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keeping
the physical contact to a minimum so I wouldn’t become
overstimulated – if one more person told me not to overstimulate
myself, I would scream – I also doubted that her unspoken vow of
confidentially extended to conversations regarding Penny and her
betrayal. Between Dr. Wythe, Mac, and Dr. Thistler, there was no
shortage of people trying to convince me that what Penny showed me
in the courtroom was fake.
    “This weekend is about you and
me,” Erik sent, reading the thoughts about
Penny right from my mind.
    Apparently I needed to put up
stronger barricades. He was desperate to talk about everything that
had happened after Mac ordered him back to headquarters, but now
was not the time. “Why don’t you go rest
in your room? There is some stuff I need to take care
of.”
    “You just got here!” I protested.
    Erik brought the hand resting
behind his head down to stroke my cheek, brushing back the stray
hairs peppering my face. He brought his lips to my forehead,
placing a soft kiss right in the center.
    “Do you trust me?” he asked.
    Odd question, I thought. He knew I trusted him implicitly.
    “Of course,” I sent back.
    “Then go rest for a while and let me work my
magic.”
    “Fine,” I
said grudgingly. “When will you be done
with your secret project?”
    Erik chucked softly. “Can’t a guy do something nice for his girlfriend
without getting the third degree?”
    “I just want to spend time with you.”
    “I know. And I want to spend time
with you. Give me two hours and then I am all yours. For the rest
of the weekend, you won’t be able to get rid of me.”
    I craned my neck to meet his gaze.
His eyes were open now, mischief and amusement causing them to
twinkle. It was nice to see him this way; it had been too long. I’d
nearly forgotten that it wasn’t Erik’s strength or even his perfect
features that I’d fallen in love with. It was his caring nature,
the one he hid beneath all that bravado, that had reeled me in. He
rarely showed that side of himself to the rest of the world,
reserving his secret for those closest to him.
    I felt guilty for giving him such
a hard time. I had to be the most ungrateful girlfriend in the
world. What were two hours apart when we had an entire weekend
together?
    “Deal. But I am holding you to
that promise.”
    Erik repositioned himself so that
we were face-to-face. He kept his eyes open as he brought his lips
to mine. The kiss started off just as gentle as the one at the
hangar, but just as that one had, the intensity increased quickly.
Soon, my hands were tangled in his hair, his body pinned me to the
couch. The fingertips of his left hand trailed lightly from my
wrist, up the length of my arm, across my collarbone, and finally
to cup the side of my neck. His thumb massaged my pounding pulse,
gauging how off-the-charts my heartbeat was becoming.
    When I reached for the buttons of
his shirt, Erik stilled. Gently, he took hold of one of my wrists
and guided it away. “Not a good idea, Tal.
If clothes start coming off, I will never leave this
couch.”
    “So?” I
sent back. How could he possibly think that was a bad
thing?
    Erik rolled off of me, well as
much as he could considering we were wedged on a sofa that was
smaller than a twin-sized bed. “So? So, I
don’t want the Director coming back, finding me on top of you, and
shooting me.”
    “No way, Mac is too busy to be
bothered with having to dispose of your body,” I teased. “He is way too practical
to shoot you.”
    Feeling like a tremendous weight
had been lifted off of my shoulders, I retreated to my own bedroom
to rest. Erik’s mere presence had done wonders for my psyche. The
fog that had invaded my mind after Penny’s sentencing, and refused
to leave in the days afterwards, finally started to dissipate. I
felt less like a zombie, a shell of my former self devoid of any
real emotion, and more like the person I’d been before my life took
a nose dive.
    Unfortunately, Erik wasn’t a