“I’m sure that’s related to Tiffany’s disappearance. Knowing you could have been with her when she disappeared had to exact a toll.”
She had a therapist years ago who said the same thing. Her father didn’t know how to relate to a child and he had these fears and they made his feelings come out all wrong. Blah, blah, blah. “Don’t be logical. I want to be irrationally angry right now.”
“Seems fair.” Wren’s fingers slipped through her hair. “The way I see it is you fight him and demand to be heard. That’s the important thing. I love that you don’t back down. It’s impressive.”
She rested her head against the seat and stared at him. “Thanks for supporting me.”
“You can count on that.”
Those eyes. That face. Yeah, she was falling, all right. “I’m starting to.”
CHAPTER 25
Later that night they stood on opposite sides of Wren’s big bed. They’d watched some mindless television while she tried to unwind from the visit with her father. A dinner and a shower later and it was almost eleven.
The time didn’t matter. The lack of sleep didn’t bother him. He wanted to crawl under the covers and lose himself in her. Wipe away all the questions of the day and the constant analysis running through his brain about Tiffany and what really happened to her. Mostly, he wanted Emery.
Watching her struggle with her father and not cave in to him impressed Wren. She carried this huge weight almost all alone and didn’t break down. He kept waiting for it, but she stayed strong. At times he wondered if she stayed too strong. There was only so much a person could take.
He’d worked his pain out on a shooting range and through the slow destruction of his marriage years ago. Emery didn’t have any refuge. Even her work centered on loss. She forced herself to move forward and built a life around the one person she might never see again. That wallowing in so much pain could destroy something deep inside. At least it had in him.
He watched her now. She rubbed some sort of lotion on her hands and up and down her bare legs. A nightly ritual that went along with brushing her teeth and combing her hair.
The bikini underwear and T-shirt covered enough to send his imagination running on a wild journey. If he got a vote she could skip the clothes. He only peeled them off once they got into bed anyway. There, skin touched skin. He didn’t want any barriers other than the condom.
But there was a pretty big wall standing between them right now. She’d been distracted all night. Physically there, but her vision stayed clouded and she seemed to be a step behind in every conversation. Not her usual style at all. Hell, he usually had trouble keeping up with her, but he’d spent most of dinner repeating whatever mundane thing he said to burn through time. She hadn’t really been paying attention and, instead, spent long periods staring off into space.
He knew one topic that might remove the haze.
“He knows we’re sleeping together,” Wren said as he pulled back the comforter and caught the pillow he sent tumbling toward the floor.
She snapped the cap back on the bottle and put it on the chest of drawers. “Here’s a little hint, Levi. Don’t talk about my father when we’re standing near the bed and you want to have sex.”
Yeah, she looked wide awake now. He was grateful for that, at least. “Noted.”
She tilted her head to the side and removed one earring then the other. Just one of the steps she worked through without even thinking about them. He pretty much took off his clothes and brushed his teeth. No big production. He didn’t really care how long it took her because he could watch her for hours. But he’d rather touch her.
He slipped behind her and wrapped his arms around her and let them lay on her stomach. Pulling her back, he balanced her weight against his. Smiled in her hair when she brought up her hands to cover his. She didn’t fake this part. She was open and affectionate. She knew what she wanted and seemed to enjoy touching him as much as he loved touching her.
“It’s late.” It seemed chivalrous to mention that. They both needed sleep.
“Not that late.”
“You always know the right thing to say.” He kissed the side of her head.
She laughed as she turned in his arms. Her face glowed in the room’s soft light and those eyes, so big and intelligent, focused on him. No clouds or haze lingered there now.
“Sometimes I know what to do.”
He had no idea what she meant, but her sexy smile had him thinking good things. “Oh, really?”