Despite the music, or perhaps because of it, she couldn’t stop the flow of emotion within her. A lump in her throat, she found herself unable to take her gaze off him as the music reached its climax, the power of it sending a shiver up her spine, stirring something behind her breastbone. As he plucked the last few notes from the strings, the sound reverberating through the room, she found herself blinking back tears.
He opened his eyes, his gaze locking with hers.
“That was . . . beautiful.” She swallowed hard. “You have real talent. How long have you been playing?”
The same hands that had once worked magic on her body plucked idly at the strings, loosing strands of melody. “I started after graduating from BUD/S. I needed a way to kill time and clear my mind, something to do during downtime. I took a few lessons, played when I could, took the guitar with me on deployments when I was able. At one point, Nate threatened to break it over a rock.”
Laura couldn’t help but smile. “He wouldn’t say that if he heard you play now.”
Javier’s gaze traveled over her, a puzzled expression coming over his face. “You’re ready for bed already?”
“I thought I’d go sit in the sauna and warm up.”
“Pretty cold out in the stables?”
It was then Laura noticed the shadows in his eyes. “Is something wrong?”
He looked away, strummed the strings. “Nothing’s wrong. I just have a lot on my mind. Enjoy the sauna.”
The words were out before she realized it. “Why don’t you join me?”
CHAPTER
10
JAVIER STRIPPED DOWN to his skin, grabbed a towel from the shelf, and wrapped it around his hips, tucking the loose end in tightly, a sense of heightened excitement humming stupidly through his blood.
By asking him to join her in the sauna, Laura wasn’t inviting him to make out. He needed to get that through
She was probably naked now, lying back on the teak benches, utterly and beautifully bare, her hair fanned out around her, her arms stretched languidly over her head. A memory of silky, long legs, full breasts, and sweet curving hips sent a jolt of heat to his groin, threatening to turn his towel into a tent.
And then like a nightmare it hit him—an image of his
A shudder ran down his spine.
He took a breath, blew it out, and opened the bathroom door, the heated floor warm against his feet as he crossed the room and stepped into the sauna.
Relief and disappointment hit him when he saw she wasn’t naked. She sat in one corner, a fluffy white towel wrapped around her body, concealing her from her breasts to her upper thighs, her legs stretched out on the teak bench, her ankles crossed, her hands lying relaxed in her lap. Her eyes were closed, her hair hanging in a single, pale mass over one creamy shoulder, steam making the ends curl.
He closed the door behind him, the bright scent of warmed wood filling his nostrils. He couldn’t help the way his pulse jumped at the sight of her, nor could he fight off a sinking sense of sadness. The Laura he’d imagined lying naked on the bench like some Nordic sex goddess had been the woman he’d met in Dubai. The Laura who sat there now, looking almost fragile by contrast, her back pressed into the corner, was the woman who’d survived eighteen months of brutality.
Nate’s words came back to him—not just words, Javier reminded himself, but insight based on experience. What Nate had told Javier about Megan had left Javier feeling like an asshole—for blowing up at Nate, for not knowing more about Megan, for getting too caught up in his own shit.
The whole world seemed to be wounded, broken, hurting.
Javier put that out of his mind and sat across from Laura, close enough to see her face clearly in the semidark, but not close enough for contact. He stretched out his legs as she had done, the wood warm and moist against his skin. “This reminds me of summertime in Humacao—hot and humid.”
She didn’t open her eyes but smiled. “What was the name of that frog you told me about, the one that used to sing you to sleep when you were a little boy?”
She looked completely tranquil, her words spoken in a sleepy voice, but Javier could see the rapid thrumming of her carotid and knew she was anything but relaxed.
“Yeah, that one.” Her lips curved in a soft smile.
Javier couldn’t help but grin. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
She smiled again, a sad smile this time. “I remember everything.”
LAURA COULDN’T IMAGINE why she’d asked Javier to join her. She’d been at an emotional edge after talking with Megan, and his guitar playing had touched her, confused her, made her remember things she wished she hadn’t. And when she’d seen the sadness in his eyes . . .
Regardless of why she’d done it, he was here now.
She kept her eyes closed, knowing what she’d see if she opened them, knowing that seeing him would bring back bittersweet memories. Just waking up beside him this morning had left her feeling desolate—and they’d both been clothed. It was better not to open her eyes, not to remember, not to see.
Maybe if she pretended to doze . . .
But even with her eyes closed, she could smell him—salt, musk, spice. And then it didn’t matter that her eyes were closed. Scents conjured memories, her mind filling with images. Dark eyes gone smoky soft. Full lips wet from kissing her. The beautiful brown skin of his nearly hairless chest. The broad expanse of his shoulders. The planes and ridges of his pecs and abdominal muscles. Big hands that knew how to please. Strong arms that had held her all night long.
Her throat grew tight, an ache filling the dark cavern inside her.
And her eyes opened.
He wasn’t watching her. His eyes were closed, his face turned toward the door, his features in profile, a day’s worth of stubble dark on his jaw. He wore a towel around his hips, his muscular chest bare, his arms . . .
She sucked in a breath.
Scars.
Almost without realizing it, she was on her feet. She sat beside him, her gaze fixed on the angry, red lines that carved up the right side of his torso. “Oh, Javi.”
His eyes opened, his gaze following hers. “It’s all healing really well.”
She couldn’t imagine what it had looked like before.
