27

She was sweet with a heavy dose of shyness. Mysterious and compassionate. The most gorgeous woman I’d ever kissed.

But what made her so unlike the others were her eyes.

They were older than the twenty-something years she’d been alive.

They’d seen moments that were unforgettable.

So had mine.

I could tell nothing could shock her anymore.

We had that in common, too.

The women I’d been with thought they could handle a guy like me.

That was until I woke them during one of my nightmares.

Until they learned how dark my life had been.

I would never allow them to see either, so I would end things after the first few days.

That wasn’t the case with Alix.

Instead, I was pulling her in.

Because, when I looked into those stunning eyes, I saw someone who would understand me.

Someone who had experienced pain.

Who still felt it.

And that scared me right down to my fucking core.

I shook my head, taking a drink from the Tito’s and soda I’d poured a few minutes ago, and checked the temperature of the c