Dirty Little Mistake (Hard to Love #2)

Chapter 26

Camryn

I ce scraped against blades. A flash of sequins. Then the sickening crack of a body meeting unforgiving ice, crimson red pooling across pristine white ice.. .

I jolted awake, my neck screaming from hours curled in the hospital chair. The nightmare lingered, but the worst part was knowing it wasn’t a nightmare. It was real.

"Camryn." Trystan's voice anchored me back to reality, as gentle as his fingers on my shoulder. I forced my eyes open, wincing as fluorescent lights stabbed through my skull. He knelt in front of me, close enough that I could see the stubble shadowing his jaw, and the worry etched in the creases around his eyes.

"Kaia?" The name escaped my lips as I bolted upright, my stiff muscles protesting.

The muscle in Trystan's jaw tightened. My fingers dug into the chair's armrests, plastic cool against my sweating palms. "No change." The words fell between us like stones, and my shoulders slumped under their weight.

When I told Trystan if he wanted to see me again, he'd have to work for it, this wasn't what I'd had in mind, but I was so thankful he was here.

Three days ago, Kaia had a horrific skating accident that brought everyone home. Her dad and stepmom made it back to the States within twenty-four hours, and Trystan was home within hours. She'd been practicing with her partner, Parker, and something went really wrong, and now she was lying in a hospital bed sleeping. She'd been sleeping for days... And there were no signs of her waking up.

"Come home with me." He reached for my hand, his thumb tracing circles on my palm. "Just for a shower, some sleep. Food. I'll bring you right back.

I pulled away, wrapping my arms around myself. "I'm not leaving."

"Cam." The roughness in his voice made me look up. "You've been here for days." His fingers ghosted over the dark circles I knew haunted my eyes. "You're exhausted, and Jax promised to call if anything changes." My gaze held his. I really didn't want to leave, but he was right; I was exhausted. "I promise I'll have you back before sunset."

"Okay," I sighed, lifting to my feet. "But just a shower and food. Then I want to come back." My gaze shifted to the chair beside me, where Owen was still sleeping. "Give me a sec."

I ran my hand down Owen's arm, startling him.

"Kai?" Owen jerked upright, nearly knocking over the half-empty coffee cup by his feet.

"She's still sleeping." I touched Owen's shoulder, his wrinkled shirt telling its own story. "You should go home and get some rest."

Owen blinked, still caught in that hazy space between sleep and waking. His bloodshot eyes found Trystan's. "Yeah." His palm rasped against three days of stubble. "I could use a shower, and then I'll come back."

"Jax told Trystan he'd call if anything changed."

Owen's gaze drifted toward Kaia's room. "He hasn't left either."

Trystan shifted his weight, the leather of his jacket creaking. "He won't go. I tried."

Owen nodded. "I'll check on him again before I go."

Trystan's hand settled at the small of my back, possessively. Owen rubbed his eyes before pushing out of the chair and heading to Kaia's hospital room and Trystan led me out of the hospital to his bike.

"Here," he handed me a helmet before pulling his on and throwing his long leg over the seat. He straightened the bike as I climbed on.

The bike rumbled to life beneath us, its vibration thrumming through me. My arms tightened around Trystan's waist as we merged into traffic, the wind whipping at my clothes and carrying away the sterile hospital smell that had seemed permanently burned in my skin. He eased to a stop at a red light and dropped his feet to the asphalt, leaning back as his arms hooked over my thighs and his hands found my legs, thumbs tracing circles.

God, I missed him.

Even though we'd talked every day, sometimes multiple times a day, we still hadn't figured out how we fit into each other's lives. Or at least, I wasn’t sure yet, but that was a worry for later. Right now, I was worried about my friend.

The city blurred past, morning traffic parting around us like water. I pressed my helmet against Trystan's back, letting the rhythm of the bike and his solid presence lull me into something close to peace. Too soon, we were turning into his neighborhood.

The garage door groaned open, and Trystan cut the engine. In the sudden silence, my exhaustion crashed back like a wave. The helmet felt impossibly heavy as I lifted it off, my trembling fingers barely managing to set it on the seat.

"How long are you here for?" The question escaped before I could stop it.

Trystan set his helmet beside mine, the clunk echoing in the empty garage. "I'm not leaving until Kaia's better." His boots scraped against the concrete as he stepped closer, bringing that familiar scent of him. His fingers threaded through my hair, the gentle tug sending sparks down my spine. "And until we have a chance to talk."

My hands found his waist. "What about the tour?"

The muscle in his jaw jumped. "I agreed to extend the tour a few more weeks so that I could be here now."

My fingers curled into the soft leather of his jacket. "How much longer?"

His thumb traced my cheekbone. "Just a few more weeks."

I nodded as he pulled me in for a hug, and I wrapped my arms around him. I was glad he was here for Kaia but I hated that he was going to be gone even longer now. Everything was so up in the air with us, and I wasn't sure that we'd be able to figure it out until he was done with this tour.

"How are you doing?"

"I need..." The words crumbled in my throat as Kaia's still form, and the steady blink of monitors flashed behind my eyes. Tears streamed down my cheeks. “I need her to be okay.”

"Hey." Trystan's arms became a fortress around me, his heartbeat steady against my cheek. "Kaia's strong and way too stubborn to give up.” His voice roughened. "Her body knows how to heal. She just needs time to find her way back to us."

I sniffled. "I hope so."

We stood in silence, holding each other for a long moment like this was exactly what we needed.

"Come on," he sighed. "Let's get inside." I followed him down the long sidewalk, up the front steps, and into the house. "Do you have clothes here?"

"Yeah.” I slipped off my shoes. "I have a few things in Kaia's room."

"If you want to go shower," he said. "I'll figure out something to feed us."

I didn't move as my gaze met his. The energy between us shifting. "Shower with me?"

He stood frozen. His chest rose and fell with deep breaths as his gaze held mine for so long I thought I'd said the wrong thing.

"Nev—" The word dissolved as he surged forward, his kiss stealing the words from my lips. His hands curved under my thighs, lifting me. My legs locked around his waist instinctively, fingers tangling in his dark hair as something wild and desperate clawed through my chest.

I devoured his mouth, tasting every inch like he was the air I needed to breathe.

We should stop.

We should talk.

We should?—

His teeth scraped my lower lip, and thinking became optional.

I was so lost in the kiss that I didn't realize we were moving until we were in the bathroom, and I was on my feet, only breaking from the kiss long enough to tear each other's clothes off.

He hooked an arm around my waist, pulling my naked body flush against his as he walked us backward into the shower before kicking on the water. The icy water hit my back, and I hissed, pulling out of the kiss.

His forehead pressed against mine, our breath mingling in the steam. "So does this mean we moved past the friend zone?"

The question hung between us like mist. My fingers traced the familiar lines of the dark ink covering his chest, buying time. Every touch, every kiss screamed that we were way past friendship, but we'd agreed that we were taking it slow–that we were only friends until I trusted him again. Until he proved he wasn’t going to run again.

My shoulders lifted in a helpless shrug, water droplets trailing down my spine. "I don't know."

Something flickered in his eyes. His thumb traced my lower lip. "Slow, right?"

I caught his wrist, pressing my lips to his pulse point. "Slow.”

My gaze trailed over him from the hot water dripping down the curves of his muscular chest to his massive cock standing at attention, and my tongue swept across my lips before sucking my bottom lip between my teeth. He was big, like really big.

"Like what you see?" The corner of his mouth curved into that familiar smirk.

Heat bloomed across my skin that had nothing to do with the shower. "Mmmhmmm."

"Slow." His hands found my hips as he turned me. The solid wall of his chest pressed against my back.

My head fell back against his shoulder, restraint crumbling like wet paper. "Slow."

He reached for his body wash, squeezing the liquid into his palm before rubbing his hands together, building a lather.

He ran his soap-covered hands over my naked skin. "Then we'll take it slow." I closed my eyes, leaning into him as his hands cupped my breast, his thumb brushing over my taut nipples. "We'll shower and then eat."

He took his time lathering the soap over every inch of my body and then my hair. I wanted him so bad, but after everything that happened, I wanted him to prove that he was serious about me, about us. That he wasn’t going to freak out again.

We spent way too long kissing and exploring each other's bodies before the water finally went cold, and we got out of the shower.

Trystan secured a towel around his waist, water still trailing down his chest. "Did you want to try to get some sleep before we head back?"

I fumbled with my own towel, trying to ignore the way my skin still tingled from his touch. "Actually, I really just want to get back." The thought of something happening and me not being there was horrifying.

"I can throw some food together, and then we'll head back."

I shook my head. "Honestly, I'm not really hungry."

"You haven't eaten anything but a candy bar in three days, Camryn." Trystan's voice carried a protective edge. He reached into the cabinet, pulling out an unopened toothbrush. "You have to eat."

I caught his reflection in the mirror–his hair still damp, curling at his neck, tattoos disappearing beneath his towel. Part of me wanted to sink into this moment, pretend we were just any couple sharing a bathroom on a lazy morning and that Kaia wasn't lying asleep in a hospital bed.

"We could grab subs on the way back." I ran my fingers through tangled hair, wincing. "For everyone. Owen probably hasn't eaten either, and Jax..." My voice trailed off, remembering how Jax hadn't left her bedside.

Trystan's hands settled on my shoulders, his touch grounding me. In the mirror, his eyes met mine. "That's a good idea, baby." He wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sure everyone is starving."

The familiar phrase squeezed my heart. Baby. Were we there yet? Could we be? Those questions would have to wait. Right now, Kaia needed us more than we needed to figure us out.

I leaned back against his chest for just a moment, allowing myself five seconds of comfort before reality crashed back in. "We should go."

Trystan pressed a kiss to my temple, his lips lingering just long enough to make my breath catch. "Yeah, but once Kaia's better. I want to spend some time with you before I go back."

I smiled and nodded.

We gathered our things in silence, the air between us charged with everything left unsaid. But as Trystan locked up, I felt steadier than I had in days. Not okay–nothing would be okay until Kaia opened her eyes–but stronger. Ready to face another day of waiting, of hoping, of praying that somewhere in her dreams, she was coming back to us.