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Rush obliged me without a word and leaned forward as much as he could without disturbing Pip. I closed the distance between us and flicked the light up to the wound. I tried to ignore the slight tremble in my hand, but considering there was a bright light bouncing around on Rush’s tanned skin, it was pretty much impossible.
“Do you have one?” I blurted before I could stop myself.
What the hell, Christopher?
“One what?” Rush asked, his breath washing over my arm in a whisper of a caress. “A happily ever after? Or a love story?”
“Forget I asked that. It’s none of my business,” I said quickly as I finished examining the cut and tried to force myself into autopilot mode. A few minutes ago, I’d been hung up on Rush’s every word, but now I wanted to escape with what was left of my pride.
I was in the process of reaching for an antiseptic wipe when Rush’s fingers ghosted over the arm I hadn’t even realized I was resting on his knee. The touch did what Rush had probably intended.
It got my attention.
A hundred and ten percent of it.
“Not yet,” he said softly as our eyes met yet again. “Not yet,” he repeated even more quietly as his eyes filled with that unnamed emotion that had stopped me short in the club that night.
The reminder of how I’d met the man was the same as being doused with ice water. My skin went cold even as my insides filled with an ugly, terrible heat. My stomach rolled violently as I tried desperately to remain even-keeled. I must have managed it because Rush stopped touching me, and I could feel his eyes shifting away.
Oh God, didn’t he know that I needed that little bit of connection? That touch that reminded me I was safe?
“A couple of my exes could put the villains in those books to shame.” Rush let out a dry laugh before adding, “One girl actually left a live rabbit in my bed and a pot of water boiling on my stove. Thankfully the rabbit wasn’t hurt, but she did trash my apartment.:
I wanted to laugh. I really did. I wanted to ask him what had happened to the rabbit… and the ex.
But to talk I needed to be able to breathe, and it felt like there was a ten-ton weight on my chest.
Please, Christopher, I just want to be with you. I love you.
My stomach cramped hard, and then the telltale sign of saliva began to pool in my mouth. I tried to swallow the sensation back down as I attempted to clumsily climb to my feet.
Unfortunately, Rush chose that moment to close his fingers around my wrist.
“Christopher?”
I shook my head and desperately tried to pull free of his hold, but even if Rush had gotten the clumsy, silent message, it was already too late. As I began retching, I dropped back down on the ottoman and just let it happen.
Let it? Who was I kidding? I had absolutely no control over my body’s response to what amounted to nothing more than a few bad memories.
If Ihadhad control, I most certainly would have made it to the bathroom before puking my guts out.
Or I would have at least had the sense to expel the contents of my stomach anywhere else besides where the mess ultimately landed.
All over Rush’s shoes.
CHAPTER THREE
RUSH
My heart hurt for Christopher as he continued to vomit until there was nothing left in his system to expel.
As soon as he’d started throwing up, I’d dropped one hand to the back of his neck to support him as best I could. I didn’t give a shit that my boots were taking the brunt of it; they’d seen worse.
Christopher’s skin felt cold and clammy beneath my palm. It confirmed what I’d already suspected.
The young man wasn’t throwing up because he was sick. The episode had been brought on by some event in his mind that I’d likely triggered with all my rambling. Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out what I’d said. But I’d seen the look in his eyes when something had shifted. I’d made the mistake of touching him in the hopes of comforting him, but apparently, I hadn’t removed my hand quickly enough.
As the retching stopped, Christopher just hung there for a moment. I let my hand slide down the back of his neck to his shoulder. “Hey,” I said softly. “It’s okay.”
