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ambulance.
    I held his hand tightly in mine, continuing to talk to him, to keep him with me. “Dad, you’re going to be okay. Stay with me, come on, Dad.” His eyes began to glaze over, his breathing slowed and I feared I was losing him. By the time the ambulance came, death had taken him from me.
    “You’ll always be my hero, Dad,” I cried, laying my head on his chest for the last time.
     
    I meet Autumn’s eyes as the memory fades away. “My dad. He died of a heart attack, right in front of me when I was sixteen. Fell to the ground, and then I lost him.”
    “Oh, Hunter. I’m so sorry.” She lays her hand on top of mine, my insides warming at the gesture. It’s like a zap of comfort to my soul. My own mother didn’t even hold my hand when he died. The last time a woman put their hand in mine, it was to take a wad of bills for an impending shopping spree.
    I’m just getting used to the feel of her hand when she pulls it away. “I really am sorry,” she expresses again, before cramming French fries in her mouth as if she needs to keep her hands occupied.
    “Thanks. Hey, take it easy there, I mean, I know you’re hungry and all. If you didn’t want to hold my hand, all you had to do was say so.”
    Her cheeks color pink and she picks up her glass, hiding behind the rim of it. As I tilt my head to the side, watching her, I’m realizing she’s a bit of an enigma; shy yet funny, repressed yet very sexual, caring yet apprehensive.
    That’s when something occurs to me. “By the way, who’s Charlie? That’s not a boyfriend, is it?”
    Her lips quirk into an endearing smile and she giggles. “No, Charlie is my dog, not my boyfriend.” The smile on her face quickly disappears, her mouth pulling down into a frown. “If I had a boyfriend, I wouldn’t be here with you,” she responds, bitterness lacing her tone. “Why? Please don’t tell me you have a girlfriend?!”
    “No,” I answer, emphatically, and she nods, a half-smile creeping across her cheeks. For some reason I like that fact that she’s pleased with my response.
    The tension rolling off of her is still palpable, though, stifling the air around us. I’m not sure what I did to make that happen, or if it has anything at all to do with me, but I intend to find out.
    “Do you want to talk about it?”
    “Want to talk about what?” she replies, as if she has no clue what I’m asking.
    I take the glass from her hand, setting it down on the tray. “Whatever’s got you upset all of a sudden.”
    She glances down at the duvet, bunching it with her fingers. “About a year ago, I was engaged to be married,” she mutters quietly. “I walked in on him screwing another woman.”
    Anger lances through me, my shoulders stiffen at her words. The need to protect her overwhelms me, even though she’s not mine. “What an asshole . I’m sorry, Autumn, but he didn’t deserve you. He obviously didn’t realize what he had.”
    There’s a sprinkle of gratitude in her eyes when she lifts them to mine. “Thank you.”
    “Actually, I changed my mind.” I smirk, reaching out to grasp her chin. “I meant to say supreme asshole.”
    “Supreme, yes,” she laughs out, and I’m happy to see her smiling again. “Anyway, that’s water under the bridge, as they say.”
    “Good. And now,” I continue, moving the tray off the bed and onto the cart, “if you’ve had enough to eat….” I pull my t-shirt over my head and shove my boxers down my legs, then crawl back on the bed, pushing her down gently. “I intend to ravage your body until you can’t walk, or even think for that matter.”
    “Oh, you think so?” she flirts, eyeing my erection as I hover over her.
    “Oh, I know so, sweetheart,” I reply, before trailing kisses over the line of her jaw, behind her ear, down the bend of her neck. She mewls softly as I reach her firm tits, taking extra care to lave the hard points with the tip of my tongue, loving the way her lips part, her breathing