Page 31 of Sutton's Shadow

Wyatt cupped her face between his hands, his eyes bouncing back and forth between her own. “Jesus, Sutton. Are you okay?”

“You shouldn’t have done that,” she whispered. His hands immediately dropped from her face.

“I’m sorr?”

“No,” she stopped his apology. A brow lifted; the confusion easy to read in his expression. “You shouldn’t have done that,” she insisted, waving her hand at the beach.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m glad I was here. You could have been hurt... or worse.”

Sutton was shaking her head, her hair falling into her face. “No. I’m not... It’s not worth it.”

The quizzical look he gave her made her drop her head. It was as if he could read her. She felt too exposed to him. She wanted to remain in the shadows she’d languished in for the past two years, but he kept pulling her out. No more. She would stick to the shadows. Today’s incident proved that was where she belonged.

“What are you talking about? Are you saying I should have let you drown? That wasn’t going to happen.”

“You shouldn’t have risked yourself,” she maintained.

He cocked an eyebrow. “It’s what I do.”

“I know. But you shouldn’t have done it.” She was going to add “for me” but clamped her mouth closed before the words could escape. There was no way she wanted to get into a discussion about her worthiness. “You got injured. You’re bleeding,” she stammered.

His warm hand grasped her chin, lifting it until she had no choice but to meet his eyes. “It’s just a scratch.”

She nodded, knowing that to be the truth, but the remaining effects of the past still haunted her. As did the lingering fear that Wyatt could have been hurt much worse. Her heart pounded as he stared at her, as if he was studying the manual that explained all things Sutton. She couldn’t let this happen again. He was off limits to her, even as a friend.

His thumb caressed her cheek, breaking into her assertions to keep her distance even as the memory of his kiss made her shiver. She allowed herself to focus on the little things in front of her. His assessing blue eyes, under thick brows, that were intoxicating in their tenderness. Full lips, the top just a little thinner than the bottom. A sharp jawline covered in a thick stubble. Thick chestnut brown hair lay with a slight wavey appearance.

The longer she sat observing the little things she could focus on, the more her thoughts turned unbidden to other things. Blue eyes that turned seductively intimate, holding her transfixed before he leaned in to kiss her. A thick stubble that scraped across her skin yet proved to be soothingly soft under her fingertips. Wavy brown hair made more so from her fingers delving into its thickness.

His eyes drifted closed, and she could have sworn she heard a slight groan before he dropped his hand. Sutton blushed, lowering her head until her hair hid her face from his view. She let out a breath as quietly as possible.

What was that? Was she really going to let him kiss her again? That couldn’t happen. She was not free to let that happen. Liam was still in her heart, but as she felt Wyatt shift in his seat next to her, she realized that her fiancé’s space was shrinking.

She shook herself, needing to annihilate the sensual thoughts that kept intruding. Hadn’t she just finished telling herself she could not go there? Especially not with him.

He was another hero. A warrior. Another man who’d willingly risk his life for those he cared about. He’d already proven that from his actions on the pier and been injured in the process. Her stomach clenched, and she twisted her fingers around each other in her lap. She wouldn’t survive if another person got hurt—or worse—because of her.

It was because it had been so long since she’d been with anybody. Not since Liam. She was human, just like everybody else. She had needs. That was all this was. Just biology. She could admit she was attracted to him; who wouldn’t be? He was gorgeous. But that’s all it could be: a distant, unrequited attraction.

Through the strands of her hair, she watched as he grabbed a napkin from the middle console and held it to the scratch on his arm. Once the bleeding stopped, he donned a sweatshirt with the Nighthawks logo, a bird in flight, embroidered over the heart. His expression went from tenderness as he’d held her face back to pissed.

Still feeling ashamed of herself, she remained hidden by her damp curtain of hair. “Thank you,” she breathed.

She felt more than saw him glance over at her. “Again, it’s what I do, but I didn’t take you for an idiot, Sutton,” he stated, making her flinch. She brought her head up, shocked at his harsh words. “Did you not know how dangerous it can be out there with the water levels so high?”

“Yes, I know,” she answered defiantly. His words were doing more to snuff her lingering attraction than her own internal monologue. She’d done everything right to keep herself safe out there. She’d been so cautious. That wave had come out of nowhere. “That’s why I didn’t go out very far. I thought it was safe where I was. It was dry there. No water.”

“You should have been paying more attention.”

“I was!” she insisted, but he didn’t seem to hear her.

“Why would you risk it? No picture is worth your life!” he shouted.

Sutton lowered her head again, staring at her hands clenched in her lap. Her hair fell in her face again.Fuck.He had no idea what those words?the same words she’d slashed herself with for the past two years?did to her.

“I know that,” she replied softly, blinking back the sting of tears. He wasn’t telling her anything she hadn’t told herself.

Wyatt sighed. He reached over and moved her hair out of her face, pushing it over her shoulder. His hand rested on the back of her neck, squeezing gently. “I’m sorry. That was out of line. You just gave me a scare. When I saw you disappear under that wave. . .” His fingers twitched against her neck. She met his gaze, filled with concern for her, the fear still visibly present in their depths.

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