Page 26 of Shameless Expectations

“All right, then. Where am I sleeping?”

Athena stood up, finally. She walked in her socks toward the door to her bedroom and waited as Monti stumbled after her. Damn, this woman really was tired. Not wanting to parade her through the entire house, Athena walked straight to the closest guest room, which was a few doors down from her own. She opened the door and allowed Monti to walk inside.

“Stay as long as you like.”

“Thank you.” Monti ducked her chin, her cheeks suddenly red.

Athena wanted to reach up and touch her. Actual fingers-to-cheek contact. The feeling scared the ever-living shit out of her, so she clenched her fingers hard into a fist to prevent herself from doing anything stupid. She needed to get out of there. She needed to clear her head and think straight.

Without another word, Athena turned on her toes and walked out of the room and back to her bedroom. She shut the door—and locked it—leaning against the cold wood to catch her breath. Her heart raced. Her body was still so damn hot that it was hard to focus. She closed her eyes, and all she could feel was Monti’s fingers on her skin, pushing into her muscles, teasing out the knots. Monti’s hands in her hair as she massaged her scalp, the way Monti’s breathing changed to match hers.

What the hell was she thinking?

Shaking her head wildly, Athena gathered herself. She pushed off the door and walked straight to her en suite. She needed to get ready for the day, which meant she had about an hour to figure out just what was going on with her. She stripped off her clothes after turning the water on to let it warm up.

As soon as she stepped under the hot spray of water, Athena sighed and relaxed. The water pounded onto her shoulders, wetting her hair and her body. She ran her fingers over her body, the oil still making the skin slick on her arms and neck where Monti had touched her.

What was it with Monti that Athena couldn’t resist?

Maybe Monti was right.

Maybe she really did just need a safe place for once in her life.

Athena’s fingers hit the ripples of scars along her back and her stomach as she ran soap over herself. She’d gotten so used to those, but to think of Monti touching them, to see the look of horror on her face when she finally saw them? Athena couldn’t imagine it. She’d seen it before, and she couldn’t imagine witnessing that again.

Holding back her tears, Athena found the longest scar on her body. It ran from the center of her chest down to her belly button, and it was raised and stark white. She sucked in a sharp breath and dropped her hand, turning into the spray of the shower to wash her feelings away.

No.

She wouldn’t allow that to happen again.

Monti deserved to live in the world without Athena’s pain.

If there was one thing Athena had learned in the last twenty-two years, it was that she was way too damaged for anyone. Not friends, not family, not lovers. Leave all of that to Kevin—he at least deserved it. She was just a burden and too dirty for any type of relationship, romantic or otherwise. Her darkness would instantly taint whatever came near her.

And Monti?

She was too young and innocent to deserve that. She had her whole life ahead of her.

Shivering even though the water was hot, Athena pushed away all thoughts of allowing Monti to give her that safe space again. She just wouldn’t do it. She started to wash her hair, and along with it, she washed any glimmers of hope from her chest.

nine

The bed Monti woke in was heaven. The mattress cocooned her in a warm hug that she hadn’t felt in ages, sleeping in her van. Athena hadn’t lied when she said this bed would be more comfortable than the van. If this was the same one Athena had on her bed, Monti could understand why she fell asleep so hard.

She checked her watch and her phone, finding a message from a long-time friend she hadn’t seen since they were in school together. She smiled and sent a swift message back to see if they could get together that evening.

Monti left the room after refreshing herself in the en suite and went in search of Fallon. She should probably tell at least one person that she was leaving the property so that they didn’t think she was still sleeping.

Fallon was sitting at her desk, the bright light from her computer reflected on her reading glasses as she still squinted at the screen. Monti shook her head to herself and stepped inside, crossing her arms in the process.

“You really should get your prescription checked again.”

Fallon jerked with a start, her lips parting, before she realized it was Monti standing there. “Jesus, I didn’t think you were still here.”

Furrowing her brow, Monti stepped inside farther. “Ms. Pruitt pretty much ordered me to sleep in a guest room. I crashed hard.”

Fallon smirked. “Whatever you did, it worked.”

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