I lean down and kiss away her tears, drinking them down and letting her unnamed pain become a part of me. Then I take her lips. BROOKLYN: Ryker. My brother’s best friend. My first crush. My only crush, if I’m being honest. I was just twelve when he left for the army. He came back to our tiny mountain town, Bear’s Tooth, for my parents’ funeral. He was the same man I remembered three years prior, but stronger. Muscled. A little warier of the world around him. And just like that, he was gone. It’s been five long years since I’ve seen him. Suddenly, Ryker is back in my life. Staying in my house, actually, while he recovers from an injury he received while he was deployed. He’s changed, but so have I. My feelings for him, however, are stronger than ever. He thinks he’s too damaged for me, but I’ll show him just how healing my touch can be. RYKER: What was I thinking, coming back to this dinky mountain town? There’s nothing left for me here. The sad thing is, there’s nothing left for me anywhere. The only person I knew and even remotely liked was my old best friend, Gunner. So, when my leg got messed up, he was my only option. I don’t know how to be a friend anymore. I don’t even know how to be human. I don’t deserve his friendship, or his sister’s. Brooklyn. I had almost forgotten about her, though now that we’re sleeping under the same roof, she’s never far from my mind. The way she challenges me. How she takes care of me even when I push her away. That sassy mouth of hers. Her sparkling blue eyes. That wild red hair. Those curves. God, those curves. I’m a grumpy a** hole, damaged both inside and out. She’s light and life, though I see a pain hidden deep inside of her. One that calls to me. She won’t give up on me, and honestly, I don’t want her to. There’s no way this can end well for either of us.