I almost didn’t care.
Not when he looked how he did right now, sitting wide-legged and seeming beastly in that small wire-rimmed chair. He’d transformed that itty-bitty chair into a throne to mount his glorious wrath on, looking as if his blood was glowing beneath his skin, burning red-hot he was so pissed off.
It made me want to crawl up into his lap and smile as I went up in flames with him.
A pair of cool lips pressed to my shoulder, reminding me Demitri was there. Stabilizing me.
Bringing me back to solid ground like he always did.
“Alec is out front too, but he’s been arguing on the phone with Becs since we landed.”
Tension stiffened my spine, gaze slicing up to James as he fucking froze at the mention of Rebecca.
“Alec is here?” I asked carefully, eyeing the explosive tick in James’ jaw.
“Mhm. Jumped right on the jet soon as I said you might be in trouble.”
A thoughtful gesture or a reckless one, I couldn’t decide.
As soon as I’d learned about the mindfuck of a plot twist that was James and Rebecca’s past, I’d texted Demitri all about it. I had to assume he’d told Alec and Alec told Rebecca, so why the fuck Alec tagged along to meet the ex-fiance of his current girlfriend was beyond me.
The male ego was a nauseating thing.
“These feel like wasted words,” swiveling my eyeline Demitri’s way, I tilted an apathetic brow, “but neither of you forgot that James here is F.B.I., right?”
“Nah, we didn’t forget.” Arrogance spoiled the boyish spark I was used to seeing in his eyes as he tipped a grin James’ way. “As much as he’d love the bragging rights, the feds don’t have enough to arrest us on. Isn’t that right, agent?”
“Careful,” I murmured, a heatwave flooding across the table from James. “You’re playing with fire.”
“No, you’re the fire.” Like a switch, I had Demitri’s full attention again, devotion firing in his eyes that went scouring down my face. “He’s nothing but the rubble beneath you.”
What an unapologetic mess of beautiful words.
I smiled because of them, and Demitri marked the reaction as a victory, batting a handsome wink before helping himself to more of my breakfast.
Around a bite of syrup soaked waffle, he said, “He’s also gone mute, so I don’t think he’ll be sharing anymore sexcapade stories.” Demitri nodded a gesture to a tight-lipped James but kept his lightened stare on me as his strong jaw rolled while he chewed. “Did you tell him about the time you and your brother caught your parents doing it in the laundry room?”
I nearly fucking gasped and spit up at the same time. “No, because it scarred us for life.”
Despite the horrific reminder, tuffs of laughter tingled past my lips. A dimple had poked a lovely hole into the curved up end of Demitri’s cheek while he picked off my plate.
“Who knew Agent Avery had it in him to go for anything but missionary.”
Sputtering more laughter, I shifted in my chair to point my knees toward James. “Johnny pulled me out of there so fast, I tripped on the rug, face planted, and started crying. I remember he…” Memories of the past levitated on the tip of my tongue, not quite touching down. “He, um…”
I swallowed, digging back through my brain for what came next.
Instead of finding it, there was a fog clouding the space in my head where the next words to the story used to be. I rummaged and dug as far back as I could go, a wrinkle of concentration bunching together on my forehead, and the memory just… wasn’t there.
And that’s when I felt it happen.
The spark.
The tingle threatening in the sides of my hands.
Muscles bracing and heat sprouting any and everywhere, I froze up as the fire yawned as it awoke and smirked, welcoming itself back inside my veins.
Because I’d forgotten.
I’d forgotten Johnny.
I’d forgotten how he needed me.
I’d forgotten to want to die for him.
And the fire…
The fire pinky promised it was about to remind me.