The Consequence by Karin Tabke

shoulders. “Much better, now let’s eat, I’m starved. Then we’re going to have a long talk.”
    Sitting arm to arm and thigh to thigh on the sofa, they dug into dinner.
    “Oh my God, Simon, this scaloppini is crazy good,” she said with her mouth full. As she swallowed she pointed to the half-eaten container of gnocchi with her fork. “So are those.”
    He had ordered several entrees that they shared. She could never remember being so hungry.
    He smiled softly, “I’m glad you’re enjoying them.”
    She returned the smile as her gaze swept his bare chest. “I’m enjoying the view too.”
    He leaned into her and kissed her. “You taste good.”
    When there was nothing left in any one of the containers, Katy set her empty plate down on the table, then sat back feeling like a stuffed baby Buddha. She’d never eaten so much food in one sitting.
    “Simon, I can’t move.”
    After putting his plate down on the table beside hers, gathered her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. “That’s okay, because I just want you to listen.”
    She swallowed hard, not caring for the seriousness of his tone.
    “Are you going to break up with me because I handcuffed you?” she teased.
    “It would take a lot more than handcuffing me, then having your way with me while I was cuffed, to get rid of me.”
    Smiling, she said, “Because you love me.”
    His eyes softened, then became serious. “Being loved by me may not be the easiest thing you’ve ever done in your life, princess. I predict lots of overprotective chest beating in your future.”
    “I can handle it.”
    “I hope so.”
    Cocooning her in his protective embrace, he settled back into the cushions and said, “My brother Mark was a year younger than me, but he always tried to act older.”
    Katy’s heart thudded as she realized he was finally going to open up and tell her about his brother. Entwining her fingers through his she hugged his arms tighter around her.
    “He mirrored everything I did. I tried to be a good big brother but like a lot of little brothers, he annoyed the hell out of me. I had my group of friends but he wanted them too. Finally, I just threw my hands up and let him in. I’m glad I did. That was the best time of my life to that point. But I’d committed to the Army before dad got sick. I felt bad leaving mom with Mark and an ailing husband, but I wanted to go.
Had
to go. And I loved it, Kat. I loved the structure, the camaraderie, and most of all my deployments. I loved jumping. I thrived at war, I was a damn good soldier, I would have gone career. But then dad died, and Mark started causing problems. I told mom if things weren’t better when my four were up, I wouldn’t reenlist.” He let out a long sigh. “Things with Mark were worse. I managed to talk him into joining the Army, but he only lasted a year. By then I had been hired by the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office on top of taking a full college load. I tried my best keeping on top of Mark, and making sure mom was okay, but it was hard. Then my little brother decided he wanted to be a cop, too.”
    He reached to the bottle of Guinness on the table and took a long swig. “I met Amanda in college. She was helping me study and hell, I took what she was offering. It was over in one night. A few months later we hooked up again, and that was the last I saw of her until Mark brought her home with a ring on her finger.” He took another long swig.
    “I had every intention of telling Mark about Amanda if she wouldn’t. But she begged me not to tell him, she said it would not only destroy their relationship but mine with Mark as well. Mark looked up to me, trusted me, and he always competed with me. I always won. If he knew I’d had Amanda first, he’d feel like he lost to me again. So I let that sleeping bitch lie. We agreed never to tell him. And we didn’t until the day he died.”
    Simon’s heart thudded dully against her cheek. “It was supposed to be me