AllFreeNovel
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I ignore the seething stares of the rest of the guys and walk out of the room, their whispers fill the space by the time Simon and I reach the stairs. More secrets, no doubt.
Simon places his hand on the small of my back on the way up, and keeps it there down the hall. We stop in front of my room and when I turn to him, I don’t hesitate wrapping my arms around his torso and burying my face in his chest.
He stiffens slightly but then his resolve softens. “Love…” Simon folds me into him and presses his cheek against the top of my head.
I breathe into him and sigh. “Sorry, I needed this.”
And from the way he grips me tighter, I think he did, too.
“You had me worried today,” I tell him. “I thought I lost you.” I try to push away the memory of Simon’s body floating face down in the water but the image is burned into my memory. I’d never felt fear like that in my entire life before. Not even when I was staring death directly in the eyes.
“I’m not going anywhere, love.” He rubs small circles on my back and kisses my hair. “Never.”
“I’m really sorry,” I whisper into him. “About everything.”
“Shh.” He tilts my chin up toward him. “Please stop apologizing.” Simon flits his gaze down to my lips, his attention lingering far too long.
My heart skips a beat, and I swallow at the possibility floating between us. Is this it? Is this the moment we finally cross that boundary? When we step over the line that we can never come back from?
But when Simon presses a soft kiss against my forehead, it disappears into thin air.
“Get some rest, love. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
I do as he tells me, only because I'm too fucking exhausted to protest. Between my normal sleep deprivation and the rather vexing day, my energy levels are at an all-time low. And if I'm being completely honest, I don't remember what I ate or drank today, either. Only, I don't say that out loud because I know Simon will insist that I eat something, and even though I probably should, I don't want to. Not when I'd rather bury myself in my bed and hope like hell that when I wake up, I will be rid of this nightmare I'm in.
I climb into my massive bed and pull the blanket all the way over my face, wondering how long it would take for me to suffocate under it. When it gets too fucking hot, I tug it down and let out an exaggerated sigh. I turn on my side, wincing and shifting to the other instead. Fucking gunshot wound. Hopefully, that was the last time I get shot in this lifetime.
At least an hour or two goes by as I relentlessly doze in and out, wondering if I’ll ever actually fall asleep. I lick my lips, my mouth dry as fuck. I kick off the blankets and slide out of bed, tiptoeing out of my room to get a drink from the kitchen down the hall.
But when I unknowingly bump into something solid, I stop dead in my tracks and lower myself to the ground, feeling for what I hit.
“Love, what’s wrong?” Simon mutters half asleep.
"What the fuck are you doing out here?" I whisper and ask him.
“Sleeping.” He yawns and sits up all the way. “What areyoudoing out here?”
“I was getting something to drink, but…” I feel around in the dark. “You don’t even have a blanket or anything. Are you crazy?”
“Yeah, probably.”
“Come on.” I reach my hand out and stand. “You’re coming with me.”
“Wh-what?”
“I said, come on.”
“I’m not supposed—”
“I don’t care what you’re notsupposedto do. We aren’t fucking, you’re just coming in to sleep. I refuse to let you sleep in the hallway like a dog.”
“Love, I’m fine, really. It’s not the first time—”
“Simon Beckett, I am inviting you into my bed, do not refuse my offer.”
He brings himself to his feet within seconds. “Let me get you that drink first. What do you want?”
“I can get it. Go get in bed.”
