Page 67 of Tore Up

Facing the truth that I was attracted to Halo was irritating. Ihad a mountain of reasons why I shouldn’t be attracted to her stacked up so damn high that even her delectable little body shouldn’t faze me. I had expected to loathe her or at least feel nothing where she was concerned. I’d thought her presence in my life would be a weight I had to bear for Crosby’s sake. His son’s sake.

But, fuck, it had taken less than a month of her living under my roof, and that wasn’t the case. Not even close. I wasn’t sure if I wished it were or not. Because the truth was, at night, when I held her, my soul was at ease. The void and agony that warred in my chest were gone. It was just her.

She took long strokes as she swam back and forth across the deep end.

What was it about her that was so different? Why was she so damn appealing? Other than the fact that she was gorgeous. There had to be more. Gorgeous women weren’t hard to find. Halo had something else. It had drawn Crosby in so deep that he had been ready to say fuck it to the entire family and move in with her. Than was clearly getting attached. The predatory gleam in his eyes when he talked about her and him using that goddamn nickname were the main reasons I wanted to plant my fist in his face.

Then, there was me. Counting down the hours every day until she was asleep in bed and I could hold her. I’d tried so many times not to go up there. To stay away and let go of whatever it was she was doing to me. Forget it. But the pull was too much. I fucking needed her. The silkiness of her skin, her warm body, the scent of strawberries—she was the only thing I’d found that gave me peace. The urge to destroy, rip through everything in my past, faded away when I was with her.

I’m sorry, little brother. I hope you understand. I’ll just have the nights. I need those. I swear that’s all. Once these three days are up, it’ll go back to the way it was. She is yours. I’m nottrying to take her away. She’s just keeping me sane right now.

Twenty-Eight

Halo

Bane walked over to me, carrying a blanket. I watched quietly as he placed it over me, then took a seat further down the sofa.

He had eaten dinner with me after I took my shower. He asked me questions about what all I was doing at the distillery. When we were done, he’d suggested we watch a movie.

I wasn’t sure if I had entered an alternate universe or what was happening, but I didn’t want to leave it.

At first, when he’d followed me to the pool, I had expected him to tell me swimming or too much sun was bad for me. Just something negative and bossy. That was not at all what he’d done.

Pleasant Bane was throwing me off. I kept thinking he’d snap out of it at any minute and return to being an asshole.

“I have to go to the stables tomorrow. Do you want to go with me? I’ll let you feed the horses carrots, and we have a new foal you haven’t seen,” he said.

Turning my head to look down the sofa at him, I processed what he’d just said, not sure I’d heard that right. He wanted me to go to the stables … with him.

When I didn’t say anything because I was speechless, one corner of his mouth quirked, as if he was amused.

“I won’t bite,” he teased. “I might be a while, and I don’t want you to be stuck here all day, alone.”

He’d said he wouldn’t bite like that was funny. Had he forgotten that he had held a knife to my throat and sent a bullet flying inches from my head? Because I hadn’t. My attraction to him and my secret alone time, where I thought about him, were different. In my dreams, he wasn’t the same man. In reality, he had threatened to kill me. The one-eighty he’d taken here was a jolt.

Be that as it may, I also did not think I could turn him down. That might make him go back to being mean, and we were alone here. The others were gone on some family job. Than wasn’t here to be a buffer for me.

“Okay, um, thanks,” I replied.

He didn’t say anything more as the movie began, and I pulled the covers up to my chin.

He had asked me if I liked comedy, horror, or action movies. I’d said comedy or action was best. Not having nightmares had been a relief, and I didn’t want those to return.

I didn’t know what movie he had chosen as I stared at the screen, and he hadn’t told me. There wasn’t much time for me to get interested in it before my eyes began to get so heavy that I couldn’t keep them open. Deciding that he probably wouldn’t notice if I closed them a little bit, I gave in, sighing as I snuggled into the plush sofa.

“Probably should have gone with comedy.” Bane’s deep voice was close to my ear and pulled me from the darkness.

Hands slid underneath my body, and I opened my eyes,startled, as Bane scooped me into his arms. When he began walking with me, his gaze met mine.

He smirked. “Action is not your thing.”

My entire body felt heated, pressed against his chest. He was actually carrying me. No one had ever carried me in my life. At least not since I could walk. I was stunned.

“Go back to sleep. I’ll put you in bed.”

He would put me in bed? There was no part of my body not awake now. It was all very alert—some parts more than others. I was going to embarrass myself. I had to get out of this. I also didn’t want him to have to walk up all the stairs. I wasn’t that light.

“I can walk,” I told him.

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