Page 47 of Rectify

He smiled down at her. “You always were slow to wake.”

“Aedan? Where am I?” She sat up, looking around in confusion.

“Rogan’s study.”

“Oh no, I fell asleep?”

“This might have had something to do with that,” he said with a grin, nodding at her empty glass. “You’ve always been a lightweight.

A chagrined look crossed her face. “What was I thinking?”

Her self-reproach was clear, but he wasn’t about to allow her to wallow in guilt.

“Hush,” he told her firmly. “You’re near collapse. You needed a break and some rest. I ought to put you to bed and make you stay there.”

She raised her eyebrows. “And how would you manage that?”

He grinned. “By fucking you into submission.”

Natalya glared at him, but there was desire in her gaze. He sat next to her, taking her mouth in a kiss that sizzled and burned.

“Later,” he whispered, then brushed her hair back. He’d love nothing more than to take her to bed, but now wasn’t the time. “Tell me what Diego said.”

Worried about her, he pulled her onto his lap, listening closely as she told him about the phone call. Fuck. She was so slight. He really had to work on feeding her more.

“Diego’s an idiot, you know,” he told her, barely able to keep the rage out of his voice. The other man didn’t deserve Natalya or Mateo.

“I know,” she agreed, but pain in her voice was unmistakable. “I should be grateful that he wants nothing to do with us.”

“But I guess it still hurts when he’s Mateo’s father. You need to think about the positive.”

She stared up at him questioningly.

“You can move on with your life without worrying about him interfering. You can cut ties completely.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Come on, you need some proper sleep. I’ll walk you upstairs.”

What wouldshe do without him? A wash of gratefulness swamped her as he helped her up and placed his arm around her. She leaned into him.

“You were always the most dependable person in my life, you know,” she told him as they walked up the stairs and into her bedroom.

“Jesus, that makes me sound boring.”

“That’s not what I meant,” she protested, sitting on the bed. Aedan bent down and removed her shoes.

Diego would never have removed her shoes for her. He’d never have kneeled in front of her. He’d have seen that as beneath him.

Aedan just saw it as taking care of her. “I just meant that you’ve never let me down. You’ve always been there for me when I needed you.”

Although her life had become more stable after her mother married Stan Murphy, she’d never felt like she had a home until she’d moved in with Aedan. If he said he would do something, then he always followed through.

“Then why did you always expect me to leave you?” he asked as he helped her strip off her sweatshirt.

What?

“What do you mean?”

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