She had been here. In this water. In these arms. With this heartbeat against her spine. She knew it the way she knew how to breathe, with a certainty that lived below thought and above proof.
The memory wasn't there. The feeling was. And the feeling was so much worse because it was a promise without a receipt, a home she could stand inside but couldn't find the door to, and every second he held her was another second she spent memorizing something she had apparently already memorized and lost.
His voice broke her out of her thoughts.
"What are you thinking about right now?"
She realized he could probably feel that and was wondering what she was trying to remember. It was easy to forget that matebonds were a two-way street.
"Have we done this before?"
The question came out more uncertain than she meant it to.
He didn't hesitate. "Yes. We did this earlier this week."
The statement put a lump in the back of her throat. Earlier this week might as well have been a lifetime ago.
