Embattled Minds (Military Romance) (Lost And Found Series) (7 page)

Ember could have wept. She didn’t know why he’d quit, but she wanted him to come right back in and finish the song. Her mind knew what melody was supposed to come next, but it couldn’t create the same type of emotion he had while singing.

She thought back to the absolute absorption on his face as he sang, and realized he hadn’t stuttered or hesitated once through the entire performance.

A
fter cleaning up the pizza mess, she locked the house for the last time. As she jogged down the steps and sidewalk to Zeke’s truck, her throat tightened at the thought of not being able to plant flowers this year. Drew’s swing set was still in the backyard. Their lives for the past several years had been right here. Perhaps once all this mess had blown over she’d be able to bring him home for a visit.

She would call her lawyer tomorrow and let him know they had moved out, and that her father could post bond. If there was a protection order in place, they’d have to work opposite shifts at the restaurant. It would be a pain in the ass, but it could be done. If not, though, she’d have to think about finding other work to support herself and her son. Or, she’d petition the court to remove the protection order.

Leaving the restaurant didn’t scare her as much as she thought it might. She had a business degree under her belt and several years’ experience helping her father. She had enough of a cushion in the bank to carry her through for a few months if she was frugal.

In her heart, though, she didn’t want to leave Frog Dog Grill or her dad.

She didn’t say anything to Zeke about the guitar, though she couldn’t help replaying it over and over in her head.

The men unloaded boxes like they were professionals, separating them room by room and putting them as out of the way as possible. The apartment was packed by the time they were done, but it would be manageable.

Bryan and Diego cut out early. She offered them gas money, but they refused, as she’d suspected. Ember hoped it was a couple days before they noticed the money she’d stuffed into the ashtray.

Zeke and Chad hung out and started helping her unpack boxes. Toward evening, she ordered Chinese takeout and they took another break. Chad connected the TV and Drew fell asleep in front of it almost immediately, oblivious to the movement around him.

They ate from paper plates in the living room, sitting on the couch and chair.

“I can’t thank you guys enough,” Ember admitted. “I can’t believe we got everything moved today.”

Chad grinned at her as he slurped up a noodle. “Well, you had a squad of Marines at your disposal, but you’re on your own, now. My leg is killing me. I’m gonna have to roll out.”

Scooping another forkful, he wound them around the tines, then shoved the mass in his mouth. After that final bite, he shoved the plate away, hand on his lean stomach. “I shouldn’t have eaten all that.” Even as he said it, though, he snatched up a fortune cookie to stuff in his pocket.

Ember walked him to the door and gave him a quick hug. “Thank you for helping. I know Zeke talked you into it but I really could not have done it alone.”

Blue eyes crinkling, he tipped his chin to her. “No, problem, Ember. Maybe I’ll see you next Saturday?”

She nodded. “I’ll be there. And the first round is on me.”

He grinned. “I might take you up on that.”

When she returned to the living room, Zeke had started to gather up the leftovers.

“I can get it.”

He shrugged those broad shoulders and continued to clean up. She moved to help him.

Zeke seemed to be walking a little stiffly, but she didn’t want to be nosy to ask him why. They put the leftover Chinese in the fridge, though she knew it would probably be gross the next day. She threw the trash in the can and leaned back against the counter.

“What was wrong with Chad’s leg?”

Zeke glanced at her, dark blond brows lowered. “The new pr-rosthetic must have been rubbing. He doesn’t usually say anything about his p-pain.”

Ember blinked and realized her mouth was hanging open. “Wait, he’s missing a leg? Are you serious?”

He nodded. “His left. That’s why he was sh-showing me his b-b-boots earlier today. He just had them…f-fitted for the prosthetic.”

She thought he’d just been showing off his cowboy boots.
Dipshit
. She thought of all the boxes he had carried and all the trips he had made for smaller things. He’d never mentioned anything of the sort, and she’d not even noticed a hitch in his gait. “Damn, I feel even worse that he helped me now.”

Zeke frowned at her. “Why? Just b-because he’s missing a leg it doesn’t mean he’s any less of a man. He doesn’t want to be kn-known by his injuries. None of us do.”

Ember snapped her mouth shut, chastened. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

He smiled a half-smile. “Chad will ap-p-preciate that you didn’t even notice. He’s self-conscious enough about the arm.”

“It looks painful,” she said. She led the way back to the couch and sank down into the corner.

“If it is he doesn’t say.” He sank down on the opposite end and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. He scrubbed his hands over his face.

“Are your scars painful at all?” She held her breath as she waited for his answer.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Not so much. Th-this one,” he traced his finger over the deepest one across his forehead and down through his eyebrow, “has been the worst. My skull was cracked and my occ-occ-c-ciptal bone fractured. I have a couple of sc-screws holding it together. I get headaches here f-f-fairly often.”

“And there’s nothing the doctors can do for that?”

“Well,” he looked away, “they can m-make it look better but they can’t do anything about the h-h-headaches. I think I’ll always have them. I have…m-medication if they get really bad, but I can only take it if I know I’m not going to be doing anything for the next twelve hours.”

Ember crossed her arms to keep from reaching out and wrapping them around him. “How long were you in the hospital?”

He quirked his mouth as he thought. “Months. I had no b-balance when they first got me up, and I couldn’t string ten words together. It took a long time to re-re-l-learn all that stuff.”

“Was your family there with you?”

He shrugged. “Some. Mostly at first. I finally sent them home because they were j-j-just sitting there. Not doing anybody any good.” He looked at her fully. “Do you n-not have any family around here?”

She shook her head. “No, my dad has a brother out west somewhere but they haven’t talked for a long time. Not sure why. I have several cousins I talk to once a year. My mom was an only child. It’s always just been my dad and I. Then later Drew came along.” She smiled as she looked at him stretched out on the floor, pillow beneath his head.

“And what-what about his dad?”

“Well,” she sighed, “he didn’t want to be bothered with a kid. He was just getting through college. He signed over all his rights and I’ve never heard from him again.”

Zeke leaned back into the couch as he looked at her son on the floor. “He helped m-make him. He should have stepped up.”

Ember appreciated the sentiment, but she was just as responsible. “We were both really young, and didn’t plan on doing anything in the first place. It just kind of happened. Thinking back, though, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. It gave me my son, so how could I?”

Quiet descended between them and she felt her eyes getting tired.

“Well, I should go.”

Pushing to his feet, Zeke waded through the boxes to the front door. Ember followed along behind, reluctant for him to leave. The silence had been easy and comfortable.

He paused by the door long enough to pull his heavy canvas coat on.

“Thank you, Zeke. For everything.”

Ember stepped in front of him and wrapped him in a hug. His heavy arms came around her head, carefully cocooning her. She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head, but it wasn’t what she wanted. She pulled back enough to stare up into his eyes. His squeezed shut and he turned his head away, trying to let her go.

“Would you kiss me, Zeke?”

He exhaled harshly. “Not a g-g-good idea, Ember.”

“Why? Do you have a girlfriend I don’t know about?”

“You know I don’t,” he snapped.

She pulled back, alarmed at his response. “No, I don’t know that. You’re a good looking guy—” she got no further as he ripped out of her arms and jerked the door open. “Hey, wait a minute!”

She grabbed his jacket before he stepped through the doorway and jumped in front of him, blocking his way. Fury darkened his blue eyes to navy, surprising her with its intensity. “Why are you pissed? Because I said you were good looking?”

He snarled and shook his head. “Are you fucking blind? Or just cruel? Because either way I’m d-done. I need to go.”

Her mouth dropped open, furious that he could be so incredibly wrong. “Now wait a minute. You’ve been with me all day. I’m not blind and I’m definitely not cruel. You know that. I actually do think you’re good-looking. Hell, you’re built like a damn underwear model and have the prettiest ice-blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Yes, you have scars, but they certainly don’t bother me, or turn me off. If anything, they turn me on, because they tell me exactly the kind of man you are.” She poked his hard chest for good measure and stepped into his space. “Now, are you going to kiss me, or not?”

“No.” He looked out the door, over her head, his eyes jumping.

“Why not?”

His jaw clamped shut.

“Why not, damn it?”

He shook his head, mute, and his shoulders slumped, as if he couldn’t hold out any more.

“Because if I do I’ll never be able to stop.”

His gaze landed on hers and for the first time, Ember started to reconsider her approach. There was a vulnerability in his expression that made her question whether she was woman enough to fulfill his needs. But the attraction she felt for him was beyond anything she’d ever experienced before. She took a breath.

“Maybe I won’t want you to stop.”

She’d barely gotten the words out before his mouth crushed hers, forcing her head back. But it didn’t matter, because Zeke’s mouth was finally
on
hers, moving back and forth as if they’d talked about the moves beforehand. Ember staggered under the desperate wave of need that hit her. Her legs went to jelly and her heart raced as she poured her own enthusiasm into the kiss.

Zeke growled deep in his throat and wrapped his arms around her again, this time to pick her up and swing her around to brace against the foyer wall. She felt him shift down below and heard the door slam shut, then his hips were aligning with hers. She jerked as she felt the ridge of his erection nestle in against her pubic bone and without thought she wrapped her legs around his hips. Immediately, his hands shifted to grip her ass.

Zeke froze against her, then pulled his mouth away from hers to kiss first her bruised cheek, then down her neck. “I don’t know if we should do this,” he whispered. But his hands clutched her ass, and he flexed against her again.

“You’re right, we shouldn’t,” she gasped as she arched into him.

Groaning, his lips found hers again, as if he couldn’t stay away. Ember shuddered as his tongue swept into the depths of her mouth. The aggression in the move startled her, but also spiked her arousal. His heavy chest crushed her breasts, but the feel of him against her, panting for breath the way she was, exhilarated her.

One of his broad hands slid up her side, beneath her T-shirt, to the swell of her breast. Sliding his thumb between their bodies, he pushed beneath her bra to stroke over her hard nipple. Ember cried out, tearing her mouth away. “Oh, yes. Please, Zeke.”

Shoving her bra out of the way, he gripped her whole breast in his massive hand, plumping and smoothing. Her womb clenched in need as he savored her body. Then, with a final nibble at her lips, he pulled away.

“I don’t have anything to protect you with, Ember. I have to stop.”

His hand pulled away from her breast, and the other palm holding her ass began to lower her to the floor. Ember could have wept in denial. The muscles of his arms trembled, and she knew it had to be costing him as well.

For one wild moment she thought about throwing caution to the wind and letting him know that she had a five-year IUD in, but pulling away would probably be prudent. Her life was in turmoil and she didn’t know if she could be part of a relationship right now, in spite of the monumental need she had for him.

Her feet settled to the floor and her knees almost gave out. She clutched at his arms, unwilling to let him go. He stroked her hair, seeming just as reluctant.

“M-maybe w-w-we could g-g-o out someti-time.”

Ember smiled at the obvious nervousness in his deep voice and nodded her head against his chest. “I would love that.”

Finally, he pushed away from the wall and straightened, looking down at her. His were still dark, hard with determination and his jaw was clenched, as if the battle not to take her waged on inside him. Her eyes flickered at the thought and fell to the obvious erection behind the zipper of his jeans. She moaned and one hand lifted as if to touch him, but he jerked away.