Chapter Fifteen
“What are you doing here?”
She had a million questions, but it seemed like the most important one.
Ben Parker was handsome—if one liked the type. Which she did not. He had golden hair he kept in a stylish cut and light blue eyes that could go from warm to icy in a heartbeat. At six foot six, he towered over her.
Whoa. She’d never realized the man actually looked a lot like her dad.
Ewww. What was her twin thinking?
He stared at her for a moment, taking her in like she was some gorgeous piece of art. She wasn’t. She probably looked like shit, but Ben Parker didn’t seem to mind. He just didn’t realize he had the wrong sister since he didn’t understand there was a sister at all. “I know it was cowardly of me to leave Toronto when you were coming up to see me.”
“I was coming to give your team a briefing.”
He was annoying. She didn’t need this right now. She already had way too much rolling through her. It would be great if she could start a fight with this man. Maybe get him to throw a punch and get a lot of this awful emotion out of her system in a wholly violent fashion.
But that would likely end in her team cutting ties with Parker and his team. They needed the Canadians. They had more experience with Huisman.
This was what she’d tried to tell Cooper. There were times when one sucked it up and did their job. No matter how badly it hurt.
“Did you? You were the only one who could do it?”
Ben asked.
She could fix this whole situation right now with a few carefully chosen words. She could tell him her boss had forced her to come since she seemed to be the only one who could properly play Ben Parker. That’s all she’d been doing. Playing him for intel, and wasn’t he a moron for falling for it?
Except that wasn’t what her sister had been doing. Her sister was at least half in love with this man, and that meant something. Kala disagreed with her. Kenzie could do better. Parker was nothing but a hot dude in a nice suit.
And yet he’d saved her even when he’d thought she was doing exactly what she’d thought in her head—playing him.
Her sister was in the middle of an epic love story, and she could cut it off right here and now.
She forced her expression to soften. “No. Of course not.”
He moved in, standing over her. He was close, but he didn’t touch her.
If this was Cooper, it would be a move that threatened to melt her panties off, but she mostly thought Ben looked like a big old goofball. “I thought so. I’m sorry. I’m afraid it’s hard to think strategically when it comes to you.”
Be Kenzie. Be Kenzie. Do not tell him what you want to which is to ask him if he thinks strategically at all? Does he know the meaning of the word? Because she wasn’t sure they spoke the same language.
But she was Kenzie, and she was sure her twin would be all gooey at this point.
Did Kenzie think Coop was a big old golden retriever? Did she barf in her mouth a little when Kala curled up on his lap? But would also do anything to see her twin happy?
Like Kala was about to do.
If she was so fucking filled with darkness, why was it easy to make this decision?
“You wouldn’t meet me in Toronto. Why?”
He stared down at her like he was memorizing the moment. This man wasn’t playing. He was in deep. “You know why.”
Oh, this made her slightly ill, but it was the only thing she could think to do. Tell the truth. Or at least a version of it. “Because of how Cooper reacted. But that wasn’t me. I can’t control how he reacts or feels, Ben.”
Cooper would always be the guy who had big reactions because he felt things deeply and didn’t have a switch inside that told him it was wrong to show the world. He never hid his feelings because he wasn’t ashamed of them.
Was that why she did it? Or was she afraid they wouldn’t be accepted? Those voices always told her to keep it all inside.
“He loves you,” Ben said.
“But I don’t love him.”
Such a lie. And it came out of her lips so easily. This. This was why Cooper should run. She could lie, and she didn’t even feel bad about it because it wasn’t for her. It was for Kenzie.
She was certain if Cooper was in the same position, he wouldn’t be able to lie at all. His Captain America stalwartness would force the truth from his mouth.
There was an intensity in Ben’s eyes that likely would have Kenzie swooning. Kala thought he looked like a starving dude who’d found the last Snickers bar on earth. “I don’t know what to do about you, Maggie.”
He called them Maggie, a nickname for the Agency code name they used, Ms. Magenta. It was good to hear that name because it reminded her beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was work and she shouldn’t punch him in the face and tell him to back off. Because she wanted to. Intimacy was hard for her. It was why Kenz so often handled the jobs that required flirting.
“I don’t care about Cooper. He’s a friend, but he’s never going to be anything more,”
Kala said, forcing herself to move closer even when every single instinct in her body screamed to get away. Only Cooper got this close. Only Cooper got to kiss her and love her and hold her against him. To touch her when she wasn’t expecting it because it was always okay for him to touch her.
Only Cooper.
How would she move through life without knowing he was waiting for her? He would find someone, but it would probably be some airhead who wouldn’t know how to take care of him because he obviously had terrible taste in women.
Ben Parker’s lips hovered above hers. “And what am I?”
She had to find a way to tag out. She was willing to, maybe if she had to and couldn’t figure a way out of it, let him kiss her. Not like a full-on kiss. More like a peck. She could handle a peck. She was not going to barf. Barfing would totally give up the game. “I don’t know. I think we should figure it out. I have some things I need to do, but I could meet you later.”
“Sex club things?”
he asked, his jealousy obvious.
“It’s a lifestyle club,”
she returned. “I haven’t had sex with anyone, Ben. Not since I met you.”
God, she hoped her sister hadn’t lied to her about the op when she and Ben had found themselves pretty much alone. It was in Croatia, and they’d spent a night in a castle hunting down an informant at a party given by a billionaire.
Ben’s hand came out and caressed her cheek. “That was your choice, baby. It would have gone very differently if I’d been in charge.”
He leaned over and brushed his lips against hers.
Thank the universe he didn’t try to use his tongue. Ick. Ick. Ewww. Ben lips. Lips of Ben. She was going to need all the mouthwash. Vodka was a disinfectant, right? Her sister so owed her.
And how will you hold this shit over her head for the rest of time and long after we are dead if you walk away from your family, moron?
She stepped back, praying she hadn’t actually gone green. “Meet me in two hours. I know this restaurant where they’ll give us a private room and we can talk. It’s called Top.”
Her uncle’s place. Uncle Sean would ensure privacy for the two of them. He would also ensure security.
“All right,”
he said and reached for her hand. Then dropped it as he glanced to the left and his eyes widened. “Well, shit. Your timing is perfect as always, McKay.”
Kala felt her heart squeeze as she caught sight of what she’d missed while she was pretending to be lost in her sister’s crush’s eyes. Cooper stood about twenty feet away, having obviously come in from the back parking lot. He stared at her like he hated her. It was right there in his eyes, the betrayal.
She fought back nausea. Real nausea this time. She’d been ready to walk away from him for his own sake, but this…he hated her. It was there in his eyes.
He would never speak to her again. Never.
“She’s all yours, Parker,”
Cooper said with a shake of his head. “Maybe she can string you along for years like she did me. Good fucking luck.”
He strode off, his boots ringing against the concrete.
If they’d made that sound in the first place, she wouldn’t be in this position, but no.
God, she felt so hollow.
This was what she wanted, and now she couldn’t stand the thought.
She had to go after him. The impulse to chase the man down was right there. She could chase him down and beg his forgiveness.
But she couldn’t, and there would be no forgiveness for her.
“Well, that’s going to make things awkward,”
she said and sighed before turning to Ben. “I’m sorry you had to see that. We are friends. I’ve never led him to believe anything else. I promise.”
Kenzie never had. And she was Kenzie right now.
Because if she had to be herself, she would likely lie down and wish she could fade.
He reached out and stroked her hair. “All right. We can talk more about it at the restaurant. I’ll be there in two hours. Maggie, don’t stand me up. I know I should be all modern man about it, but I’m afraid I’ll hunt you down.”
“I’ll be there.”
Her sister would drop whatever she was doing and haul ass to see this man.
Her sister might have a future.
Hers was over.
She turned and walked back in the club. Where she wouldn’t be a member for long because she would leave this place to Cooper. And her friends. And everything.
She turned the corner and he stood there in his jeans and T-shirt, his eyes on her. He’d obviously gone around to the back entrance. “Cooper, I…”
“That was such a nice thing to do for your sister, baby,”
he said, his jaw going tight. “I am so fucking proud of you. I told Lou to go get your toothbrush. And some mouthwash. And a bottle of vodka. It’s a disinfectant, you know.”
The world slowed down and something untwisted inside her. Something that had been knotted and gnarled unfurled, and she knew she would never question this man again. She strode up to him, putting her hands on his cheeks and kissing him for all she was worth. “I love you.”
A long sigh went through him. “I love you, too, baby. I love you so much. I’m so sorry about what happened in Colorado.”
“Then kiss me and get all the Ben cooties off my lips and then I think we need to try something new.”
The tears were right there, but she couldn’t let them out. It was time to see if Cooper could help her with that, too. It was time to trust him in the ultimate way.
Cooper practically inhaled her. His mouth claimed hers in a way he never had before. There was no tentativeness in his kiss this time. No holding back in case he moved too fast. There was nothing but pure desire in his kiss.
“So we don’t need the mouthwash, apparently.”
Kala broke off the kiss and turned to her best friend. “I just gave him cooties, too. If I have them, he has to have them.”
There was a hint of tears in Lou’s eyes. “Then my work here is done, and I can go meet TJ for lunch. Though he’s probably already had it. It’s okay. He likes Second Lunch, too. Why do I want to marry a hobbit?”
Her bestie turned and started walking away.
There was one thing Lou could do for her. “Hey, I need you to tell Kenz she needs to meet Parker at Top in two hours.”
Lou didn’t even bother to turn around. “Coop already did it.”
Cooper’s lips curled up as he stared down at her. “I was on the phone to her the minute I rounded the corner. Also, I told her she has to do your laundry for the rest of the month and has to make at least three batches of those cookies you love.”
The ones with butterscotch chips. She craved them.
Damn it, she loved them all.
“I was going to walk away.”
His expression softened. “I wouldn’t let you. Never again.”
“I don’t think I’m good for you.”
“I get to decide that, Kala. I know you have control issues and I’m willing to accommodate you, but not on this. I decide who I love and it’s you. It’s always been you.”
He kissed her again.
She melted against him. It felt so good to lean on him in every way. It would be a hard conversation with Lena, but she was doing the right thing.
And maybe she should find another therapist.
Nothing mattered except being with him right now. “Then I’m going to need you to do something for me.”
His hand moved over her hair. “Anything.”
“Tie me up, and let’s get some tears out of me, baby.”
* * * *
Cooper stared down at her, the sight so fucking beautiful to his eyes. Kala was naked and bound. And she wasn’t spitting bile his way. She was calm and collected.
“Are you sure?”
He didn’t want to push her in any way she wasn’t fully on board for. “I’ve told you in the past. I don’t need this. We can play and top subs together and then fuck like wild cats. I don’t need for you to submit to me.”
“I think I need to submit to myself, Coop. I know it sounds weird, but I can’t cry. I need to. I want to. I want to find that place where I can forgive, but I don’t think I can until I let this poison out of my system. This works for my mom and my sisters. I’m never going to be your sub, walking around on the dungeon floor and calling you Master, but I might need this. And I’ll only ever accept it from you.”
She was going to get him all kinds of emotional. This. This was what he’d always wanted. This was why every bit of pain he’d felt was worth it. His mother was wrong. He didn’t want her to change. He didn’t want her to leave her world and come to his. He just wanted to be on the inside with her. “Excellent. Then while we’re working through your issues, we’ll deal with a couple of mine, too. I have you all tied up, gorgeous. Nowhere to run. So guess what? We’re going to talk.”
Her jaw dropped. “That is evil.”
Oh, but he was the top right now. He reached over and rolled one tight nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He’d selected the apparatus in the center of the main room. It was a nice setup, with drop down adjustable chains for the sub’s wrists and more on the floor where he’d bound her ankles. Gabe had taken a very literal definition of dungeon when designing this particular part of the club. It was dark and medieval looking. They’d tortured many a submissive right here, but he never thought he’d see her like this. She was stretched out and utterly helpless. He had access to every inch of her body, from that glorious mouth of hers to her breasts and ass, and that pussy he loved to play with. He reached down and toyed with the piercing on her clit. “Want to tell me the story of how my virgin bride ended up with a hood piercing?”
Her lips curled up in the hottest smile. “Coop, if that is how you ask me to marry you, I’m saying yes.”
No grand gestures for his girl. Making a big deal out of it would cause her anxiety and stress. She was all about the little things, the daily shows of love and affection. “We’re going to the courthouse Monday. No muss, no fuss. Party it up this weekend because you’re going to be a married woman next week. Now, story.”
He touched that ball that sat on her clit and watched her breath hitch.
“This is supposed to be about me crying it out,”
she complained.
As he was acting as her Dom for the next hour, he had no choice what to do next. He brought his hand down on her ass. Hard. One and then two and three. She shuddered. “And we’ll get to that. It’s going to take more than pain to push you. The good news? You’ve come to the right place. We’re going to work through some things, you and I. Story. Now.”
“Fine.”
There was some of the fire he’d expected. “I got it so I could feel something. I don’t know why I’m not normal, but I didn’t have a lot of sexual feelings.”
He slapped her ass again. “We’re not using that word anymore. There is no normal. There is you and me and how we are. You are a perfectly made Kala Taggart.”
Her gaze seemed to darken. “I am so far from perfect.”
He sighed because damn, but she looked perfect to him. He let his fingers trace the graceful line of her spine. “We all have things we want to work on. But I need to make one thing very, very clear to you. You are the best partner I could possibly have. I do not want some sweet thing who’ll have my babies and make my lunch and never complain. I want you. I want to love you and fight with you and grow old with you. If you decide you want them, I want to raise a couple of the weirdest kids in the world and make them call your dad Grumpa.”
Her eyes were suddenly shining. He’d known it would take words to get to her. Words she couldn’t shut out or ignore. “I’m scared I won’t be a good mom.”
Another swat and then another until he counted out ten. “You’re already an excellent parent.”
“What does that mean?”
“You take care of your subs. You take care of your cousins. You take care of your siblings and ask very, very little in return. The trouble is you think the only way you could possibly be a parent is to be the ideal vision of what society thinks of as a mom. You’re not the most openly affectionate person. You don’t wear your heart on your sleeve. You probably will tell our kid to walk it off if he or she falls down. It’s okay. I’ll be there.”
Her jaw dropped. “Oh, shit. I’m the dad.”
He moved in, framing her face with his hands. “We’re going to be the parents we’re going to be, and it will work, baby. We’re going to throw out every expectation except one.”
A tear fell on her cheek. “What’s that?”
This was the most important rule of all. “That we will never leave the other behind.”
“Never.”
He stepped in close to her and turned her around so she was in front of him. He’d taken off his shirt and shoes and socks but still wore jeans. They wouldn’t be on for too long. He pressed his chest against her back, wrapping an arm around her waist. “I know sometimes you try to drift away, but I’ll always bring you home to me. I promise you. I won’t ever leave you alone. You are not merely more than enough for me. You are my whole fucking world.”
Her head fell back. “I think we can skip the tears. Let’s get to the sex.”
Oh, she wasn’t getting off that easily. No way. He stepped back and reached in his kit. Luckily, he left it here in his locker at the club since this was where they played. He pulled out a thing he’d thought he would never use. Nipple clamps. Beautiful ones he’d purchased with her in mind. He would never use them on anyone else. They were for her.
He brought them around and showed them to her. Pretty alligator clamps with jewels that matched the one on her clit. “First, I get to dress you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m paying you back. You’re going to love what I put on your dick.”
He probably would. He knew he was a pervert, and he was perfectly happy to try anything she wanted. “I’m willing to play a lot of games with you, baby.”
He leaned over and got his mouth on her nipple, licking and sucking until it was perfectly hard. Then he slipped the clamp on, watching it bite into her gorgeous flesh. He caught her gasp, such a fucking sexy sound coming from her. He treated her other breast to the same. How had he gone so damn long in life without having this every day? Without being able to touch her and stroke her and lick her to his heart’s content. He stepped back and stared at her for a moment. Even in bondage his girl looked fierce.
“We’re going to see how you like this later, Cooper,”
she said with fire in her eyes.
“You have a safe word, Kala. It’s okay to use it. I want to get you where you need to go, but I don’t want to break you.”
“Then play with me. Be my badass boyfriend right now. If it’s too much, you’ll know.”
“You’ll tell me,”
he corrected, cupping her cheek.
“I’ll tell you,”
she whispered and then went right back to her ferociousness. “But I’ll also wake you up one day with clamps on your nipples.”
She probably would. He could handle it. “Tell me why you would think I could misinterpret that scene with Parker. Don’t lie to me. I saw your face when you walked in. You thought I meant what I said.”
“Well, you said I strung you along, and I probably did.”
His head shook. “No, you did not. You never played me. I broke your heart and it took a while, but you were my friend again before we hit our senior year. You were the faithful one. You would have stood by me no matter what. I was a weak boy. But I need you to understand I’m a man now, and I could have found you fucking Parker and I would have asked why. Because I believe in you. I know your heart.”
“I didn’t think I had one.”
“Oh, you do, and it’s so big, and I mean to protect it for the rest of my life,”
he vowed. “So tell me why you thought I wouldn’t know. You have to say it. We can’t fix a problem if we don’t acknowledge it exists. Say it.”
A stubborn expression settled on her face. “Because we had a fight.”
Not the answer he was looking for, and in this room, that meant punishment. He wouldn’t always be her Dom. But there would be times when she needed it, and if he needed it, she would do the same for him. There would be no one else he would ever allow to top him. They could be fluid in their roles with each other. He moved around her gorgeous body and picked up a wooden paddle. “Is that your answer?”
“It’s what I said, Coop. We had a fight. You thought I betrayed you.”
He brought his hand back and smacked that stunning ass. One and two and three and four, until she gasped and wriggled. There was a perfectly placed mirror across the dungeon, and he could see the way her tits bounced, making the jeweled clamps jiggle. He paddled her until he counted to ten in his head and then backed off, staring at the glorious pink her backside was becoming. “I told you I acted like an idiot. You’re the one who left. You’re right. Your father would have told mine if he’d known. I’m not used to Ian Taggart without almost god-like powers. I was kicked in the gut, and I acted like an idiot. Also, you’re right about me as an operative. I’m only going to work as support from now on unless you need me and then I’ll follow your lead in the field.”
Her head came up. “I didn’t mean you should quit.”
“I’m not quitting,”
he promised. “I told you. I’m your backup. I’ll hang with Lou and Tash and let you and Kenz and Tris handle the forward-facing jobs. Now tell me what was underneath it all. You know. I need to know what sent you running that night. I unearthed it and let it loose on you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
So stubborn. Another ten had her eyes misting over. His baby was a hard bottom when she wanted to be. It was probably because she’d survived spy training, which included a shocking amount of torture. This felt like a regular Saturday for the woman who’d survived what Huisman had put her through. “All right. Let’s try this another way. Tell me why you stopped writing poetry.”
Now her head turned, eyes flaring. “What?”
“Eyes front,”
he bit out and gave her another five.
She did as he asked, but proved she could stare a hole through a mirror. “How do you know I used to write? I never showed you.”
She still hadn’t answered. Another five had her going up on her toes. “It doesn’t matter how I know. I want to know why you stopped.”
“Because it was stupid. I wasn’t good at it.”
Oh, they might have more sessions like this if she kept talking that way. He got in close, letting his hand slide along her hip until he could touch her pussy. He leaned in close, looking at the picture they made in the mirror. “I know someone who disagrees.”
“I’m going to kill my brother,”
she vowed, but her breath hitched and her pelvis tilted slightly so the tip of his middle finger slid over her clitoris.
Right where he wanted to be. He let her feel his erection nestled against her ass. He toyed with her clit, feeling how wet she already was. She might not be a sub, but being naked and bound and spanked was doing something for her.
“Why did you stop? You didn’t write for anyone but yourself, and then you didn’t write at all after I fucked up. It wasn’t the kidnapping that made you stop writing. It was me.”
She pulled at the chains and leaned back against him, trying to force his finger to rub again. “I was a dumb kid, and I grew up.”
So he pinched her clit between his thumb and forefinger and gave the piercing a careful twist.
She gasped and grumbled as he stepped back.
Pain alone wasn’t going to fix this. She could take pain. She needed something else. He stepped in front of her, bringing his hand up. Tenderness might work where pain didn’t. “Please. I think we break if we don’t acknowledge this, and I do not want us to ever break. This is the most important relationship of my life. Tell me.”
Yep. There they were. Tears filled her eyes. “I don’t want to.”
“Because you can’t trust me. Because I hurt you.”
She closed her eyes, tears dripping from them.
“Because I wasn’t faithful the way you were. It was me.”
He knew deep down that was only part of the answer, but he needed to lean into it. She could handle pain. He could go and get a cattle prod and she would likely roll her eyes and tell him she’d had better. What she couldn’t handle was guilt. He was taking it all on himself, and while he knew he was part of the problem, her secret tender heart wouldn’t let him carry the whole load. “I did this to us.”
She sniffled, another sign she was ready to break. “It wasn’t you.”
There she was. “I hurt you so badly you stopped writing.”
“It wasn’t just you,”
she admitted. “I was hurt, but I would have gone home and hated you and written a million shitty teen angst poems about how you broke my heart. That was what you broke. She broke me.”
“She? Are you talking about Julia Ennis?”
“She told me I was like her. She said I reminded her so much of who she was at my age, and I could be someone. She had a very narrow definition of what someone means. Not many people counted as important. She told me other people were sheep.”
Something she said a lot. “Honey, you don’t mean it the way she did.”
“Don’t I? I’ve been working through this in therapy, and I think maybe I’m everything Julia said I was. Why did I walk away? Because I thought walking away was the best thing I could do for you.”
How could she believe that? “Do you know why I never stopped trying to be in your life?”
“We were thrown together. Our parents are close. We should have been like brother and sister.”
He shook his head. “I could never be your brother. Never. Kala, it’s always been you. Even when I was a moron, I knew it was you. I was desperate to stay close to you in high school.”
“Not desperate enough to ever ask me to a dance,”
she whispered.
His fault. “I’m so sorry, baby. I wasn’t as strong as you were. It took me years to figure out what you did. What other people think of us doesn’t matter if we’re okay with who we are. And now I’m worried some of those voices in your head aren’t your own. Julia Ennis was mentally unstable.”
Her eyes came up, a grave truth in them.
He shook his head. “You are not unstable. I worry that you struggle with some depression, the kind that needs to be treated, but you are not unstable. Baby, how can you think that? You are the reasonable one in the field. You can shut off your emotions and do the job that needs to be done. That’s the definition of stable. You are not now, nor have you ever been like that woman.”
“She obsessed over my cousin. I obsess over you,”
she said, her voice threatening to break. “You’re the only man I’ve ever wanted. The only person I’ve ever wanted.”
The words were a balm to his soul, and he needed to find a way to give them back to her. “And I am so honored because you’re my person, too. What do you think Julia Ennis would have done if she’d been in your position that night? She wouldn’t have walked away. She wouldn’t have stayed away and still helped me from behind the scenes. Even when you were pissed at me, you wouldn’t let anyone else hurt me.”
“I think she would say she did the same for Kyle.”
He had to make her believe. “It’s not the same. Not in any way. You barely talked to me in college. She would have done anything to get Kyle back. Anything. She would never once have thought to walk away because she was a narcissist. Can we agree on that one thing first? You are not a narcissist.”
“Lena thinks I might be, but she also thinks it’s a good trait for an operative since I’m obsessed with my job,”
Kala explained.
Oh, he was going to have to deal with Lena. He would start with going to Big Tag and demanding they bring someone else in. “It’s a terrible trait, and you know that deep inside. You do your job for the betterment of your country and everyone around you. You do not do this job for you. If you were doing this job for you, it would have been easier to call your cousin and apply for a job as assassin. Because you like to stab people who deserve it. So we’re tossing all of that out. I don’t think Lena is the right therapist for you. So now we’re at the truth. Say it out loud. You walked away because something inside tells you that you’re not worthy of the love you’ve been given.”
Her eyes caught his, her jaw tightening and then releasing as though she’d made her decision. “I’m not worthy of the love I’ve been given. I don’t belong here. I don’t fit.”
It was out in the open, and now they could work on it. “Baby, you think you don’t fit because you’re the damn sun. You don’t fit into orbit because you’re the person we all orbit around. I know you think it’s Kenzie, but you are the hand that guides us, not Kenz. You are the strong voice of reason even when that voice is very sarcastic. It’s you, Kala. It’s always you.”
He stepped in close and kissed her, sure now that everything would be all right.
“I need you to hold me,”
she said, her breath hitching.
He knew how hard it was for her to ask for affection, for anything really. He had her out of the bondage in a heartbeat and turned her around, pulling her back against his chest. He had to be careful with the clamps that still decorated her gorgeous body. He wrapped her up while she cried. Told her he loved her over and over. Promised it would all be all right.
Her head fell back, arms coming up to cup the back of his neck. “I love you, too. Even though you’re an asshole and my nipples have gone numb.”
He felt a smile spread across his face. “Well, my love, we’ll have to do something about that.”