Page 24 of Bean
“Shit.” He looked distressed as he dragged a hand through his hair. “I didn’t think you’d take it literally. It was a figure of speech, just me teasing you, I promise. No deeper meaning, nothing.”
“Okay.”
“You believe me?”
I nodded. “One of the many consequences of my brain injury is that I can’t always read emotions or intentions properly. My brain gets confused sometimes. My therapist taught me to simply check and ask people what they meant. I hope you didn’t take offense.”
He took my hand again and pressed a kiss on it. “I didn’t. I was more worried I’d accidentally hurt your feelings, which was never my intention.”
“You didn’t, but thank you.” Our eyes met, and oh, those pools of blue had so much depth now, like a stormy ocean I could drown in. “You have such beautiful eyes.”
They lit up, turning brighter. “Thank you. I always thought they were boring. You know, blue eyes like every other person on the planet.”
I stepped a little closer, studying them. They weren’t just blue by any standard. They had swirls in them, ribbons of darker blue and gray, as well as dots of almost cerulean blue and the brightest blue of a cloudless sky. “Anyone who said your eyes were boring never took the time to truly see them. They’re amazing. Makes me wish I could paint.”
His cheeks grew ruddy, which made the silver bear look adorable—something I hadn’t thought possible. “You’re sweet.”
“It’s the truth, isn’t it?”
He studied me for a moment longer, then tugged on my hand, which he was still holding. “Come on, let’s go. I want to have you naked in my bed.”
Oh, I could so get on board with that.
As expected, I remembered nothing from his house, but that didn’t matter. What was way more important was that as soon as he closed the front door behind us, he kissed me again. Hepressed his broad body against mine, pushing my back against the wall, and devoured my mouth.
I’d been kissed, but never like this. His tongue roamed my mouth, dancing with mine, licking and probing even as his lips moved over mine with a restless energy. He sucked on my bottom lip until it almost hurt, then let go to lick it, only to put his teeth into it and bring me to that same edge of pain again. And I kissed him right back, greedy for everything he was willing to give me.
My hands grew greedy too, and I slid them over the planes of his back. Down, down, down until I reached his butt. I squeezed two handfuls of his flesh, and nothing had ever felt so good. I pulled him closer until his hard penis encountered mine.
He rolled his hips and ground into me. My eyes crossed, and I had to break off the kiss to suck in a much-needed breath.
A wave of dizziness came over me, and I squeezed my eyes shut as the unavoidable nausea barreled into me.
“Bean?”
I groaned. “Gimme a moment.”
He let go, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I made a blind grab, not trusting myself to open my eyes again. “Don’t. Stay. I didn’t mean to?—”
He put his fingers on my lips. “I’m staying. Just tell me what you need.”
A moment. I needed a moment for my brain to reboot. My brain was operating on an old Windows program, my psychologist had explained. It tended to crash when it got overloaded, and then it needed a little time to restart.
“What’s your name again?” I whispered, still keeping my eyes closed. “I’m sorry I forgot again.”
“Jarek. My name is Jarek. And don’t apologize. Ask as often as you need, and I’ll be happy to tell you every time.”
Jarek. Jarek. Jarek.
Rhymes with Derek.
Cripes, my brain was too fried to come up with a mnemonic to remember it.
I blew out a breath. Thank goodness I’d picked a guy with a boatload of patience. I carefully opened my eyes and checked to see if the world was normal or if everything was still moving like I was in a boat on a stormy sea. Man, I got seasick so bad, even on a calm sea. There was a reason I’d chosen the Army.
Yup, everything was steady again. Another deep exhale and I met Jarek’s eyes. “Jarek.” I tested the name on my tongue.
He nodded. “Yes. Jarek.”