Theirs to Keep by Maya Banks Page A

relieved that she yanked open the bathroom door, and before he could say anything, she flew into his arms.
    Her pulse was beating a rapid staccato, and her chest felt like it was going to explode. She clung to him, wrapped around him so tightly that he couldn’t have pried her away with a crowbar.
    “Elle, what the hell is going on?” Merrick demanded as he tried to maneuver down the hallway toward the living room.
    But she didn’t want him to move. She wanted him to stand right where he was so she could hold on. She buried her face in his chest and squeezed her eyes shut so the words would go away. So he would go away.
    “Baby, you’re shaking like a leaf.”
    She found herself lifted, hoisted in the air, and she made a grab for his neck, afraid that he’d let her go.
    “Please,” she croaked. “Just hold me a minute.”
    He took her into his bedroom across the hall and sat on the edge of the bed. “Of course I will. As long as you want. What’s scared you so bad, Elle? Talk to me.”
    The urgency in his voice stirred her. She loosened her hold on his neck and then carefully eased away, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze.
    She was cold. On the inside. Her fingers were numb. Even her lips felt cold.
    “I heard him,” she said falteringly.
    “Who did you hear?”
    She closed her eyes and leaned forward until her forehead met his lips. “Him. The man who r-raped me. The one who tried to kill me.”
    Merrick went completely stiff. He wrapped his arms around her, surrounding her and enveloping her in his embrace. She loved the sensation of being surrounded by him. Nothing could hurt her when he held her. He was invincible.
    “What do you mean you heard him? Today? At the store? Did you see something that made you remember?”
    She shook her head. “In the bathroom. I remembered…”
    He hugged her to him for a long moment as if to allow her time to gather her composure. Then he gently pulled away so he could look into her eyes.
    “What did you remember?” he asked in a low voice.
    She sucked in a deep breath. “Just words. His voice. He s-said that I was a stupid bitch and he was going to kill me, but first he was going to have what he’s been having.”
    Merrick frowned. “Is that all? Nothing else? Could you picture his face or his features?”
    She closed her eyes and shook her head almost irrationally. No, she didn’t want to remember. She welcomed the blankness.
    “I don’t even understand. The man said, ‘I’m going to have what he’s been having.’ But who was he talking about? Who is the he the man mentioned?”
    Merrick touched her cheek until finally she opened her eyes and trained her gaze on him.
    “Elle, baby,” he said in a tender voice. “He can’t hurt you anymore. Cade and I will protect you. He can’t hurt you .”
    Tears swam in her eyes. “I don’t want to remember, Merrick. I don’t. I’m…happy…here. With you,” she blurted. “And Cade.”
    He leaned down and carefully kissed away her tears. His lips were warm and electric on her face and skin. And oh so very tender.
    “You do know that you aren’t going anywhere, don’t you?” he said as he drew away. “We aren’t going to toss you out. We aren’t going to get tired of you. We aren’t going to do anything at all but take care of you and protect and cherish you.”
    “B-both of you?”
    She hated the hope his words instilled, because what she was asking was impossible.
    “How about we have this conversation when Cade returns,” Merrick said gently. “This is important to him—to us. To me . Some things just need to be said. Worked out. I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding over this.”
    Slowly she nodded and then sagged into his chest. “I’m still afraid, and I hate it,” she whispered. “I hate being so damn helpless and powerless. I hate being a coward who doesn’t want to remember, who prefers a blank slate to remembering the person I was.”
    He stroked his hand over her hair. “You