“What’s the issue?” she asked as I put my hands on her waist and guided her towards the bed.
“The issue is that you and I have had too much to drink and you also made it quite clear you were on a dating detox, and I don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret in the morning.”
“Detox shmetox.”
“Here we go. Have a seat.” I lowered her onto the bed, knelt down on the floor in front of her and started unlacing her shoes.
“What are you doing?” she asked, trying to wiggle free from my grip.
“Taking your shoes off.”
“My shoes like being on!” She tried to kick me off defiantly, but it was too late, her shoes were off.
“Drink some more water.” I passed her the bottle again and she gulped some more. I could see she was going to be unconscious very soon. I maneuvered her onto the bed in a lying position and tried to make her as comfortable as possible. She grabbed one of the pillows and clutched it. I smiled. She used to sleep like that, clutching a pillow as if she was hugging it. She put her face on the pillow and her heavy eyes started to close.
“I’m tired,” she said through a yawn.
“Then sleep.” I pushed away the strands of hair that had fallen into her face and she let out a happy, contented-sounding sigh.
“Sleep tight,” I said.
“Okay, angel,” she replied.
My chest tightened at the sound of my old pet name, and that was it.The moment.
If I was in any doubt about how I felt about her, it was all confirmed in those two words. I was no longer slipping. I had slipped and she had me completely. Maybe she’d always had me, maybe I’d been able to push that away just enough to convince myself I was over her. I wasn’t.
I leaned down and pressed a small kiss to her forehead. I closed my eyes and let my lips linger there for ages.
“Good night, baby,” I whispered as softly as I could.
I stood up and walked over to the chair in the corner of the room. The storm was still raging outside. Kicking my shoes off, I pulled a blanket over my lap and lay my head back. Resisting Ash tonight had probably been one of the hardest things I’d ever done, but it had also been the right thing. I didn’t want her waking up with any regrets tomorrow. I didn’t want there to be any more regrets between us. I already knew she was going to feel terrible about this tomorrow as it was.
CHAPTER 23
Ash
The first thing I noticed was the dry mouth and the pounding headache. I moaned and tried to sit up. The second thing I noticed was Max sitting in the chair in my tent looking at me.
“Morning,” he said.
“Mor—” I stopped. The talking just made my head pound even harder, as if it was going to explode.
“Water on your side table, two aspirin, multivitamin and your phone is charging.”
She nodded and reached for the water. She ripped the lid off and downed half the bottle with gusto. She chucked down the pills next and then looked at her phone.
“Crap! It’s already nine. I have so much work to do.”
“Best hangover cure is something to eat. There’s breakfast waiting for us in the dining area,” he said. “I’ll leave you to get dressed and meet you there?” He strode out of the tent and I watched him curiously. Why had he been in my tent this morning anyway and why was I fully clothed and in bed and why was . . .Oh. My. God!
It all rushed back to me when I saw the empty bottle of African Dreams and the two glasses. I buried my face in my hands as one memory after the other rushed in like scenes from a horror movie. I had thrown myself at him last night. I had been drunk, and shamelessly thrown myself at him, despite my dating detox. I was mortified!
Shit, I had actually grabbed him by the hair and asked him to kiss me and he’d said no! Thank God he’d said no, because I had not been in my right mind. But still the rejection kind of felt a little bruising to my ego. My face burned and I touched my cheeks to try to cool them down. Well, that was it. I was never going to be able to look at him again. Not to mention be in the same room as him. I paced the tent a few times, feeling sicker and sicker by the second. And it wasn’t a physical sickness—this was the kind of sickness you feel when you have made a total and utter fool of yourself.
You have muscles.
Sexy ankles.
