“I would, but we do need phones. The real world is back. I won’t be gone long, and it’s full glow out there right now.”
He sighs as he opens the curtains to let the light peer in on him, and then he smiles so large.
“This feels amazing, baby. Let’s get married in the sunlight. No one else but you, me, and Clay can be the one to marry us.”
My smile instantly fades, and I sit down on the edge of the bed in the small room we’ve rented. The dark green walls remind me of ground up peas that have sat for far too long and then left in the sun. I pick a spot on the heinous wall to stare at while I think about the words he just spoke.
He feels the shift in the air, and I hear him huff out his immediate regret for having said that aloud.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push… I shouldn’t have said that. I just… I don’t really know where we stand right now. This is unfamiliar territory. I still want to marry you.”
I’ve heard those exact words from Hale, and then he left me again.
“I’m just starting to see a whole new side of you, and I’m having fun exploring it. Let’s just stay here for a little while and let it happen naturally.”
I’m hoping my kind explanation will cushion the unintentional blow. The steam from the shower begins swirling into the room, and he glances toward it before leaning down to kiss me.
“We’ll do this your way. You and I are as natural as something can get though.”
“Thank you, and we are pretty damn natural. I just like our pace. I’m not ready to sprint to the end just yet.” It’s so much easier with Brazen.
Brazen. Definitely Brazen.
“I’ll sprint, walk, crawl… whatever you want to do, that’s the way we’ll play it. I love you, and I sure as hell don’t want to lose you again.”
I grin my girly grin, and then I kiss him lightly before grabbing my purse to throw over my shoulder.
“I’ll see you in just a little bit.”
He puckers his lips as if he’s pouting, and I giggle while running out the door when he starts chasing me. He stops when the door closes, and I’m still laughing when I reach the elevator. The tall building tries to scrape the sky, and the glass shaft of the elevator offers a full city view as it descends proudly.
It stops, but I don’t even bother to look at who has just joined me as I continue staring out into the vast mass of people shuffling through the city. It’s so much different than compounds in places like these. There’s no order, no discipline, and there’s very little attention to anything other than one’s self.
The scent of sexy and heartbreak invades my nose, and I’m sick at my stomach when I feel the hot breath on the back of my neck. I slowly turn to face Hale who has forgotten how to respect someone’s personal space.
“You’ve been hiding out,” he murmurs softly while taking another step too dangerously close to me.
“I haven’t been hiding, Captain. I’ve been deliberately enjoying my time away before going back.”
His hands perch on the railing behind me as his body stands just inches away from mine.
“Please stop referring to me so formally. It’s starting to piss me off,” he grumbles, and his lips beg mine to touch them.
Brazen. Brazen. Brazen. NOT HALE.
“I’m sorry, Sir, but I’m merely showing your title the respect it deserves. I think it’s inappropriate for us to be standing this close,” I shiver out, and his hand rises to dust the hair from my shoulder despite my objection.
“It would be inappropriate if I hadn’t seen every inch of your body, if I hadn’t let my lips touch every inch of your body, and if I hadn’t fucked you in more positions than most people have ever thought to try… but I have. Stop treating me like I’m not someone you know inside out. Stop calling me Captain Banner. Stop saluting me. You and I may not be together right now, but you can’t treat me as though I’m a stranger. We have too much history,” he smolders out while leaning in even closer.
Oh damn you foolish, wobbly knees.
I almost wish I could double over and grip them to keep them from rattling together as I stare into those eyes which know how to seduce me all to fucking well. Hale is… Holy fucking hybrid he’s hot when he’s like this.
Please stop, Hale. I can’t fight you when you do this, and you don’t want me.
Why can’t he just let me be happy?
Swallowing hard against the nerves wadded in my throat, I respond with a hoarse, crackly tone.
