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“No!” She clapped her hands over her mouth and squeezed her eyes closed. Don’t say any more. She swallowed audibly and eased her burning eyes open. “It’s been good catching up with you, Lucas. There is a first aid kit under the kitchen sink. I’m very tired and have to wake up in a few hours for work.”
He stood and held his hands out, palms up. He did something that made no damn sense to her. Lucas the Blade Slater eased his jawline to the side and exposed his neck to her. “If you aren’t pregnant, then why are you nesting?”
“Because,” she whispered, barely able to get the words over her tightening vocal cords. “Just because I’m not pregnant doesn’t mean my animal doesn’t yearn for something to nurture. I get lonely.” She dashed her knuckles over her damp cheeks and cleared her throat. “I would appreciate if you wouldn’t talk to the others about this.” She turned to leave, then doubled back and whispered, “Thank you,” before she left.
She’d never understood the term “walk of shame” as it pertained to a woman leaving a man’s house after a one-night stand, but boy did she understand that word combination right now as she walked to her trailer and wished upon wish that she could be invisible.
She made it all the way to her front door and inside without looking back at the new 1010. She closed the door gently behind her and made her way into the bathroom. Lucas’s clothes were on the floor. That man was a tornado wherever he went.
She picked them up and folded them neatly, placed them by the front door, then readied for bed. She dressed in her biggest nightshirt, just wanting absolute comfort tonight.
Today had been a roller coaster of emotion.
She didn’t shed a tear, didn’t let loose a sniffle as she got ready for sleep.
It wasn’t until she was safe and warm in the bed that was only just becoming familiar that she let her eyes squeeze closed, and let off a quiet sob. She hugged her pillow close to her belly and shook her head as the tears streamed down the side of her face.
When she heard the front door open, she froze. Fuck, she forgot to lock it. Perhaps it was Kru coming in uninvited again.
She’d left the bathroom light on like she always did, because she had bad dreams sometimes and liked a nightlight. When a figure darkened the doorway, she turned just enough to see Lucas standing there, clad only in jeans. His chin was lowered, but his glowing gold eyes were trained on her. They looked raw, but she didn’t understand why.
“Please leave,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured so low, she almost missed it.
But he had nothing to apologize for. He hadn’t done anything other than ask a question.
She wiped her eyes. “It’s okay. Everything is okay.”
She thought he would leave then, but instead, he stunned her as he crawled into bed behind her, laying on top of the covers. He hesitated for a three-count, and then slid his strong arms around her and pulled her tight against his chest. “I get lonely too. Ain’t no shame in that. We can both be disasters, and you’ll never get an ounce of judgement from me.”
She eased her gaze back to the wall and pursed her lips, then relaxed against him. “I’m good at hiding the disaster. And then you come around and mess up my camouflage.”
His deep chuckle reverberated against her back, and he adjusted her even closer against him. “I’m a blessing and a curse, Brown.”
An accidental smile took her tear-soaked face at the use of her last name. They really were both disasters.
“Your ribs are still unwrapped,” she pointed out.
“I’ll live. I’ve been through worse.”
“Worse than a silverback challenge?”
“Ooooh, the stories I could tell you.”
She inhaled deeply, and it caused a yawn. “You have to stay here another night. You can tell me the stories tomorrow.”
“Do you want to go with me to Damon’s?” he asked suddenly.
“What?” she asked, turning her face toward the ceiling fan so she could see him in her peripheral.
“Damon and Clara invited me for a formal dinner at his house. He said I could invite a friend.”
“And you want me to go?”
“Yes.” Truth.
“I have an admission.”
