Page 28 of Shadows of Before

She set the food down and sat next to him on the bed. “You told me what happened. I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”

“I don’t know what to do, Katie.”

“Getting drunk is a start. I went on a bender like that for a long time.”

“Yeah?”

“Then I threw myself into exercise. I lost weight but gained a lot of muscle.”

He waited.

“Then I had no choice. I surrendered myself to it.”

“By living in a hovel?”

“A very pretty hovel, now. I accepted my fate. And learned to ignore the need for my colleagues’ respect. That’s about where I am now.”

“My colleagues abandoned me.”

“Not your friends, though.”

“No.” He sighed. “I’m glad my Dad never found out.”

“My dad accepted what happened. Told me to take their punishment and rise above it.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Yeah. And I couldn’t quit because I had to support myself.”

“Are you hoping you’ll go back to being a lieutenant?”

“I don’t know. I’m just trying to make it through each day.”

“That’s where I came in.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” She stood. “Let’s have coffee and breakfast. She walked to the table and chairs and set out food. They ate.

Afterward he asked, “Were you on night duty?”

“Yes.”

“You need to sleep.”

“I will. Later.”

He cleaned up the food, then grasped her hands. “Let’s go to bed.”

“And fuck?”

“Let’s see how this goes.”

* * *

It was just a kiss. It was cataclysmic. It was dangerous. But she fell into it anyway. Her mind whirled with the taste of him, different somehow. He brushed his lips over hers, once, twice, three times. She grasped onto his neck. “More…” she said when he drew away.

“Hmm. Much more.”

He turned her to her back. She was shocked. “I want…”