Page 29 of Betrayal & New Beginnings

Don’t embarrass yourself, look away.Look.Away.

“Are you sure you want to sleep out here?” she asked quietly.

Was she asking me to stay in her room with her?Jack’sbed was a queen.Therewas no wayIcould share that space with her and not touch her.

“I feel likeIwould fit so much better on the couch,” she said, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Ican take the couch, and you can sleep in the bed.”

I realized my thoughts of sharing the bed were not what she was suggesting, but clearly my brain had gone there, and now my dick was getting hard just thinking about that unrealistic option.You’dnever knowItook care of myself in the shower earlier.

This was going to be a long night.

12

ELLIE

At some point in the middle of the night,Irolled over and looked at my phone to see it was just after midnight.Iwasn’t sure whyI’dwoken up, butIfiguredImight as well get up to pee since my body would likely wake me up soon to do it anyway.

AsIwas exiting the bed,Iheard a noise.Atfirst,Iwasn’t quite sure what it was.Itsounded like a strangled groan, and then it got louder.Iopened the bedroom door slowly and heard the noise again, louder this time, and realized it was coming from my living room.KnowingWadewas out there,Iwent over to make sure he was okay.

WhenIgot closer,Irealized he was still sleeping, but obviously having a dream – or from the sound of it, probably a nightmare.Hestarted to jostle around quite a bit on the couch and started moaning louder.Thenhe started to whimper like he was in pain.Ifelt terrible and wanted to wake him but wasn’t sure what to do.

My brother had nightmares sometimes when he was home on leave and he stayed withGranand me, butIwasn’t sure howWadewould react ifIwoke him.Justthen, he swung his arm up high like he was swatting at something, andIrealized ifIdidn’t wake him, he would fall off the couch that he was already perilously half off of now.Idecided to approach slowly and call to him quietly to try to wake him.

He didn’t react the first time, soImoved closer.Crouchingdown next to the couch, put my hand on his shoulder and tried to shake him slightly to wake him.

It all happened so fast.OneminuteIwas beside him, and the next he rolled off the couch in a swift calculated move and had me pinned to the ground with my hands above my head.Hewas straddled on top of me at the waist and breathing heavily as he pushed down on my hands to pin me in place.

“Ellie?” he gasped as he breathed heavily like he’d just run a marathon. “Shit!Whatare you doing?Areyou okay?DidIhurt you?” he asked as he quickly moved off me and helped me up.

“Where does it hurt?DidIpunch you?WheredidIhit you?”Heasked the rapid-fire questions as he looked over my arms and face, sliding his hands gently over my skin as though he was looking for injuries.

I grabbed his wrists quickly and stopped him.

“Wade, stop.Youdidn’t hurt me,”Irushed to reassure him. “I’mokay.Iwas just startled.”

He let me go and sat back on the couch with his elbows on his knees and hands on his forehead, cupping the sides of his head.Hewas still breathing a little heavy as he scrubbed his hands over his face.

“Sorry.Youwere having a nightmare, andIwas trying to wake you,”Iexplained quietly since he seemed very upset. “Ididn’t mean to startle you.Areyou okay?”

“AmIokay?” he asked, clearly perplexed, as his brows furrowed. “Ijust pinned you to the ground with all my weight becauseIthought you were attacking me, and you’re asking ifI’mokay?Christ,Ijust threw you around and could have injured you.Yourribs likely aren’t fully recovered yet, andIalmost broke you all over again.God,I’mso sorry.”

I understood why he felt bad about pinning me down, and even that he was concerned about my ribs, but what confused me was his automatic assumption that he would injure me on purpose.

“Wade,”Isaid, but his face was now buried back in his hands, and he didn’t look up.Icalled his name again asIreached for his wrists to remove his hands soIcould see his face.

“Why did you automatically assume that you hurt me?”Iasked.

He looked at me, but the mask on his face hid any kind of emotion.

“Wade, your apology wasn’t for accidentally falling on me,”Icautiously pressed. “Youapologized as though it was a foregone conclusion that you injured me.Doyou thinkIwould assume that because ofRandall?”

He stared at me for a few beats before sighing deeply and running his right hand through his hair.Thenhe looked back at me and started to explain about a woman namedCandace, the nightmares, and the injuries he’d caused her.

ConversationsI’dhad withTammyas well as comments his sister had made earlier today at his parents’ house started to come back to me.

“So, you and my brother huh?”Wade’ssisterWhitneyasked me, winking with a smile on her face.

“Oh no, we work together at the pub, and he served with my brotherJack, who’s going into the security business with him,”Itold her with a smile.

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