Adrenaline (Speed Series Book 2)(23)

His hand squeezed mine. “I’m so sorry. Do you remember her?” A slow smile spread across my face as I thought of my only memory of her.

“I remember standing on a chair at the counter. It must have been Christmas because we were making cookies, and I remember pressing the cookie cutters into the dough. I can’t for the life of me remember what shape they were though.”

Malcolm ran his thumb over my hand and I couldn’t ignore the way it caused my skin to tingle. “Tell me what she looked like.”

I took in a shaky breath and I blew it out slowly as I grinned. “She was beautiful. I remember her smile the most. It was a happy smile. That’s the only way I know how to describe it. Her dark hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and I remember how it swung over her shoulders as she turned her head. That’s the only memory of I have of her. No pictures. Nothing. I hold that memory close to my heart.”

Malcolm didn’t say a word as he patiently waited for me to continue. “Anyway, the day my father dropped me off I met Sister Elizabeth. She was twelve years older than me and had always been more like an older sister. She still is,” I said with a chuckle as I continued to stare up.

“At one point in my life I thought I wanted to give my life over to God and join the sisterhood, but Elizabeth talked me out of it. She knew I was using it as an escape from reality. I of course turned to guys as my escape, went to college, and decided physical therapy was for me.”

“What made you pick that career?”

Moving my head to look directly at him, I laughed. “Football players.”

He lifted his eyes and chuckled. “Do tell.”

“St. Pat’s had a football team I used to help out with. Kind of like the manager I guess. Anytime the guys would get hurt, I’d watch Sister Mary tend to them. She had started nursing school before becoming a nun. The older I got, the more I did.” I wiggled my eyebrows and said, “Of course it didn’t hurt that I got to touch all the boys when that was very frowned upon. I lost my virginity to one of them after a game in the girl’s locker room. That is not a pleasant memory.”

Malcolm laughed and I loved how it vibrated through my body and settled deep into my lower stomach, pulling out the desire I had to touch him even more.

“Once I got to college I knew why Sister Elizabeth steered me away from becoming a nun. I wouldn’t have lasted a year.”

His hand squeezed mine as I shook my head and looked back up. “I worked my ass off in college, made good grades, did God’s work whenever I could and never forgot my roots at St. Patrick’s. I got hired on with one of the best physical therapy practices in the Dallas area. And guess what?” I asked as I dropped my head back to the side.

“What?”

I bit down on my lip as I stared at him before speaking again. “I still get to touch football players.”

Malcolm closed his eyes and said, “Tell me they’re pro players and not high school.”

I rolled over and slapped his chest as I laughed. “Mostly college. Some pro.”

I couldn’t help but notice he still had a hold of my hand. “Is that how you met * Trey?”

I jerked my head back. “You didn’t like Trey?”

“No. Mostly because he had his hands on you.”

My stomach fluttered. “Oh.” Rolling back over, I sighed. “We met at a bar. He was the first guy I’d dated in a long time. That day in Vegas, the same day we met, it hit me. He was cheating on me. I went to the airport and flew home after we left the race.”

“Really? How did you know he was cheating?”

I sat up and quickly wiped the tear away before Malcolm could see it. He followed my lead and sat up. Trying to keep my breathing steady, I turned to Malcolm. “When you’ve been lied to your whole life by people, especially men, you learn how to read when people are telling the truth and when they’re not. Like when you go to a foster home and after a few weeks they tell you things aren’t working out and you have to go back to the orphanage, but not because they don’t love you . . . but because the sisters are so lonely without you.”

I could see the look of pity in Malcolm’s eyes and I hated it. I quickly turned away and stood up. “Anyway, like I said, it’s all very depressing, but I am who I am because of it.”

“You never got adopted?” Malcolm asked as he stood.

Shaking my head, I said, “Nope,” as I popped the p loudly. “After I turned fourteen, I started working around the orphanage. It worked out perfectly. I got to stay in the wing where the sisters all slept and I earned money for college.”

“So, the reason you didn’t become a nun is because you were too horny? You slut.”

My mouth dropped open as my eyes about popped out of my head. I knew what he was doing and I appreciated it more than he knew.

“What?” I gasped. His face was deadpan as he stared at me. “I wasn’t . . . I’m not a slut!”

His arms wrapped around my waist as he pulled me to him. “Thank the f*ck you’re not a nun, ‘cause if you were I would surely be going to Hell with all the things I’ve thought about doing to you in the last hour.”

“Oh,” was all I could manage to say as I felt Malcolm’s dick pressed against my stomach. My body trembled slightly and I was positive he noticed.