Page 33 of The Only Time

Her silhouette appears in my doorway, and even a darkened shadow of hers manages to make my heart beat faster. I watch her walk further into my room, her fingers playing with the bottom of her long t-shirt.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I shouldn’t be in here. I just…it’s dark and I can’t stop thinking about him. Wondering where he is.”

I don’t know this motherfucker, but what he’s doing to her causes this rage inside of me unlike one I’ve ever felt before. She is too perfect, too kind to be afraid to sleep alone.

“Come on in,” I tell her, knowing there is no world in which this all ends well, but not wanting her to feel unsafe.

She crawls under the covers. We lie awake in silence for a moment.

“I’m sorry about the kiss. It shouldn’t have happened,” I admit, needing to get the words out.

She sighs. “It’s alright.”

“I don’t want you to leave, Mia. I want you to stay here. I want you to be safe. I’m just…I’m messed up in the head. We can’t let that happen again.”

She turns away from me. “Got it. Goodnight.”

This is good. It’s how it should be. But I already hate the distance I feel from her and the sadness in her voice.

“Goodnight, Mia.”

Chapter Thirteen

Mia

My body has been on edge all day. That kiss last night—it shook me. Never have I had such an explosive feeling before like I did when he claimed my mouth.

Fuck, he knows how to kiss a woman.

But he stormed off like a mad man, regretting the best thirty seconds of my life. I can’t lie, it hurt. He clearly doesn’t want to want me. Is it because I’m his sister’s friend? And what does he mean he’s messed up in the head?

I shouldn’t care. I should just move on and forget it, but I’m drawn to him. I want to know more about him. I want to know what made him this way.

A knock from the front door pulls me out of my thoughts.

“Hello!” Layla’s voice echoes in the foyer.

Relief floods me that I don’t have to be in this house alone with Eric for a couple of hours. I think we both need some other people here to cut the sexual tension between us.

“Hey big brother. Look at you. No more sling!” I hear her say.

Her and Eric walk into the kitchen while I pour myself a glass of wine. Two other people that I’ve never seen before trail behind them. I’m loving the idea of more people here tonight.

“Yeah, I just talked to a physical therapist. He told me as long as the pain is tolerable, I can stop using the sling.”

I didn’t realize he was going to be out of the sling so quickly. It’s only been four days. A weird sense of disappointment hits. Is he going to go back to work tomorrow? I guess this also means that he doesn’t need my help changing.

Shit. I need to get a hold of myself. I’m upset that I don’t have an excuse to change the shirt of a grown man.

“Well, I’m glad to see you’re recovering quickly,” Josh hits his back. “It’s nice to see you on a Tuesday night. You’re normally claiming to be too busy at work to get out on time.”

Eric smiles and rolls his eyes. He seems to have a playful relationship with Josh. I’m glad Layla found someone who seems to fit in so well with her family.

“Nice to see you again, Mia,” Josh says as he gives me a big hug. “How has it been living with this man?”

“Eh, pretty uneventful,” I lie as I steal a glance Eric’s way.

His brows knit together in a tight, hostile line. He doesn’t approve of my remark, but I don’t care. Am I supposed to tell everyone how close I came to having sex with him last night? Or how much I still want to despite his grouchy demeanor.

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