Page 38 of Dare To Live

“There. See? The storm is moving away now.”

Her cheek rubs against my chest as she nods. “Why do you have weed next to your bed?”

I don’t answer her straight away, taking a pull on the joint and holding it in my lungs until it starts to burn. The smoke seeps out from between my lips when I reply.

“You’re not the only one who had to find a way to deal with nightmares, Kitten.”

***

There’s a weight pinning me to the bed when I wake up. My throat feels rough, my eyes heavy, and there’s a thickness in my head that typically comes from a bad night’s sleep. I force my lids to part, and it takes some time for the ceiling to come into focus. When my vision clears, so does the thickness in my head, bringing back the memories of the night before.

The thunderstorm. Finding Arabella in the bathroom. Sharing a joint. Everything after that is fuzzy. We must have fallen asleep. My hand seeks out the weight across my chest and encounters silky hair.

Fuck.

At my touch she moves, turning her head, and lets out a soft sigh that I feel across my throat … and my dick immediately springs to life.

Double fuck.

I need to get out of the bed before she notices, because there’s no way she’ll accept it as morning wood. She’ll accuse me of something nefarious, and then we’ll get into another fight.

Inch by inch, I ease myself out from beneath her, then climb out of the bed. I’m by the door before she speaks.

“Eli?” Her voice is drowsy. “Where are you going?”

I stare at the door in front of me, take in a quiet breath, and then turn to face her. “Bathroom, then coffee.”

She pushes up and I can’t help but look at her. Her blonde hair is a tumble of messy curls framing her face, the t-shirt she’s wearing falls off one shoulder. She looks like a sleepy angel, with pouting lips and deep blue eyes.

“Come back to bed.” She pats the mattress.

I shake my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Her lips move into a small pout. “Why not? It’s warm and I’m not ready to get up yet.”

“Then stay there until you are.”

“But I want you to stay here, too.” She tilts her head and licks her lips. “Please?”

“No.” I turn back toward the door.

“I think we should have sex.”

“I—what?” Did I just hear correctly? I spin back around. “What did you say?”

She shifts position, kneeling up. “Hear me out. It makes sense.”

“On what fucking planet does that suggestion make sense?”

“Closure. We were together and then we weren’t. We had no time to really end things. It would give us closure.”

I’m gaping at her. I can feel my jaw hanging. Snapping my teeth closed with an audible click, I shake my head.

“We’re both adults. Come on, Eli. For old times’ sake.”

“Old times sake?” I’m repeating her words like a fucking moron. “You want to have sex with me for closure and old times sake?” My hand lifts to rub the back of my neck and I shake my head again. “I think you’re still high from the joint.”

“I’m not high. I think it’d help us both to move on.”

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