Tears wet her eyes, but goddamn, seeing those fucking scars brought back memories of my dad leaving scars and bruises on my ma. This hits too close to home for me.

“My ex. He used to beat me in college.” Sadness slices through her face like a sword; she licks her bottom lip.

Guilt eats at me like a disease. She was getting abused right under my nose, and I didn’t know. What kind of man was I to allow that shit to happen to her? Her not speaking to me should have been a red flag, but it wasn’t. I thought she didn’t like me. Fuck, I could have protected her and gotten her help.

And a lightbulb goes off in my head. “Is that why you ignored me when you were working at the library in college?”

“Yes.” She pauses. “I wasn’t allowed to speak to other men because he thought I was going to sleep around on him. He was afraid I would turn into a prostitute like my mom.”

I die a million times at her words. This motherfucker is going to pay. “I’ve never seen you with bruises.”

I used to study every inch of her face, even the way she would hunch over when she put up books. I even used to be able to predict which knee-high socks she would wear that day. I was obsessed with her and still am. My brain can’t comprehend how she has this hold on me.

“That’s because he only hurt me in places no one could see.”

“I wish you’d told me. I would have saved you. Fuck, Rainbow.” We’re quiet for several minutes. Her face scrunches up in pain.

“Who is he?” I ask through clenched teeth and she shakes her head.

“He’s gone, it doesn’t matter. I ran away from him the night he . . .” She trails off, and I rest my forehead against hers.

So intimate.

So foreign.

Being with Rainbow is so fucking liberating, like breathing in fresh air at sunrise.

“Go on.”

“Please, I don’t want to ruin our day.” And she pulls her forehead from mine.

I need to shower; her pussy juices are coating my dick like snow coats the ground after a blizzard.

“Shower with me,” I say before licking her bruised lips.

“I already took one.”

“Take another one.” I need to be inside her as much as possible.

“Okay,” she says, and I flip her over my shoulder like a rag doll, grabbing a handful of her ass. “Gunner!” She giggles, and I slap her ass as she playfully beats her tiny fists on my back.

“Say you’re mine.”

“I’m yours.”

She doesn’t know how much those two words resonate in my bones.

* * *