Page 8 of Broken-Hearted

“Yeah, that wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had,” a familiar male voice says calmly.

My eyes snap open.

The room isn’t as dark as it was before. Faint light creeps around the edges of the motel room’s blinds. It must be nearly morning. The spare bed beside mine is empty, but it wasn’t when I turned off the lamp.

I lean over the edge of my bed.

Nathan Blackshaw is buck naked on the floor.

“Youtouchedme,” I accuse him, keeping my eyes firmly on his face.

“No need to make it sound like I was up to no good.” He gets to his feet, rubs his tailbone and climbs back into his bed. “You sounded like you were having a nightmare. I was just trying to help.”

“No, I wasn’t,” I lie.

He covers up delicious tanned skin and looks at me, his expression still amiable. “You were mumbling something about blood and bodies.”

I turn away, pulling the comforter up high as I stare at the ceiling. When I’m with Martha, I rarely have those nightmares anymore. Something about her presence makes me feel safe. But she’s not here. Now I have only myself to rely on.

The silence stretches out.

“So, I’m guessing you don’t want to talk about it?” he prompts.

“Whatever gave you that idea?” I immediately regret the bitchy note in my voice. More so when Nathan doesn’t respond. I roll onto my side, facing him. He’s looking at me with a furrowedbrow, concerned. “I didn’t mean that. I just don’t want to talk about it.”

He nods. “Fair enough. I have a cell phone if you want to borrow it.”

“Why would I want to borrow your cell phone?”

“To speak to Martha.”

More guilt burrows into my heart, constricting it.

I swallow hard. Running away from Martha wasn’t a good thing to do when I know how much she worries about me.

“Clara?” Nathan prompts.

“She’ll try to convince me to go back.” Martha has her own life in Dawley with her mate Ty. She shouldn’t be spending all her time picking up after her kid sister anymore. She deserves to focus on making herself happy.

“And that’s a bad thing, because?”

Enforcers grabbed Martha back in Dawley. Martha threw herself at them and screamed at me to run. They were there for me, but Martha protected me. She is always protecting me, and I’m always the one putting her in danger.

“Clara?” Nathan’s voice softens. “When I’m not cracking the funniest jokes you’ve heard, I’m not a bad listener if you ever wanted to talk about stuff.”

“You sound pretty full of yourself, Blackshaw,” I say, hiding my smile.

“I am.” He throws his sheet back and I yank my eyes away.

“Jesus, Blackshaw. Warn a girl first before you flash her. You nearly blinded me.”

“Sorry,” he apologizes as he goes on aslowstride past my bed. “Want to share a shower to conserve water and save the planet?”

I crack open an eyelid to confirm he is indeed moving at the glacial pace I think. He is, and he’s also not doing a thing to hidehis nudity. “You need to work on your pickup lines. They’re not even close to convincing.”

But that doesn’t stop me from checking out his ass before he closes the bathroom door.

It’s right there.

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