Page 36 of By His Play

It takes a few seconds, but she reluctantly reaches out for a fry and bites it in half.

“Good girl,” I praise, and when her wide eyes jump to mine, my heart skips a beat.

“I bet you say that to all the girls,” she mocks, trying to lighten the mood.

“Nah, all the ones I spend time with are bad.”

She rolls her eyes. “Of course.”

It takes her ages, but she eventually eats half her fries and two chicken tenders before she admits defeat and pushes everything in my direction to finish for her.

As much as I want to refuse and make her eat it, I know she’s done.

I’ve got a mouthful of her almost-cold fries when she pushes her chair back and starts searching through the cupboards.

“What are you looking for?” I ask, but other than a glance over her shoulder, she doesn’t respond.

I soon get my answer a few minutes later when she pulls out a bottle.

“What is that?” I ask with a frown, not recognizing it.

Effie shrugs as she twists the lid off and lifts the neck to her lips.

Whatever it is isn’t very nice if her face is anything to go by.

“Eff,” I warn, hating that she feels she needs to turn to alcohol to help with everything.

“It’ll help me sleep. I just…need some rest.”

“Shit,” I whisper, scrubbing my hand down my face.

She swallows down another shot, her face twisting with just as much disgust as the first time.

Throwing the final chicken tender into my mouth, I gather up our wrappers and dump them in the trash before walking over to her.

“This isn’t going to help, but I know what will,” I say, tugging the bottle of…sherry—gross—from her grip and walking out of the room with it.

I go straight to the bathroom and begin running the bath. I search the small cupboard for a very different kind of bottle before pouring a generous amount of bubble bath into the water.

Her light footsteps move closer; her curiosity too much to ignore. The very moment she steps into the doorway, a tingle of awareness runs down my spine.

“Kieran,” she whispers.

“Go and get ready. It won’t be long.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

Hanging my head for a beat, I push to my full height and walk over to her.

Wrapping my hand around her ponytail, I give her little choice but to look up at me.

Seeing her standing there at my mercy does weird things to me. But I quickly chastise myself. Now isn’t the time or the place.

“There isn’t much I can do to help right now. But I can do this. Relax, and I’ll make you something to drink that actually tastes nice and might help you sleep.”

Her eyes bounce between mine. They’re glassy and bloodshot, showing the pain that’s hiding behind them.

“Don’t leave,” she whispers.

---