Page 60 of There's No Us Without You
It’s a fitting name because that’s exactly what’s happening to me. Sweet fucking death just by being around her.
Eden’s frown only deepens before she flicks me in the chest with the back of her hand. “You’re so weird.”
“I prefer charming.” Winking, I grab my car keys from my pocket and hold them out, dangling them between my fingers.
“What do you want me to do with those?”
“I have an away game. Use my car so you don’t have to catch the bus or those expensive-arse Ubers everywhere.”
“Right,” Eden says quietly as she sits up and rests her chin on the back of the couch. “You’re leaving.”
“I’ll be back in a couple of days, Pop-Tart.” I hook a finger under her chin and tilt her head back so I can look into those big eyes.
Silence fills the space between us, Eden chewing on her bottom lip before clearing her throat. “I’ll miss you,” she says finally. “You know... at night.”
It’s then I realise she’s worried about sleeping alone. With me sleeping next to her, she hasn’t had a single night terror.
“Shit,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “I forgot about that.”
“It’s okay,” she says, trying—and failing—to give me a reassuring smile. “It’s only two nights. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Damn it. This woman is getting under my skin, to the point I’m contemplating blowing off the game so I don’t have to leave her.
Who the hell am I becoming? Is this why Coach wanted me on a pussy ban? The golden ones suck you right in, and before you know it, you’re blowing off your career.
If I don’t leave right now, I’ll fuck up more than just my career, so I lean down and kiss the top of her head. “Look after Will.”
She snorts and throws herself onto her back again. “Yeah... okay.”
Her sarcasm isn’t lost on me.
No-one looks after Will. The grumpy arse doesn’t let anyone in.
There are parts of him he keeps hidden in the shadows, like a damn serial killer stalking his next victim.
SIXTEEN
Will
Sleep would be nice.
Great, in fact.
I snatch a pillow from the other side of the bed and shove it over my face, pressing it tight against my ears.
Is it too much to ask for quiet when I’m trying to sleep? The last week has been peaceful. I’ve avoided Eden for the most part because I almost lost my damn mind and kissed her.
What the fuck was that, though? I could put it down to the fact I was already reeling from witnessing her arsehole ex run into her on purpose.
Then he insulted her. Instinct kicked in and I just had to intervene. After that, though, I don’t remember much. Until... we were seated in my car, her scent invading all my senses, her hand lightly gripping my arm.
I couldn’t help myself from leaning in, my focus purely on those full pink lips of hers. Then she closed her eyes, and my brain finally snapped back to reality and the fact I don’t do the whole kissing thing—something about it is too intimate for my liking. It’s weird, I know. I can stick my dick inside someone but can’t bring myself to press my lips to theirs.
Tonight, though, there’s no avoiding her. She’s crying in her sleep again and Emerson isn’t here to do what he does best: make everything okay in a way that I can’t.
Or won’t.
Fuck my life.
