“I will,” I whispered. Then, my body began to drift downward as Brax lowered me to my back on the ground. My fingers flexed and I encountered a blanket beneath me.
“Be still,” he ordered. I did, and he straightened my legs, my arms at my side. I felt him lay beside me then—not directly side-by-side, but just his head. With my eyes closed it seemed a strange feeling, his roughened jaw against my temple. But I waited in silence. I didn’t have to wait long.
“Open your eyes.”
I blinked several times as I focused straight up above me into the vast, pitch-black blanket of Texas sky littered with a million blinking stars. The night sky was cloudless and perfect, and my face broke into an unstoppable smile. “Brax,” I muttered. Even I could hear the awe in my voice.
“Impressive, yeah? Even though you’ve seen it a hundred times?” he asked.
I turned my head to look at him, and found he was looking at me, too. The darkness shaded his features but I could still make them out; slightly crooked nose, arched brows against fair skin, with the longish curls he usually kept pushed back falling over his forehead. Although I couldn’t see it, I knew his sharp gaze searched my face, too. He was beautiful, strong, and stunning. I smiled. “It’s always perfect.”
“I don’t fucking deserve this. With you.” He had one arm behind his head, and he rolled onto his side so that he now braced himself with his elbow. I did the same. His words took me off guard, shook me. I wasn’t expecting to hear that from him. We were face to face, inches apart, our bodies pointing in opposite directions, yet we remained intimately close. To me it still wasn’t close enough. With his free hand he grazed my jaw with his knuckles. I thought he’d kiss me then, or more. But he didn’t. He simply stared, explored my face, throat, shoulder, with deft, long fingers that left my insides humming. When he spoke, his raspy voice was quiet, controlled, serious.
“I want to know what happened with Evans, Gracie,” he said. “I want you to trust me.”
I could barely breathe. I wanted to trust Brax so badly it hurt. Should I? How wise would it be to trust someone with such a dark piece of my past? Even more was, how wise would it be to keep that dark seed locked away inside of me? It would only grow like a tumor until it spread from that secret hiding place, malignant and brain-infesting and all-consuming until all that remained was an embittered, fragile, ugly shell of a woman. I missed my old carefree self. I missed her so much. Brax was slowly bringing that part of me back and I knew it.
Brax’s fingers brushed my cheek, then grasped my jaw, lifting my gaze that had drifted away to meet his. I inhaled, drawing in his clean scent. “I’ve been in that dark place, Gracie. I know what it’s like to keep secrets.” He laughed softly, void of humor, filled with sarcasm. “Trust me, I’ve got my share of them.” He caressed my lips, my scar with his thumb. “But I don’t want you to shoulder yours alone anymore. I can see whatever it is in your eyes, hiding, every time I look at you. And I fucking hate it.”
So very close, I let my stare settle into his, and in my next breath it consumed me with trust, hope for a peace I hadn’t experienced in, well, over a year. Everything that drew me to Brax Jenkins merged and connected at once, and I knew then that it was meant for us to meet. Meant for us to belong. I drew in a long, cleansing breath, and let it exhale slowly. “Promise me something then, Brax.”
“Anything.” This he said without the first trace of hesitation.
Timidly, I lifted my hand and let my fingertips brush over first the scar at his cheekbone, where it lingered despite the slight flinch I’d felt. He didn’t stop me, though, and I fingered the roughened skin there, noticed the difference between it and his otherwise smooth texture. Then, I traced his perfectly shaped lips, and another scar so similar to my own. Like he’d done to me, I grasped his jaw, the stubble like sandpaper against the pads of my fingers. I liked that.
“You have to promise me that, no matter what I tell you, you won’t act on it. At all.” I pulled his face closer to mine, and as I stared at my hand holding his face, shadows merged our bodies into one. “I swear it’s the only way I’ll do this, Brax.”
His hand reached for mine, and he brought it to his mouth, pressed his lips over my knuckles, then my fingertips, one at a time. “I don’t think I like the sound of this.” He kissed my fingers again. “But for you, I promise.” He held our hands up between us, pressed palm to fingers, and then laced them together. And waited.