Page 79 of Never the Same

Me: I heard you’re in Panama for an op. Be safe.

Reed: I planned to do the opposite actually.

Me: Smart-ass.

Reed: Only for you.

I had to have been in Italy when I sent that text, and then . . . I was taken and woke up like this. No wonder I never checked to ensure he made it home safe from his operation—I’d been MIA by then.

I took a moment to process everything I’d read, my skin flush and warm, goose bumps peppering my arms.

Reed had said our texts would make me understand why we’d never work, but that was not what I got from our messages at all.

I gently patted Ranger, letting him know it was time to get up and confront his daddy. Standing, I held both phones and slowly made my way to the gym, my heartbeat quickening every step of the way.

Outside the door, I shifted the phones to one hand so I could open it, then looked at Ranger. He tilted his head, ears up, staring at me as he was waiting for me to turn the knob.

“Need alone time,” I told him, gesturing to the hall with my head, hoping the smart dog would understand. He yelped, but he turned and took off.

I took a calming breath, then opened up.

Reed’s back was to me, and he had multiple firearms spread out on the table in front of him.

“Your mother texted.”

His back muscles flexed, drawing the material of his tee together. “And?”

“I didn’t read it, just thought you should know.” I finally got my butt moving, and I set his phones on the table near a Glock.

He picked up his personal one, quickly checked the text, then returned it to the table. “Are you done reading our messages?” He slowly turned, drawing his arms across his chest like a guard, probably because I was also violating rule one by being in his personal space.

I visually tracked the vein in one of his corded forearms. “I am.”

His throat muscles moved with a deep swallow as our eyes connected. “Now you understand?”

“That I have a death wish?” I half smiled. “The woman I was in those texts would most definitely sneak off to Rome and risk her neck if the cause was worthy. That much I know.”

Worry lines bracketed his mouth. “And what did you conclude when it came to you and me?”

That there’s supposed to be an us. I kept that to myself, stepped over his rule, and held his hard biceps.

He studied my hand as I lightly squeezed his arm. “What are you doing?”

“Touching you.” Nervous, I walked my hands up to his shoulders, then to the sides of his neck. I wanted his hand on me like it had been on Sunday. Cupping my jaw, ass, throat. Taking command of any and every part of me. Just as long as his hands were on me, that was all that mattered.

“I’m well aware.” His voice deepened. “But why?”

I hit him with another small smile of surrender. “Those messages read like a love story. It’s only missing the ending where the two people confess their feelings.”

“What?” His arms relaxed to his sides as his eyes narrowed in disbelief. “No, that’s not—”

I brought a finger to his lips, silencing him, and he scrunched his face but obeyed.

“I just want to wake up. I want to remember the woman I was when I sent those texts.” My voice cracked as I brought my hand over the sexy scruff along his chiseled jawline.

“And what else do you want? What can I do to help you in the meantime?” The sexy, gritty sound of his voice slid under my skin, sending a shiver up my back.

“You can’t wake me up with a kiss . . . but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t love you to go ahead and try.”