Chapter 4 #2
I’d fought it as hard as I possibly could, but his words and actions, the way he made me feel cared for, even treasured, were wearing down my defenses brick by brick. He was nothing if not determined, and I just couldn’t stop wanting him.
My discharge couldn’t have possibly come at a more convenient time.
Dalton had to leave earlier this morning because of a case he’d been working on with his firm before he’d taken over babysitting me.
Hayden was on her way to pick me up, and once I was in my own private space, I had a better chance of keeping him at a distance while I worked to rebuild the wall between us.
I still wasn’t back to one hundred percent.
Hell, I wasn’t even at seventy-five percent.
It still hurt whenever I moved, so it took me twice as long to get dressed as it usually would.
I’d gotten on my underwear and a pair of super soft joggers, but I was struggling to lift my arms high enough to get my shirt over my head when I heard the door to my hospital room open behind me.
My shoulders slumped on a sigh. “Oh, thank God. I can’t get my shirt on. Could you help me out, Hay?”
The fingers that skimmed across my back, trailing up my spine slowly and tantalizingly, most definitely didn’t belong to my soft, female friend, Hayden.
All the air expelled from my lungs, goosebumps broke out across every inch of skin, and I suddenly became aware of the electric current in the air, like a lightning storm had just moved through.
A shiver wracked my whole body as he grabbed the hem of my shirt and slowly worked it down, taking his time to cover me up.
I had to clamp my eyes shut against the need that clawed at my throat and made it feel like ants were crawling beneath my skin.
Making sure the bandage on my abdomen was completely covered, I forced myself to turn and look up into those gunmetal gray eyes that always made it feel like I was staring into storm clouds.
“W-what are you doing here?” It felt like the temperature in the room had gone up about a million degrees. “I thought you had work.”
“Got word you were bein’ released. Wanted to be here to take you home.”
“Oh, uh . . .” I moved around the bed, needing to put distance—and a physical obstacle—between us.
I rummaged around in my purse that was sitting on the mattress, trying to have something to do with my hands and somewhere to look other than at him.
“That wasn’t necessary. Hayden should actually be here any minute now. But I appreciate the offer.”
“Charlotte.”
I dug deeper into my purse, looking for a lot of nothing. “Yeah?”
“Thumbelina, will you look at me please?” God, that rich, husky voice was going to plague my dreams for years.
“I just need to find my . . .” What, Charlie. What the hell do you need to find? Then it hit me. “Keys! I just need to find my keys.”
“Charlotte.” I jumped at his close proximity. The damn man moved like a freaking ninja! “We need to talk.”
Oh God.
“We don’t,” I insisted, a bolt of panic shooting through my whole system. I didn’t want to do this, but Dalton Prescott deserved so much better than me. “We really don’t.”
He moved in, so close his gorgeous, bearded face was all I could see. “Yeah, we do,” he said so tenderly my knees grew weak.
“Dalton,” I breathed. I wasn’t sure if I was saying his name in a plea or a warning. A whirlwind of emotions swirling around inside me with fear as the frontrunner.
His fingertips traced along my jaw and trailed down my neck. “Charlotte.” He leaned closer, and I suddenly found it impossible to breathe.
In that second, I thought I might die if he didn’t kiss me and that I might die if he did. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place as his lips came closer to mine. It was the most agonizing, exhilarating feeling I’d ever experienced. Then his lips came down on mine and my whole world stopped.
With a gruff moan, he wrapped the hair of my ponytail around his fist and guided my head into the perfect position to ravage my mouth.
With just that one kiss, I felt dominated.
I’d never felt anything like it before. As his tongue drove in, slicking against mine, I felt owned.
When his teeth tugged at my bottom lip, I whimpered, melting into him.
He worshipped my mouth, stole the breath from my lungs. I never wanted it to end at the same time I resented him for giving me a taste of something that could never be mine.
Our breathing was ragged and labored when he finally broke away, bringing his forehead to rest against mine.
“Christ, Thumbelina. That was—”
“A mistake,” I whispered, feeling something in my chest split apart as I forced myself to pull away. “And it can’t happen again.”
Those eyes went hard and his strong, square jaw ticked. “You don’t mean that.”
“I do.” I was shocked at how steady my voice was when I felt a piece of me shriveling to dust. “This isn’t going to happen, Dalton.
I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.
” God, the blank look on his face was killing me.
But I had to keep going. “But your job is done. I’m not your responsibility anymore. ”
“Charlotte, don’t—”
There was a knock on the door just a moment before Hayden’s head peaked around. “Hey, you ready to—” Her smile fell as the thick, humid atmosphere in the room hit her. “Am I interrupting something? I can wait in the hall.”
“No,” I spit out quickly. “Perfect timing, actually. I’m beyond ready to get out of here.”
I snatched my purse off the bed and flung it over my shoulder, the movement sending a shard of pain through my abdomen.
“Oh.” Her gaze bounced between Dalton and me. “Okay. Well, if you’re ready.”
“I am. Let’s go before they try to keep me here any longer.” I turned and gave Dalton one last look over my shoulder. “See you around, Dalton. And thanks again. For everything.” He didn’t say a word.
And with each step I took away from him, I hated myself a little bit more.