Page 163 of Steamy Ever After

“Nothing! Just leave me alone! I just want to be left the fuck alone!”

Unsure what else to do, he grabbed her with both arms and hugged her tight, preventing her from throwing anything else.

“Let go of me!” She tried to shove him off, but he only held tighter.

“Stop,” he commanded, keeping his voice level, unsure what brought this on, but pretty certain it had very little to do with him. “Just stop. Take a breath.”

Every breath in and out of her lungs shook her body. She fought his hold, but he refused to let go. Maybe it was the stress of losing her dad or maybe she was scared about all the stuff she had to now handle. She’d mentioned fighting with Harrison earlier. Maybe her brother said something mean to her.

“You can talk to me,” he whispered, but that only made her angrier.

She bit him when he wouldn’t let go.

“Fuck!” He changed tactics and shoved her to the bed, forcing her to her stomach and pinning her arms at her side. “Do not bite me.”

She stilled. A lone tear trailing down her nose.

Softening his voice, he said, “I’d never hurt you, Erin, so please don’t hurt me.”

Her eyes closed and she sucked in a breath, a shuddered sob escaping her. He eased his weight off of her and she curled into a ball. He pulled her onto his lap, she stiffened but quickly gave up and wrapped her arms and legs around him, letting out a wail she seemed to have been holding inside for far too long.

“I’ve got you.” He rubbed a hand down her back. “Let it out.”

She sobbed into his throat with gutting force. He’d never heard such a heartbreaking cry. It was enough to trigger tears of his own, but he blinked them back, trying to be strong for her.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, stroking a hand over her hair. “I’ve got you.” It was the only comforting thing he could think to say.

Her tears soaked his skin as she pleaded in half-spoken thoughts. “Just…hold me. Please don’t…don’t let go.”

“I won’t,” he promised, unsure if he was outside of his jurisdiction.

This was not the ball busting girl he’d grown up with. This was someone deeply tortured by things he couldn’t see.

He was out of his depth and unsure how to help someone so closed off to others.

It took nearly an hour to calm her down, and even then she occasionally let out a shiver and gasp, little aftershocks from such a hard cry. She stared up at him, her lashes spiked and damp and her face blotched with hives.

Her makeup had washed away. The bruise on her cheek was still there, but it was faded and mostly yellow now.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she whispered as he stroked a piece of hair behind her ear. That was the second time she’d asked him that. Did she honestly think he was that much of an asshole?

“I like you.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “Do we ever really know why we like certain things?”

“But I’m mean to you.”

He laughed. “Not always.”

“When have I ever been nice to you?”

“You’re being nice now. I like when you’re soft like this. It’s when you’re at your prettiest.” He kissed the tip of her red nose.

Her bloodshot eyes looked away. “I’m fucked up.”

“Erin, we’re all a little fucked up. Whatever this is, I’m sure it’s not a make or break you thing. You’re strong and you’ve been through a lot this week.”

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