10. Mel

Islide off Davis and into the bed next to him. He scoots down so our heads are both on the pillow and wraps me in his arms.

I have never in my life done anything as bold as what I just did, sneaking into a man”s bedroom and blatantly seducing him. But it feels so freaking right.

We”re lying facing each other, and in the darkness, his eyes are intense.

“I don”t usually do things like that.”

Davis squints at me. Then he reaches for something on the bedside table.

“I’ll just put these in. I want to get every word of this.”

It’s the first time he’s acknowledged his hearing aids. I get the feeling he was trying to keep them from me. Like I give a shit if his hearing isn’t perfect.

He slides in the aid on the left ear and props himself up on his elbow.

“We”ll have to do that again with these in so I can hear you moan.”

A delicious shiver goes through my body that he wants to do it again.

“I said I don”t usually do that.”

“You mean come three times? Or keep your panties on? Because that”s probably the sexiest thing I”ve ever seen in my life. Anytime you wanna do that again is fine with me.”

His lips twitch up in a smile.

“I mean I don”t usually sneak into bedrooms at night and seduce young men.”

The smile slides off his face, and he lowers his eyes. I’ve offended him.

“Not that I notice you”re younger than me,” I say quickly. Because it’s true. Except for the fact that his body’s perfectly solid and seems to defy gravity in a way mine never has.

“How long have you worn hearing aids?” I ask, changing the subject.

He rolls over onto his back and looks up at the ceiling.

“Since I destroyed my hearing standing too close to an IED.”

I rest on my elbow and trace the contours of his chest with my fingertip. He”s too delectable not to touch.

“Thank you for your service. It sounds like you gave... a lot.”

“It”s a lot less than others gave that day.”

He rolls himself back onto his side, and I take it he doesn’t like talking about it. My heart goes out to this man, serving our country selflessly and having his hearing destroyed because of it.

“Is that why you came to the mountain?”

“Yes,” he says. “I have a cousin in King’s County but no other family. It didn’t feel right going back there when I was discharged. He’s got a family and kids. I didn’t want to be the sullen uncle.”

“Were you sullen?” I find it hard to marry that with the easygoing, quick to smile man I’ve come to know.

“Oh yeah. I was a miserable bastard after I was discharged. Thought life wasn’t worth living. I didn’t think a woman would ever look at me with these things in.”

I smooth the hair back from his ear and trace my fingertip around the device.

“You were wrong there.”

He shakes his head. “No, I was right. You’re the first woman I’ve been with since it happened, Mel. The first woman that I’ve wanted to be with since it happened.”

The admission makes my breath catch. My chest squeezes thinking about how lonely that must be. A loneliness the kindhearted Davis doesn’t deserve.

I want to wrap him in my arms and tell him he’s not alone anymore. But I can’t promise him that.

Before I can say anything, he rolls over and sits up.

“You better get some sleep. You need your rest for tomorrow.”

He reaches to the side of the bed and grabs my t-shirt. For a wild moment, I think he”s going to kick me out of his bed and send me back to my room.

“You need to wear this for your own protection,” he says, pulling the T-shirt over my head. “If I feel those breasts against me in the night, you”re probably not getting any sleep.”

With the t-shirt on, we snuggle down in bed. Davis pulls me close against him, and my head rests on his hard chest. The sound of his heartbeat soothes me into a peaceful sleep.

For the first time since I left Jeff and fled Charlotte, I feel relaxed and at ease.

I feel like I”m taking control of my life again, even if I don”t know what the end destination is. All I know is right here listening to the sound of Davis’s steady heartbeat is exactly where I need to be.