I wake up with sun blinding me. Where the fuck am I? Memories from last night flood me and I grin. Looking over, I see the beautiful Sidney sprawled out beside me. The sheet covers her waist, but her belly and breasts are exposed. From this light, I can see hundreds of scars that paint her flesh. It makes me sick to imagine the crap she went through.

As if my thoughts were spoken aloud, she rolls over to face me, blinking away sleep.

“It wasn’t a dream,” she smiles at me.

“No, that most definitely was not a dream.”

Suddenly, she seems embarrassed. “I don’t know what came over me. I barely know you. Am I a whore?” She looks horrified, and I can’t help but burst out laughing. Now she frowns at me, miffed that I’m laughing at her.

“Calm down, babe. People have one-night stands all the time,” I begin, but when she bites her trembling bottom lip, I quickly continue. “But this isn’t a one-night stand. I feel a strong pull toward you. It would appear you feel the same toward me. Relax, I’m not going anywhere.”

She looks sad as she speaks again. “Lane, I will become attached to you. It happens with everyone. Something about my personality makes me latch on to people. First it was my friend Tina, then Liam, and now you. I’m sorry, but I know it will happen. It already is happening. Now that we’ve had sex, I don’t want you out of my sight.”

Her words are bold and truthful. I admire her for that.

“I’m. Not. Going. Anywhere.” I smile at her, but when she still frowns, I switch tactics and tickle her ribs. She squeals and rolls right off the bed onto the floor. “Shit! I’m sorry, Sidney,” I shout.

When she stands from the floor, she feigns annoyance but then starts to giggle. With her brown bed hair wild around her, she looks fucking hot.

“Dammit, woman. Get your ass in the shower before I take you again. And we have no fucking condoms. I’ll run next door to shower and change. Hurry up!”

I roll off the bed and begin dressing. Thankfully, I hear the shower turn on. After I’m dressed, I sneak in there to give her a goodbye kiss. When I stick my hand in the water, I curse. She spins to look at me.

“What in the fuck? This water is fucking ice cold, Sidney! Does your shower not have hot water?”

When her eyes fill with tears, my dumb ass figures it out after the fact.

“Shit, babe. I’m sorry. Take your cold-ass shower. Don’t be sad. I’ll be back in ten minutes.” I lean my head into the icy spray and peck her on the lips. She smiles back at me, and I sigh in relief.

I leave her alone and head back to my apartment, careful to lock her door behind me. On Monday, I will talk to the building manager about that guy.

I’m in and out of my glorious hot shower in minutes. I opt for some low-slung jeans and a red T-shirt. My civilian clothes fit a lot tighter after this last tour. It was grueling, and my body is cut from the meals and physical demands. As I pass the mirror on the dresser, I look at my reflection. My features resemble my brother’s, but my face is fuller, healthier than his was in the last few years. Drugs will do that to you.

My eyes are a dark chocolate brown, and two days’ worth of stubble scatters my face as I was too lazy to shave just now. Through the reflection in the mirror, I see a notebook I didn’t notice before on the nightstand. I certainly don’t remember it being here before. I’m about to go see what’s inside when I hear a knock at the door. Deciding that I’ll look later, I grab my wallet and keys, heading toward the front door. When I open it, I’m almost stunned by the beauty of the woman standing before me.

She’s swept her dark hair off her neck and pulled it into a bun. The hairstyle gives her already long neck an even longer look. I want to kiss every inch. My gaze falls down to her breasts. Her nipples are poking through the fabric. It drives me fucking insane. As I come out of the door toward her, she slowly backs away from me. She seems nervous for some reason. I continue my path toward her until she meets resistance from the wall behind her.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I growl and bury my face into her neck.

She gasps when my lips and tongue attack it. My hand brushes against her breast just to be sure and now I’m positive that she’s not wearing a bra. Then I slide it up under her dress and curse when my fingers come in contact with her pussy.

“I don’t know how I’ll be able to keep my hands off of you in public. Why aren’t you wearing anything underneath?”

She shrugs her shoulders. “If I had it my way, I’d go naked. I can hardly stand for clothing to rub my skin all day long.”

“We better get out of here before I drag you into my apartment and fuck you on the kitchen counter. You can’t reveal to a man that you aren’t wearing anything under your dress and not expect a reaction.”

She looks embarrassed, like she’s upset me. This in no way upsets me. It fucking turns me on.

“Babe, it’s hot, okay? Don’t worry about it. But I swear to God, if you bend over, I will lose control.” I wink at her and she rewards me with a grin.

Stepping away from her, I lock the door and grab ahold of her hand. She still seems a little uncomfortable, so I stop before we make it to the stairwell. Bringing my palms to either side of her face, I bring her forward and kiss her lips. She relaxes under my touch and kisses me back. We’ll figure this out.

 

 

“There are so many to choose from,” she says in awe in front of the condoms. Picking up another box, she turns it over to learn about the features. It’s quite comical.

“Here. Let’s just grab these,” I tell her.

Setting down the box she was looking at, she takes the one from my hand. “Ribbed for her pleasure?” she asks.

I wag my eyebrows at her and she giggles. It is the cutest fucking sound.

“Well, we better pick these then,” she agrees.

We finish our shopping and head towards the checkout area. I can see her trying to sort things in the basket.

“Don’t even think about it. I’m buying it all.”

She frowns and shakes her head. “No. I have a job now, so I can pay for these things.”

“Save your money, because I’m getting it. I plan on spending lots of time with you, so I’ll be eating up your food anyway. I’m a big boy and have needs.” I wink at her on the last part and she turns crimson. The clerk doesn’t notice our exchange.

After I pay, we gather our bags and load them into the back seat of Liam’s old pickup truck. It will have to do until I can trade it in for something better. Right now, I have other priorities.

On the way back, I can’t help but watch Sidney from the corner of my eye as she watches the town fly by in awe. Poor girl doesn’t appear to get out much.

“So what do you do? For a job, I mean?” she asks.

“Well, now that my military obligations are over, I’ve got to figure that one out and soon. My degree is in graphic design, so I might see about doing something with that. I’d love to design logos and artwork for companies. But we’ll see.”

She turns and smiles at me. “That’s awesome, Lane. I know it will work out for you.”

I pull into the parking lot and find a space near the side door. After I turn off the car, I look over at her. Her face is sad, almost wistful.

“What about you?” I ask.

She turns to look at me and furrows her brows together. The girl looks sexy no matter what she does.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Is watching the old lady from downstairs your dream job? Surely there’s something else you would rather be doing.”

“Well, I never really allowed myself to consider anything else. I’d love to write romance novels like the ones that got me through some hard times while at Momma’s. They’re so easy to get lost in. But I would need to save up for a computer. Seems kind of silly, I guess.”

Throwing her words back at her, I say, “No, it’s awesome. I know it will work out for you.” And then, of course, I have to add on a little extra. “And I’m going to give you plenty of material to put in those books.” I wink at her and she flushes.

We exit the truck and collect our bags. Once we reach the landing for the second floor and Sidney enters the hallway, I hear a gasp as she drops the bags to the floor. I hurry up behind her and nearly lose my shit when I see that bastard standing by her apartment door. Pushing past her, I make my way over to the asshole.

“What the fuck did I tell you? Get the fuck off of our floor!”

He laughs darkly at me and stomps toward the stairwell. Sidney is frozen in place as he walks past her. When he reaches Sidney, he slaps her ass before tearing through the door and up the stairs. It happens so quickly. The slap. The faint. The chase.

I burst into a full-on sprint through the door and storm up the stairs to the third floor. He’s already slipped into 3B before I am fully into the hallway, but at least now I know where he lives. Growling in frustration, I hurry back downstairs to Sidney.

She is no longer passed out on the floor. Instead, she is on her knees, scratching the hell out of her ass. The glazed look is in her eyes. I can see that she is freaking the fuck out.

“Sidney, baby, look at me. Stop it.”

She won’t quit, so I find her keys on the floor and open her apartment. Running back, I grab up all of the bags and toss them inside. Finally, I make it over to her and do the inevitable. I scoop her into my arms and carry her inside, locking the door behind us. She’s flailing wildly, trying to squirm out of my arms, but I hold her tight. Heading straight for the bathroom, I turn on the shower to cold and climb in with her.

The shower is cold as fuck, but I know that this is how she copes. Slowly, I set her down and let the icy spray wash away the terror. I’m trying not to shiver too much. Sidney isn’t even fazed, but at least she’s snapping out of it. Tears fill her eyes as she comes back down to reality.

“Come here, baby. I have you,” I whisper and pull her close. Thankfully she lets me and wraps her arms around my waist. I’m freezing my ass off, but I don’t tell her.

“Thank you,” she says tearfully against my chest.

I squeeze her tighter. “N-n-n-o p-p-roblem,” I sputter out through chattering teeth.

She reaches behind us and turns off the water. We must look a sight completely clothed with me shivering. Of course, now that her dress clings to her and is see through, my dick decides that it’s warm enough to want to make an appearance.

Sidney peels off her wet dress and steps out of the shower, heading into the bedroom. I follow dumbly after her. I’m not sure how to handle her after this episode.

“Babe, will you be okay if I run next door and change?” I ask. She emerges from her closet pulling on a short tube-top dress. I swear this woman should wear more clothes.

“I’ll be okay. I’m going to unload the bags and start some lunch.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back. Give me twenty minutes,” I promise. Walking over to her, I put my ice-cold hands on her neck and kiss her chastely on the lips.

I finally get a small smile from her, and it does wonders for me. Forcing myself to leave her, I bound down the hallway and out the front door. I make sure to lock it on the way out. There’s no fucking way I’m leaving her unprotected. Letting myself into my own place, I make my way to the bathroom and turn on the shower as hot as I can get it.

It takes effort to get my wet jeans off, but I eventually manage to wrangle out of them and the rest of my clothes and shoes. Stepping into the hot shower, I nearly moan aloud in delight. The hot water quickly warms my body. Not wanting her to wait on me, I end my shower much sooner than I wish.

Opting for warmth and comfort, I find some old sweatpants and slide them on. If Sidney wants to go commando, so will I. The sweatpants are missing the drawstring, so they hang dangerously low on my hips, revealing my dark trail of hair. I yank a shirt over my head and slip my feet into some flip-flops.

Before I head over there, I go to the kitchen table, where I last left Liam’s laptop. Last time I was here, I used it to look up funeral homes and other things I needed to take care of before I went back to my post. The password was easy—liambraxton. Powering it back on, I type in the password. The words “incorrect password” pass over the screen. I try it another time to no avail.

A creepy feeling passes over me, and I type in ‘Sidney.’ I’m instantly allowed access. What the fuck was all that about? Could Sidney have come over and changed it? I quickly pull up Dell’s website and order a laptop, paying the extra shipping cost to have delivery expedited. I close down the browser, about to shut off the computer when I see a document created a week ago called “HER” on the desktop. Once again, a shiver passes over me.

I really don’t want to open it, but curiosity wins over. Inside the document are just a few words.

She is everything.

She is life.

She is death.

She is the light.

She is the darkness.

She is my happy.

She is my sad.

She is my love.

She is my reason.

She is Sidney.

I slam the laptop closed and breathe heavily. For some reason, I just don’t think Sidney would write something like that about herself. I’m sick to my stomach. Standing on wobbly legs, I get the eerie feeling that someone is watching me. Against my better judgment, I call out.

“Liam?”

As soon as the word leaves my mouth, I shake my head and laugh at myself. Stalking out of the apartment, I head over to Sidney’s. I’m about to knock on the door when I hear voices inside. Turning the knob, I find that it’s not locked anymore. My heart pounds as I fear that the asshole from the third floor has somehow found a way in.

As I open the door, I hear Sidney shout, “Leave me alone!” from the kitchen.

I sprint to where she hollered from, and I’m shocked to find a tall blonde glaring at her with her hands on her hips. Both women turn to look at me in the doorway, my chest heaving from exertion.

“Are you okay?” I ask Sidney, looking past the blonde.

She grins at me and nods. “Yes. This is my friend, Tina. Tina, this is Lane.”

Tina looks me over, eyes wide and jaw dropped. After she gives me a once-over, she turns to Sidney. “He’s hot,” she says in a not-so-quiet whisper like I’m not even standing there.

Ignoring Tina, I scoot past her and pull Sidney in for a hug. She melts into me, and I just want this Tina chick to leave so I can spend time alone with Sidney.

“I don’t freaking believe it!” Tina exclaims from behind me.

I look over my shoulder at her. “Believe what?”

“This!” she gestures excitedly at us. “Sidney, call me tomorrow so we can chat about this. Lane, it was nice meeting you.”

“Lock the door behind you,” I call out after her. She agrees that she will before letting herself out.

When we are finally alone, I kiss Sidney like I’ve wanted to since I came back into the apartment.

“How was your shower?” she asks.

“Would have been better with you in it,” I tease.

She giggles and pulls away. Then I realize that she’s been cooking. It just goes to show that, when I’m around her, I sort of forget about everything else. She’s hypnotic.

“What are we having for lunch?”

She lifts the lid to show me the stir-fry that looks almost done and smells amazing. Turning her back to me to stir the food, I drag my eyes over her body. Her upper back is exposed since her hair is still in a bun and she’s wearing a tube-top dress. While she cooks, I kiss her back, making sure to focus on each scar.

“It’s ready,” she says hoarsely, and I smile, knowing that I’ve affected her.

While she dishes out the food, I grab two water bottles from her refrigerator. We sit down to a comfortable lunch where we laugh at funny stories she tells about Tina. I’m glad Tina took her under her wing when she did.

“Want to watch a movie?” she asks as she clears the table and puts the dishes into the dishwasher.

“Sure. Do you have a DVD player in your room? I’m kind of tired from last night. Some hot chick woke me up in the middle of the night demanding sex,” I tease. She laughs at me and throws the wadded-up paper towel at me after she dries her hands.

“No, but you can move it from the living room. I’m not technologically advanced, but I can just tell by looking at you that you are.”

I nod in agreement and head into the living room to unhook all of the wires. Once I unplug the right ones, I carry it back to her bedroom and hook it up to that TV. She hops on the bed, arranging the pillows so we can sit up and watch the movie.

“What do you want to watch?” I ask.

“Let’s just watch whatever’s in there already.”

The look on her face is one of feigned innocence, and I bite my cheek to keep from laughing. I’m dying to see what movie she wants to watch so badly that she would stoop to such low levels. After I hit play, I crawl into the bed beside her. Her dress has ridden up, distracting me already from the movie that hasn’t even started yet.

As soon as the intro credits start, I know that it’s Dirty Dancing. I glance over at her and she’s absolutely fucking mesmerized by the movie. Reaching over, I grab her hand, threading our fingers together. She gives me a brief smile before turning back to the film. The entire time she watches it, I just stare at her. I’ve seen the movie several times, so I’m not missing anything.

Afterwards, she looks over at me and grins. “That’s my favorite movie.”

“You don’t say? Why?” I laugh.

She scowls at me. “I love it because Patrick Swayze is the main character. Such a wonderful actor!”

“Want to take a nap?” I ask her sleepily.

“Sounds good,” she says as she turns off the television.

I’m too tired to get under the worthless sheet anyway so I just pull her to me for warmth. With her back against my chest and my arm slung protectively around her, we both fall quickly asleep.