Nick was relaxing on
the couch when he heard the door. He felt stupid over the panic attack but was
really surprised it hadn’t happened sooner, with his lifestyle. Everyone had
been so understanding about the incident, but what was a man to do with two
women fighting over him? What did she want now, he wondered? He wrapped himself
back up in the blanket and threw open the door, ready for another confrontation,
but found Angie there instead.
“I wanted to come by
and see how you were doing and apologize for what I did.” He saw the sincerity
in her eyes and it moved him.
“Don’t worry about
it. Kathy has that effect on some people. You either love her or you want to
kill her, and sometimes you want to do both. Come on in if you want,” he said,
stepping aside.
“You should have a
great view of the fireworks from here. They should be starting pretty soon. We
can watch them from the deck.”
“Is that such a good
idea with the bears?” Nick asked. He dropped the blanket and walked into his
room to put some clothes on. He’d been lounging comfortably on the couch in
only his boxers.
“Remember this time
you have a gun.” As she watched him leave the room her body ached with
anticipation. He was lean and well-muscled. She wanted him like no other and
was willing to pay the price. To have this man for a little while would be
better than not at all.
“We should be up high
enough so we won’t have as many bugs,” Angie said. “And there’s a nice breeze.”
“Great. Bears, bugs,
anything else I should know about?” Nick replied sarcastically.
“Bats, maybe,” she
said quietly.
“I’ll pretend I
didn’t hear that.” He zipped up his jeans and headed back out to Angie.
She looked at his
body, scarred by knife and gun. The wound on his chest still looked raw and
angry. It made her shudder to think of the pain he must have endured. What a
price he had paid to keep the people of L.A. safe. To her, there was nothing
more heroic or erotic.
Nick saw the pained
look on her face. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” Kathy had moved past that
horrified stage a long time ago. “I’ll go put a shirt on; I know how bad it
looks.” The sight of his battered body wasn’t for the faint of heart.
She grabbed his arm
as he turned to leave. “It doesn’t bother me. It makes me sad to think of the
pain.”
Physical pain,
emotional pain, it was all a blur. He was vulnerable now and to acknowledge any
of it would overwhelm him. The cold, steely exterior he showed the world wasn’t
the real him. There was a warm and compassionate soul underneath the surface. He
looked into her eyes, which tonight were deep and dark like an angry lake. To
see his pain reflected in her eyes tore at his soul. There was sadness and a
hunger there. It frightened him the way she could see through him. He pulled
her to him, wanting to take that pain back, but by sharing it with her; it
became less. Being with her in some small way lightened his burden. Could there
be a deep lasting connection between them? He needed to find out. He kissed her
and her response surprised him.
