Page 48 of Absolutely Pucked
I couldn’t help a small laugh, and I finally turned to face him. “It wasn’t like we didn’t agree on what it was supposed to be.”
He swallowed thickly, then nodded. “Yeah.” His voice was a hoarse whisper. “I didn’t want to walk away. But I, ah…I knew by then. And I felt like a monster.”
Part of me wanted to comfort him. The man wasclearly being punished for all of his sins, but who was I to make it worse?
I didn’t know what to say.
“Let’s eat,” I answered instead.
The moment between us was still charged—still tense. He stepped up beside me, and his shoulder brushed mine. Heat erupted under my skin, and I took a deep breath before letting it out and shifting to the side.
I watched his hands—big, strong, clever fingers that curled around the ladle. They looked nothing like Tucker’s. Those small differences meant everything to me.
“Can we eat in bed?”
Killian’s head whipped around to face me. “Um.”
“I’ve had a rough day. I need to be comfortable.”
“Of course. Go get settled, and I’ll bring it to you.”
Nodding, I moved away from him, then paused in the entryway. “You too.”
“Mm?”
“I want you to join me. I want your company.” I was deliberate in my words. Not justsomecompany. I wantedhis. In the quiet of my apartment with no one else here to listen in and judge, I could be brutally honest.
I could be myself.
I waited, my breath trapped in my chest, as I watched a novel of emotion play out on his face. Eventually, he met my gaze, then nodded.
“I’ll be right there.”
It wasn’t enough.
But it was something.
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
KILLIAN
I hadno idea what to expect when Ford invited me to have dinner in his bed. I was tempted to say no because my life was hard enough, and this was torture. But I couldn’t. I wanted him too much. I couldn’t have him the way I was craving, so I was going to take anything on offer.
Filling both bowls, I tucked a couple of water bottles under my arm, then made my way into his room. I hadn’t been in there since the morning I used his shower. It was his sacred space, and I was already imposing enough being in his house.
My first paycheck told me I wasn’t going to make nearly enough to get my own place in Turenne, but it would probably be enough for one of those weekly motels on the edge of town if I needed to leave.
And that was on my agenda because being there was disrupting his life enough as it was.
I would be selfish and indulgent for this little while,and then I’d see myself out and let him get back to normal.
Ford had set up a little nest when I walked in, and it was far too easy to nestle in next to him, our shoulders touching as we dug into the food. I was transported back to my younger years when things were different.
Harder in some ways, easier in others.
Those were the moments where Tucker and I were still best friends behind closed doors without jackasses at school judging us for being close. Our friend groups were never the same. Tucker had always been drawn to the people who liked to rebel. The ones who were always getting suspended and picking fights and getting high in the woods just outside of the school property line.
