Page 19 of Dare To Live

One slim shoulder lifts in a shrug, and she returns her attention to the magazine. “Noted.” But she doesn’t move from where she’s sitting.

“For fuck’s sake.” I drag a hand through my hair and spin away. Big mistake. The room spins and then the floor comes up to meet my face.

I weave in and out of consciousness. Part of me is aware of time passing, but mostly there are just moments, snatches of time, where my eyes open to stare briefly at the ceiling and then close again.

I rise out of the darkness when something touches my lips—water, I think. My tongue snakes out to lick away the droplets, but I don’t open my eyes. I’m not sure I can. They feel glued shut. Fingers stroke over my face, my jaw, and soft words are murmured close to my ear, but I can’t understand them. They’re nonsense words, the tone meant purely to soothe. I find myself turning into the caress, searching out the warmth of the touch, only for it to retreat away.

My body can’t make its mind up. One minute it’s cold, the next I’m overheating. I pull off my t-shirt and throw it across the room, only to find my teeth chattering seconds later and I need to drag the sheets up to my chin … and then kick them off because the cotton feels like razor blades against my skin.

I can’t get comfortable, can’t settle down. Maybe I should take a shower and see if that helps?

Dragging myself off the mattress, I cross the room and pull open the door. The bathroom is the next room along and I bounce off the wall twice before I reach it. As I reach for the door handle, a soft gasp sounds from behind me.

“Eli! Why are you naked?”

Chapter 11

Arabella

Eli is standing naked in the hallway, his skin slick with sweat as he shivers. I should look away, but I can’t. My gaze greedily roams over every inch of his sculpted frame and the new tattoos that hadn’t been there when we’d been together. Even with the muscles, he’s still lean-hipped. It makes me wonder if he’s still running. My cardio is on a machine in the gym nowadays. I miss shoving on a pair of sneakers and hitting the sidewalk in the mornings before breakfast.

I need to stick to my plan to feign indifference. Pretend I’m impervious to his insults and frostiness. Act like seeing him naked doesn’t have my body reacting, that unwanted arousal isn’t thrumming through every cell in my being.

“Eli?” I touch his shoulder. The heat radiating off him is scorching.

He mumbles something unintelligible, turns toward me, and stumbles into my arms. I catch him, groaning, as his weight sags into me.

“Ari.” His hand lifts and cups my left breast through my sweater and squeezes it in his palm.

I pull it away. “Eli, stop.”

His free hand cradles my jaw, and his lips capture mine. It’s a hard press of his mouth. His tongue darts out, but I break the contact before he can deepen the kiss.

“Hot,” he mutters. His gaze is unfocused, pupils dilated as they dart around.

I guide him toward the bedroom. “Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”

He runs his hand down my side to my ass to grip it tightly. “You going to fuck me, Hellcat? I want to touch you.”

“You’re sick.” I remind him, shuffling him around to face the door.

He leans into me and starts swaying back and forth. “Dance, then.”

“No, we’re not dancing.”

He frowns and licks his lips. “I don’t want you.”

“I know,” I reply with a sad smile.

“Why are you here?”

“Because someone needs to look after you.”

He snorts. “I don’t need anyone. They only bring pain when they go.”

“Eli—”

“You only wanted Sin.” He shakes his head. “You never gave a shit about me. All you wanted was your lover in the dark.”

---