Page 39 of Hidden Scars

“Physically?” he asks and his body tenses again. Lord knows what he’s imagining right now.

“No. Mentally. I’ve got a block and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get past it.”

Sucking in a deep breath, his arms tighten around me and he hugs me close, almost like he’s trying to shield me from all my pain. “’Cause of him?”

“Yes… Because of him,” I answer and he lets out a breath I didn’t even realize he was holding before pressing his lips to my forehead again. He’s being much more affectionate today than he has in the past but I can’t even say that I mind.

“You ever get a tattoo for a girl?” I ask to distract him and he laughs, jostling me.

“No. Never felt strongly enough about a girl to permanently mark my body for her.”

“Oh, come on. Not even in high school?”

He grins, shaking his head. “You really want to do this?”

“Do what?”

“Talk about all our exes?”

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “All? Jesus, how long is it gonna take to get through all yours?”

“Smart ass.”

My cheeks ache from the smile on my face but I don’t even care. I haven’t felt this carefree in so long and it’s really nice.

“All right. Let’s hear it. How many?”

“Five.”

“Girlfriends? Or women you’ve had sex with?”

He has the decency to blush and I have a feeling I won’t like his answer. “Girlfriends. Including you.”

“I’m not your girlfriend.”

He shrugs. “I’m a patient man.”

I scoff and shake my head at him. “You’re a cocky man.”

He just shrugs again, not arguing with my assessment. “How many for you, Emma?”

“Boyfriends?”

His eyebrow shoots up and his jaw ticks. I have trouble holding in my laugh as I see him thinking about the implications of my statement.

“That would be what we’re talking about.”

“Three.”

“Including me?”

I shake my head, pressing my lips together to hide my smile. He pretends to look wounded and presses his hand over his heart.

“That hurts.”

Shaking my head, I laugh at him. “You’re impossible.”

“Yeah, but you like it.”

And damn it, he’s absolutely right.

“All right, that’s enough mushy stuff for today,” I say, shoving him out of my bed and he laughs as he stumbles to his feet. “You need anything else, Nix?”

He smirks. “Only you, sweetheart.”

“You just think you’re so smooth, don’t you?” I ask, rolling my eyes and he laughs again, backing up toward my door.

“Oh, I know I am and you wanna know what else?”

I shouldn’t. I really, really shouldn’t, but I do. “What?”

“You can’t resist me forever, baby.”

I snort but I know his words ring true. “We’ll see about that.”

His grin grows.

“Yes. Yes, we will.”