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I can figure the rest out tomorrow.
10
AINSLEY
There’s light in the room when my eyes pop open. Usually, I wake up a little bit at a time, by degrees.
This morning, it’s like I flipped a switch. One second, I was asleep, and the next, wide awake and instantly regretting last night. Funny how it seemed like a good idea at the time—okay, maybe not a good idea by any rational standards, but my body was all-in. I was so desperate for him, so weak for his touch that I would have agreed to anything.
Now it’s a different story. Now, I can hardly remember what I felt when I let him touch me, kiss me.
Talon snores softly with one arm over his eyes. He is the first man I’ve ever shared a bed with, and he’s the man who broke into my apartment.
He’s also the man who stood up for me when nobody else would. He made me feel beautiful and desirable and worth sticking his neck out for.
Does that excuse his break-in?
I have to get out of here. I don’t want to be here when he wakes up. I wouldn’t know what to say or do. And I doubt he’ll leave if I ask him to. I already pretty much rewarded him for violating my privacy, so what could I threaten that he’ll actually care about? Calling the cops? I doubt he’ll blink an eye.
I grab my pajamas off the floor after rolling out of bed as gently as possible. Nobody would ever call me graceful, but he’s still snoring by the time I reach the door and tiptoe into the living room. Klaus winds his way around my ankles, but I shoo him away before putting on my clothes and jamming my feet into a pair of slippers.
My phone is on the coffee table, which is slightly crooked after Talon bumped into it last night. There are three missed calls from Mom already, and it’s barely seven in the morning. She’s a wreck after getting word of my cousin’s sudden heart attack sometime over the weekend. He didn’t report to work yesterday morning. I got the call yesterday afternoon from my hysterical mother. “We were just with him! He seemed so healthy and alive!”
Paul liked to party. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was more than alcohol he was enjoying at the wedding. His heart probably gave out.
I couldn’t bring myself to cry. Not that I’m happy about it or anything, but I’m not pretending to be heartbroken, either. I can’t help but wonder what Mom would think if she knew I’m sneaking away from a willing man. Even if I told her he broke in, she’d probably call me an idiot. At best.
“Where are you going?”
Now I know what a deer feels like when those headlights wash over it. I’m afraid to move and definitely don’t want to look at him. “I…”
“You’re not trying to run away from me, are you?”
It’s the way he says it. Like I’m a little girl who disobeyed the rules. This is my apartment, and he acts like I’m wrong to try to walk out. “What if I am? Even if it should be you who leaves. This is my home.”
“Right. This is where you belong.”
“So you’re the one who needs to go.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” He folds his arms, and dang it, I wish he’d put a shirt on. At least he’s wearing his jeans, but the fact that they sit low on his hips only makes my mouth water. I need to stay strong and not stare at the muscles cutting a V-shape that leads down beneath his waistband. Why does he have to be so tempting? Why do I have to want him so much, even now?
My phone buzzes. I forgot I was holding it. “Put the phone down,” he murmurs.
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
“I want us to talk. No distractions.” He lowers his brow. “This is too important.”
I’m not going to argue about what’s important. I have more than a few things to say to him. Still… “My mom keeps calling. She’s not going to stop until I answer.”
“Everything okay?”
“Not really. She’s upset.”
“I’ve never had a close family, but I guess it’s tough to lose part of it all of a sudden.”
“I guess so.” I sigh, looking down at the screen to confirm she’s the one calling. “She won’t be happy until I burst into tears and—”
Wait a second.
