Smoked (The Invincibles 5)

Smoke put his hand on my neck. “No, the painful thing is that your response is to ask me that.”

“You asked me what I felt when you kissed me. Couldn’t you tell? Can’t you tell when I look into your eyes?”

“Siren—”

“When I woke with amnesia, my subconscious was certain I loved you and you loved me. Why do you think that is?”

“I don’t know.”

“I think it’s because deep down, we did love each other. Deep down, we both knew that, even though our conscious minds fought against it, resisted, and denied it. There were parts of our souls that knew from the very beginning.”

“How do you feel about me, Siobhan?”

“You make me feel things I’ve never felt before, either.”

“Such as?”

“Dependence.”

Smoked closed his eyes, took yet another deep breath, and opened them. “That doesn’t sound like a good thing.”

“For someone like me, it is. I feel safe with you, even when I’m feeling my most vulnerable. When Uncle Gene first told me he knew my father, I wished so much that you were there beside me. I imagined you were, and that was what gave me the strength to let him tell me more.”

“Please,” he whispered.

“I love you, Smoke. I can’t deny it. I don’t want to deny it.”

He rested his head on his hand. “We’re a pair, aren’t we? Took that long for either of us to be able to say it.”

“What’s going to happen, Smoke?”

“Between us?”

“Yes.”

“I’m a lot older than you are, Siren.”

“That’s the least of my concerns.”

“It shouldn’t be. In ten years, you’ll still be younger than I am now. Think about that.”

I shrugged. As virile as he was, he’d likely outlive me. “What about our jobs?” I had this house that I was never at, and according to Ms. Wynona, he was never at his ranch either. How could we ever be together if neither of us managed to be home?

“We’d have to work hard to figure it out.”

“I don’t want to give up my work, Smoke.”

“And I don’t want you to.”

“No one will guarantee we’ll always work together.”

“Nor do I think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

Smoke laughed. “Don’t get your hackles up. It’s not what you’re thinking.”

“Then, what is it?”