me. “I can live with that.”

“And if you can’t take it,” I said, “well, that’s a different story.”

I don’t know how long we stood there, but later we broke apart. She took her jeans off and crawled into the bed in her t-shirt and underwear. I stripped down to my boxers and slid in next to her. She nuzzled against me, her head against my chest. And I held her as she fell asleep, laughing to myself when she started to snore.

* * *

Brynna

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