Chapter 12

“What about you?” she asked. “Your parents ever try to make you into something you’re not?”

His dark gaze glimmered with knowing amusement and he arched a brow. “Deflecting much?” he teased. “If you didn’t want to talk about it, you didn’t have to. We’re all entitled to our secrets,” he said, looking away from her. It was a glib comment, but she caught an undercurrent there, one that irrationally made her heart ache for him. He’d said nothing—revealed nothing—and yet she knew he was hiding something painful.

He was the strongest man she’d ever met, with a formidable sense of honor, of duty. A diabolically quick mind. She didn’t know what haunted him, but whatever it was had to be substantial to put that kind of expression on his face.

“Who’s deflecting now?” she quipped, spearing him with a look.

“What do you want to know?” he asked, humoring her. “I’ll answer everything that I want to.”

A bark of laughter bubbled from her throat. “Oh, really? Everything that you want to, huh? How thoughtful of you. How open and honest,” she drawled, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

His lips twitched with fake modesty. “I try.”

She whacked him and heaved a beleaguered breath. “Shut up.”

“Are you sure you’ve never served in our armed forces?” he asked. “Because you bark orders like a pro. And to think you had the nerve to call me autocratic?” He shook his dark head, seemingly baffled at the workings of her twisted female mind.

“Tell you what,” she said, an idea forming. “I’ll give you carte blanche to ask me anything you want—anything at all—and I will answer truthfully, without being a smart ass, to the best of my ability.”

He stopped, seemingly intrigued. “This sounds too good to be true. Let me guess,” he said, searching her gaze, his sinfully carnal mouth curving. “You want quid quo pro.”

“I do.” She nodded once. “We’ll take turns. An answer for an answer.”

She knew his curiosity was piqued and was trying to figure out if she’d somehow managed to trick him. He cast another speculative, semi-distrustful glance in her direction, evidently weighing the personal risk of her proposition. “There has to be a limit,” he said finally. “Three questions. And each question has to stand on its own. No follow-up questions.”

She nodded in agreement. “I agree to your terms. Declare your out-of-bounds,” she said.

“Come again?”

“I hope to later, but I’m not talking about sex right now.”

His eyes widened in shock, then he laughed again, the sound rich and easy. He should do it more often, Noelle thought. “I w-wasn’t either,” he told her, his voice breaking with humor. “What do you mean by out-of-bounds?”

“We each name a single topic that is off-limits.” She lifted a skeptical brow. “You’ve never done this before, have you?”

He passed a hand over his face to hide his smile. It didn’t work. “No, can’t say that I have.”

“While you’re figuring yours out, I’ll tell you mine. My birthday.”

Though her grandparents had always tried to make the day special for her, her own parents never had and, ultimately, she’d always wound up hurt and disappointed. As a child she’d actually hated Christmas, resented the baby Jesus for stealing her birthday thunder. She’d outgrown that bit, of course, and had actually started to enjoy Christmas in her late teens, when she’d donned her first apron in a soup kitchen.

Her parents had both been working late, there’d been no special dinner, no traditions, just a few gifts they were going to open the next day. So she’d left the house and found herself downtown. She’d gone into the shelter on a whim...and found her calling.

He frowned, a line furrowing between his dark brows. “Your birthday?”

“That’s one,” she announced breezily. “And it’s out-of-bounds.”

“Ha,” he said. “Nice try, sweetheart. But we haven’t started yet and I haven’t told you my off- limits topic.”

She feigned exasperation, watched a group of wild turkeys peck their way closer to the creek. “Fine. Go on, then. What it is?”

“My military service.”

Wow. She blinked, absorbed that. She should have known that would have been his pick, given the little things that he’d inadvertently revealed, but it was disappointing all the same. Still, she’d made up the rules and she’d have to abide by them. “All right,” she said. “I will not ask about your military service.”

A little tension leaked out of his frame. “All right.

Ladies first,” he said. “Do your worst,” he added grimly.

Oh, she would. She was good at this game. “What is the capital of Idaho?”

He opened his mouth, shut it, seemingly stunned. He arched a questioning brow. “Boise.”

“Congratulations, you’re smarter than a fifth grader.” She strolled on, cast a casual look at the darkening sky. “Your turn.”

“You’re tricking me,” he said, his probing gaze searching her face. “I know you are, but I don’t know how.” He paused, finally shrugged and gave his head a shake. “What is the significance of your tattoo?”

Shit. She should have made that one out-of- bounds. She swallowed. “It’s in memory of someone,” she admitted. “A child. A little girl name Hope who died as a result of injuries sustained in a tornado in Alabama.”

He swore hotly, looked away. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

She lifted a single shoulder, her heart heavy. “You wouldn’t, so no harm done. Most people just think it’s a message—and it is—to me. It’s a reminder of why I do what I do. Why I ignore my parents and go into recovery zones and ravaged communities. It’s why I don’t punch a time clock and get accused of not having a real job because I don’t actually earn a paycheck,” she added bitterly. “But you know what? I don’t need to earrn a paycheck—I’m sure that was in my file—and it’s for that very reason I can go where I’m needed1' The old resentment boiled up in her. “My life isn’t measured in how much money I’ve earned or how much money I haven’t—it’s measured in doing the next right thing, standing in the gap, helping where help is needed. That’s my reward. That’s my paycheck.”

He was smiling at her when she finally stopped ranting and looked up. “Wow,” he said. “I like this game.”

Noelle grinned self-consciously, felt a blush sting the tops of her ears. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent.” Felled by her own sword. Sheesh.

He looked entirely too pleased with himself. “No worries. Your turn.”

Noelle studied him from the corner of her eye, let her gaze drift along his jaw, the curve of his lips. He had a gorgeous profile, she thought. Simply breathtaking. “What’s the strangest twin connection thing that’s ever happened to you?”

He hesitated, shot her a look and groaned. “Oh, hell.”

“You’ve got to answer,” she said. “Those were the rules and you didn’t call out of bounds.”

“I know,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

He looked like he’d rather cut out his own tongue than answer her, which naturally made her all the more curious.

“This must be really good,” she said. “You’re wriggling like a worm on a hook.”

“It’s personal,” he said.

“Everything is personal, Judd.”

“Yes, but this is different because it says more about him than it does me. It was something that I felt—that manifested,” he added significantly, his gaze boring into hers. “But it was as a result of his feelings, you see? His feelings. Not mine.” He passed a hand over his face, looked away and swore again. “I haven’t even told him,” he said. “Because it would embarrass him.”

Hmm. “Are you violating the terms of our agreement?”

He arched a hopeful brow. “What’s the punishment if I do?”

“Something horrible,” she said, her tone dire. “Something truly heinous.”

He laughed. “And ambiguous it sounds.”

“But worse than that, you’ll have to live with the fact that you didn’t keep your word.”

He winced again, looked away, indecision gnawing at him. “Oh, hell. Fine,” he said. “I’ll tell you. The first time Judd slept with his wife Sophie, his feelings for her were so...potent that I awoke from a dead sleep, oceans away on the island of Crete, with a hard-on.”

Noelle felt her eyes nearly bug out of her head. “Seriously?”

“That’s another question,” he told her. “It pertains to the original and it’s not your turn.”

He was right, curse him. Another thought struck and she gasped. His text message from his brother, immediately following their vanity sex. Had his brother— Oh, good Lord. Surely not. How mortifying. How miserably embarrassing. How...flattering, she realized. If they shared strong emotion, then that could only mean that he’d really felt something for her. Not just the sex, but their sex. She inwardly preened.

He sent her a mistrustful look. “You look too happy,” he said grimly.

“Too happy? What a horrible thing to say.”

“You know what I mean.” And she did.

“Your turn.”

He chewed the inside of his cheek, clearly trying to come up with something that was going to throw her. “What are you most looking forward to doing after you testify?”

She opened her mouth to respond and then snapped it shut. “Er...”

“You’ve got to answer,” he said, throwing the rules back at her.

“I know,” she said. “I’m thinking. Honestly, I’ve been so busy just trying to make it to the trial that I haven’t given much thought to what I’ll do after it.”

“I can see where that would be the case. But it still doesn’t answer my question.”

She struggled, shrugged. “I guess just going home—rebuilding my home,”s he added significantly.

“Right. The fire,” he said. “Was it terribly damaged?”

“Foul,” she cried. “You can’t ask that.”

“Fine,” he groused good-naturedly. “But it was an innocent question.”

“Maybe so,” she told him, shrugging. “But it’s my turn.”

He grew quiet, waiting.

“Ever been in a serious relationship, engaged or married?”

He turned to look at her, his expression a curious mix of guarded and droll. “That sounds like three questions rolled into one.”

“It’s not,” she argued. “It asks the same thing without allowing you to split hairs.”

A muscle worked in his jaw as he tried to find a way to wiggle out of a direct answer. He finally sighed. “Engaged once, which would qualify as a serious relationship, but never married.”

Interesting. Had the mystery woman he’d proposed to broken his heart? Noelle wondered, suddenly blindsided with the idea of pummeling the hell out of someone she didn’t know and, in all likelihood, would never meet. Jealousy tangled so thoroughly around her heart, she could feel it constricting with rage inside her chest.

“I’m not going to elaborate,” he said. “It’s ancient history. I was young and stupid. In college,” he added. “And she was a miserable conniving bitch who was more interested in my trust fund than me.”

She grinned pointedly. “I thought you weren’t going to elaborate.”

He blinked, then swore. “So that’s the trick, huh?” “It’s the need to explain,” she told him. “We all need to rationalize.”

They strolled on, hand in hand, the sun sinking lower and lower below the mountains. Dusky orange light painted the sky and backlit the trees, making them look like they were on fire. It was nice, Noelle thought. Just being with him like this. Easy, even. “We’d better start heading back,” he said.

She nodded in agreement, then spied a familiar car going over the bridge. She jerked her head in that direction. “Looks like Chad and Marissa are back again,” she said. “Doing a repeat of their social experiment.”

“Oh, is that what the kids are calling it these days?” he deadpanned.

Noelle chuckled. “I hope they’re using protection. Little fools.”

“They’re young and invincible and smarter than everyone else,” he drawled. “Of course, they’re not using protection.”

“Maybe we should bring them some.” She scattered leaves with the tip of her makeshift walking stick. “The Ranger security wives put condoms in my care package.”

He drew up short and stared at her. “They what?”

Noelle laughed at his incredulous expression. “Oh, dear. Has your honor been called into question?”

“What? No, it’s just—”

“Forward thinking,” she said. “I mistook you for a stripper when you first walked in and I’m passably attractive. Two hot-blooded single people—one of them newly returned from military service—forced under threat of death into close proximity.” She lifted a lazy shoulder. “Alas, the odds were not in our favor.”

He slowed, turned to look at her, his expression suddenly flat and unreadable. “So you’re saying that either one of us could have been replaced with someone else and had the same outcome?”

She blinked, gasped as realization dawned and shook her head. “God, no. Sorry, that’s not what I meant at all. I just meant that, on the surface, it was a reasonable conclusion to make.”

“Right.” He resumed walking, his face still blank, his lips compressed.

Was he jealous? she wondered. Or were his feelings merely hurt because he suspected he might not have had the magical penis to end all penises? Either way, his feelings were obviously hurt, and it made her feel awful.

She tugged at his hand, forcing him to slow. “Judd, really. That came out wrong. That’s not what I meant at all. Today was—” She wracked her brain for the right words. “You are—” She swore. Dammit, this was hard. “Today was special. Unmatched,” she added softly. “Better than any other day ever. Ever,” she repeated. “Couldn’t you tell?” she asked smally, feeling her face heat.

A slow grin drifted lazily across his face. “You’re blushing.”

“It happens occasionally,” she conceded. “You’ve got one question left,” she reminded him. “Or had you forgotten?”

“I hadn’t forgotten. I’m merely biding my time. You didn’t mention an expiration date on my remaining question. I can save it, right?”

She winced, hesitated. “I’d rather you didn’t,” she hedged. It was a brilliant strategy. She wished she’d thought of it.

“Is it against the rules?”

“No.”

He squeezed her hand. “Then I’m going to hold on to it for a while longer. Who knows what I might need to know later?”

She sighed heavily. Who knew, indeed?

“I bet you feel like kicking yourself,” he remarked, a self-satisfied smile sliding over his lips.

“I feel like kicking you," she said. “It’s taking an enormous amount of energy to refrain.”

Their cabin loomed into view, the porch lights ablaze from the front. Lilo and Stitch were sitting side by side in the window, patiently waiting for their return.

“Look,” he drawled. “Your tiny cats are glaring at us.”

She chuckled. “They’re not glaring,” she chided. “They’re looking. And they’re tiny because they’re dwarves,” she added. “They can’t help their size any more than you can help yours.” They’d been a little standoffish to Judd and, though she’d never admit it to him, there was something a little unnerving about their unblinking stares. It made her wonder what they thought. What they could see.

His eyebrows climbed his forehead. “Dwarves?”

“Yes. I’d suspected when I got them, but my vet confirmed it a few weeks ago. They’re not going to get much bigger. Well, their legs and paws, anyway. Their bodies might grow a little more.”

“Wow,” he said, allowing her to mount the steps ahead of him. “I’ve never heard of that before.”

“It’s rare, though there are breeders who purposely try to encourage the condition.”

He grimaced as he opened the door. “That’s horrible.”

“I know.” Lilo and Stitch bounded over, yowled loudly and curled around her legs. “Evidently there is a profit in it.”

“Dwarves,” he repeated, chuckling softly under his breath. He glanced up, caught her stare. “I guess that makes you Snow White after all.”

She blinked. “Come again?”

His expression suddenly changed and a predatory light glinted in his black eyes, making a thrill whip through her. She knew that look and so did the rest of her. Her belly quivered and need ballooned inside of her, stealing her breath as she met his gaze.

“You bet,” he promised. “Right now.” Then he stepped forward and slung her over his shoulder once again, making her squeal in delight in the process, then bounded up the stairs.

“How do you feel about taking a bath?” he asked.

Her pulse leapt in her veins. Him, naked and wet. Hers to explore, to taste. To slip and slide all over.

“Depends,” she said. “Are we going to get dirty before or after?”

"During,” he said. “And I’ve hidden all the towels.”