“She’s made progress. It’s just a matter of time.”

“How much time? I’m afraid to leave her alone because that psycho might come back. Even if it wasn’t for that, I’m afraid to leave her alone…” He sat back and didn’t finish his thought.

“You’re afraid she might not want you back.”

He finally nodded.

“You have every right to be worried.”

“Oh, yeah, thanks. That’s a big help.”

Steve leaned forward across the table and tapped the picnic table’s weathered surface with his index finger. “Rob, listen to me. The doctors never guaranteed she’d get her memory back. It’s a miracle she remembers as much as she does. Think of it this way. She picked you once, she’ll pick you again.”

“I’m afraid to come on too strong. Maybe she’ll realize she wants someone different.”

“Well hell, boy, sitting on your duff isn’t going to solve that problem now, is it? How did you feel when you first met her?”

Rob thought back. For obvious reasons, Steve and Carol and the others had no idea how they’d met. All they knew was that Shayla and Tony had introduced them.

They always left out the part of it being at a BDSM club up in Sarasota.

“She was pretty. Smart. Funny, but not snotty or obnoxious. She was easy to talk to.”

“Do you still love those things about her?”

“Of course.”

“Then use your brain. Whatever you did before, if it worked the first time, it’ll work again. Only this time you’ve got the special gift of hindsight not to repeat any mistakes you think you made you wish you could take back. You have the advantage of knowing what she did and didn’t like about you. And, you have the advantage of knowing who she is and what she did and didn’t like. That’s a rare gift few ever get.”

He thought about that for a moment. “Without her memory, she’s not the same person anymore.”

Steve nodded. “Neither are you.”

* * *

Rob returned to Laura’s condo, empty-handed, over an hour later.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. They’re not there. I went through every box in the garage, and through the spare bedrooms. They aren’t there.”

Somehow, she managed not to cry. “Okay. Thanks for looking.”

He gently pulled her to him and enveloped her in his arms. She felt a sense of peace settle over her in his embrace.

“I promise, once you’re feeling better, we’ll go over to the storage unit and look for them. All right?”

“Okay.”

“Meanwhile, I know there’s a lot of stuff on your computer. Older stuff you imported from your old systems, things like that. You didn’t get your first laptop until about six years ago. After dinner, I’ll help you look for the files. Okay?”

“You don’t know where they are?”

“Sweetie, you are a private person when it comes to stuff like that. And I respect your privacy. The only time I’ve ever used your laptop was to check my email or look up stuff on the Internet, and even then only after I’ve asked you first.”

“Can you check my email? You did it before.”

“Well, yeah. I have your passwords. You have mine, too.” She didn’t miss how he caught himself. “Had,” he softly said. “And can have again. We know each other’s banking information, all of that. And anything you want of mine, anything you want to know, you tell me. But normally, no, I don’t go into your email or other accounts unless you’ve asked me to for some reason.”

She tucked her face against his chest again. “Okay.”

“I have a little surprise. After dinner, Seth and Leah are coming over to visit.”

“What about Shayla and Tony?” She desperately missed Shayla. She’d even texted with her a few times despite being nervous about using the phone and Bill helping her by removing a bunch of extra apps she didn’t know how to use and didn’t care about.

“Maybe tomorrow night. We’re trying not to overwhelm you. All right?”

Part of her bridled against being handled like a child. Yet the majority of her loved him for his concern. And something about his tone of voice stirred something inside her in a good way. “Okay.”

* * *

Bill retired to the guest room to handle his email and watch TV after dinner, leaving them alone before their guests arrived.

Rob filled in a little bit of information about Leah and Seth. Shayla had told Laura about them, that Seth had been best friends with Leah’s first husband, who’d died after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Rob could tell Laura thought it was a little odd the two got together so soon after Leah was widowed, but he assured her Leah’s husband had given them his blessings and even engineered their union.

“Really?” She studied Rob, her brow furrowed.

So much he couldn’t tell her. So much he had to keep from her. He hated it. Hated not being able to tell her that Kaden had carefully trained Seth to take over as Leah’s new Master following his death.

That Leah, for a brief, bittersweet time, had the triad she’d always longed for with the two men she loved, men who loved her.

A triad not unlike the ones Tilly and Clarisse both had, although in those cases the men had relationships with each other before meeting their women.

He’d called Tony for advice on broaching that subject. Other than agreeing that lying to Laura wasn’t an option, Tony hadn’t had any suggestions for breaking the information about their friends’ triads to Laura other than just outright telling her about them.

When Seth and Leah arrived, he’d already briefed them over the phone about Laura’s current condition. That they had to keep the conversation strictly vanilla.

Leah hugged him first before walking over to Laura. “Hi, sweetie.”

Seth gave Rob a hug and whispered in his ear, “You okay?”

He gave a little shake of his head before plastering on a smile.

He wouldn’t let Laura see him upset.

And he wouldn’t let her see that the totally blank look she gave them as he introduced them to her threatened to rip his heart from his chest.

Yes, she’d been closer to Shayla, before. But Laura had been good friends with Leah, too. Next to Shayla, Rob would peg Leah as Laura’s next best friend.

Leah sat on the couch next to her. Rob didn’t miss how the smile on Leah’s face probably matched the one he knew he wore in front of Laura.

The practiced face.

Hiding the pain inside.

Leah’s green eyes looked a little too bright, like maybe she was on the verge of tears. “How are you feeling?” she asked Laura. “Rob said you’re still having some pain.”

“I’m okay.” Rob watched as Laura stared at Leah’s necklace, the silver chain with the heart locket that she wore as a day collar.

I need to get her another necklace. He hated the idea that the bastard who’d attacked Laura stole her day collar.

Rob and Seth mostly stayed silent, watching as Leah did her best to tease memories from Laura’s mind.

When Rob stepped into the kitchen to get a drink of water, Seth followed.

He leaned in close. “It’ll be okay.”

Rob’s shoulders tensed. He’d do anything for Laura to get her memory back and be safe, including giving up their Master-slave dynamic, if that’s what it took.

“I’m not so sure,” Rob whispered.

Seth squeezed his shoulder and returned to the living room. “Leah, it’s late. We should probably let Laura get some rest.”

Rob watched Laura nod.

The strong, feisty woman he’d fallen in love with was hidden somewhere inside the meek, mousey victim sitting on the sofa.

Damned if he knew the secret to finding her.

After hugs and good-nights, Rob walked them outside. Leah sniffled as she hugged him.

“Shayla warned me, but…” She sniffled again.

“Yeah.”

Seth gave him another hug. “Seriously, if you need to bring her to our house, we’ve got the room. You can both stay with us as long as you need to. And Doogie.”

Rob glanced around. There weren’t any strange cars in sight, no one prowling the street. “Her brother leaves the Tuesday after next. If she hasn’t got her memory back by then I might take you up on it. I’m scared to leave her alone.”

When he returned to the condo, Laura wasn’t on the sofa. He found her in her office, sitting in front of the computer.

“Sweetie, it’s late. I think you should head for bed.”

She stared at the screen for a moment. He’d thought maybe she hadn’t heard him when she answered. “I keep having dreams.”

He walked over to her and gently rested his hand on her shoulder. “What kind of dreams?”

“Bad ones. I start out sitting here and this image of a skull appears on the screen. Then someone’s knocking on the door and I wake up before I answer it.”

“You should talk to Dr. Simpson about it tomorrow when you see her.”

She nodded. His heart jumped a little, in a good way, when she rested her hand on top of his and looked up at him. The blue flecks in her grey eyes looked darker, like sapphire chips. “What if she can’t help me? What if I never get my memory back? Are you going to be able to love me like this?”

“What?”

“I saw the way you were watching me. And Leah. I could tell. I know I’m different now. I’m not the same.”

He knelt next to her. “Laura, I love you. Nothing will change that. We’ll get through this.”

She looked down at the engagement ring on her right hand. “I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to call things off.”

“Stop.” He used Dom tone on her. He immediately regretted it when her eyes widened a little in shock.

Or maybe it was fear.

He gentled his tone. “You are the love of my life. Whatever happens, we’ll get through it together. I still want to marry you, if you still want me.” That’s when the horrible thought hit him. “Do you still want me?”