Page 69 of Nuclear Option (Owens Protective Services)

I rolled my eyes at him and walked over to Eva, brushing the hair back from her face. A loud snore emanated from her and drool was pooling on the counter. Shaking my head, I slid my hands around her and hauled her up into my arms.

“Thanks for looking after her, Fox.”

“Anytime, boss. Hey, you know, if this is going to become a thing, I’m going to need a pay raise.”

“I’ll take you to the theater,” I shot over my shoulder.

“Sweet,” he whooped, laughing about how he just scored big time.

I carried her upstairs and laid her down on the bed, being as gentle as I could as I undressed her. She looked so vulnerable in this state, not the woman that was finally cracking out of that shell she hid behind. I laid down beside her and pulled her into my arms. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen when she woke up tomorrow, but I knew I had to fight like I had never had before. The chance of losing her had me breaking out in a cold sweat. I wasn’t sure how yet, but I would fix this and show her I was the man she thought I was.

* * *

A sudden shiftbeside me had me jerking awake. My eyes popped open just in time to see Eva struggling to get out of bed. I jumped out of bed and hauled her up in my arms, carrying her into the bathroom just in time for her to puke. She groaned as she leaned her head on the toilet seat. I sat there rubbing her back, hoping she wasn’t going to be sick all day.

“You okay?”

She nodded, struggling to push herself up from the floor. I grabbed her by the arm and helped her stand.

“How much did you drink?”

She winced, walking over to the sink and turning on the water. I watched her as she brushed her teeth. She wouldn’t open her eyes or even acknowledge I was there. I hoped that had more to do with her hangover than with the fact that I was beside her. Once she was done, she plopped the toothbrush in the holder and shoved past me back into the room.

I hit the light and followed her back, tucking her in under the blanket. Climbing back in bed, I rested my hand on her hip, surprised when she intertwined her fingers with mine.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled sleepily.

“It’s not your fault. That argument between Jones and I was a long time coming. And I’m sorry I didn’t talk about it with you. I just didn’t know how to. I never expected for Jones to open his mouth and discuss that shit with you. It was a hard time, and…I wanted to explain myself.” I sighed heavily, squeezing her hand. “That’s probably a lie. If I could, I would never talk about that shit, but I know you need more. That’s if you still want to be with me.”

She didn’t answer and I looked over her shoulder, finding her fast asleep. Plopping down on my pillow, I blew out a harsh breath. “2 and 0.”

I laid there for a long time, trying to fall back asleep and failing miserably. It wasn’t until the sun started to come up that I finally started to doze off. It seemed like only minutes later when Eva shifted beside me, waking me up. The sun was already high in the sky, and she was watching me warily.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, stretching beside her.

“Confused.”

“About what?”

“You took care of me.”

I frowned, not understanding what she was saying. “Of course I did. You were sick.”

“No, I mean…after the things I said to you. Why didn’t you just sleep somewhere else?”

“Because you were sick and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

She sighed and rested her head on my shoulder. “I screwed up pretty badly yesterday.”

“So did I.”

Her head jerked up in response. “What?”

“Well, if you would stop falling asleep on me when I’m talking, you would have heard me say it last night,” I grinned.

“I don’t remember that.”

“Well, in your defense, you were wasted.”

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