Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
DALTON
I let myself into Savanna’s house, taking the stairs two at a time until I reach her bedroom.
Panic immediately settles in when I don’t find her in bed.
I frantically check rooms searching for her, until I find her, eyes closed and in the fetal position, lying on the white tile bathroom floor.
It seems she’s just given everything to the porcelain throne gods and now has nothing left to offer.
A jolt of fear stiffens my spine. In my seventeen years of knowing Savanna, I have never once seen her this bad. Sure, I’ve seen her occasionally drunk while we were teenagers. But how she looks right now? Passed out on the bathroom floor, helpless?
I have never seen her like this.
My chest pulls tight, hands clammy at the sight. Thank God, Hailey called Hudson and warned him, and thank God I trusted my instincts to check on her.
Suddenly, I’m relying on the medical training I got in the military to figure out how the hell to treat a roughly one-hundred-twenty-pound woman who probably has alcohol poisoning.
From the doorway, her long blonde hair is matted and draped across her face as she lies on the cool tile—tangled and knotted. Her oversized grey sweater hangs off one shoulder, and dark, raccoon-like rings from smeared mascara show she’s been crying.
Shit.
And she definitely reeks of vomit.
Double shit.
This girl needs to be taken care of.
I crouch down alongside her and gently caress her shoulder. “Hey, baby. It's me, Dalton,” I murmur.
I gently graze my fingers across her cheek, pushing back her hair.
Savanna’s eyes flutter open, confusion written along her features. “Dalton?” Her tone comes out weak and strained.
“Yeah, it’s me. I’m here.”
Savanna’s eyes widen at the sight of me. “What—what are you doing here?” she slurs, propping herself up on her elbows. She pushes up, leaning against the wall.
“I’m here to take care of you.”
Her head falls against the wall with a thud, eyes closing shut as she sighs. “I’m fine, Dalton. You…can leave,” she mumbles.
Ha. Over my fucking dead body.
“Savanna, I’m here to help you, okay? Will you let me?” I’m fucking pleading with her now. I need her to say yes.
Savanna’s head slumps forward.
My jaw clenches. “Fuck. You’re three sheets to the wind. What the hell was in that sangria?”
I pull her into my chest, rubbing gentle circles on her back. She’s not fighting me, so I’ll take that as a good sign.
“Okay…” Her voice is muffled against my chest.
I press a kiss to the top of her head. “Good girl,” I praise. “Now, let’s get you in a cool shower to sober you up.”
Taking her hands, I help her up. I steady her at the hips as I move around her to turn on the shower.
She sways. “Dalton…I’m spinning.” Her hands grip my sweatshirt in both fists.
“I know, baby. It’s going to be okay,” I reassure her. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
You can do this, Dalton. Don’t fucking make it weird.
I need to get Savanna naked and into the shower without getting a raging hard-on.
This might prove to be a very difficult task.
God, help me.
Finding her hips again, my fingers trace the hem of her sweater. Lifting it gingerly over her head, I drop it onto the floor, revealing a white lace bra and perky breasts underneath. Shit. I don’t know what I’m thinking. I can’t handle getting Savanna completely naked and into the shower.
I don’t know if I will be able to control myself.
I take a few deep breaths and try to regain some sense of composure. No matter how hard my dick is in my sweats right now, this is not the time to think about sex with Savanna. I continue undressing her, unclasping her bra, and exposing pale pink nipples that make my pulse stutter.
I swallow the lump that’s forming in my throat.
Double fuck.
Get your mind out of the gutter, Dalton. You can’t take advantage of her like this.
I move to her skin-tight leggings, peel them off her hips and ease them down her legs, past her ankles, revealing a purple lace thong.
Fucking fuck.
Purple is definitely my new favorite color.
I pull her panties down and slide them off, leaving her bare before me. Savanna’s eyes gloss over as she watches from above, her hands threading my hair for balance, gripping tight.
God, I wish she were sober right now.
My heart throbs.
I can’t fucking handle it.
I want to worship her. Instead, I force myself to step back, biting down hard on my knuckles, grounding myself in the pain.
This feels like some deep erotic torture. Savanna, like this, is a fucking masterpiece.
But right now?
She’s a very naked, very drunk masterpiece, and that changes everything.
Deep breaths, Dalton.
Deciding I can’t just put Savanna in the shower alone and hope for the best, I make the safe choice to join her.
I need a damn shower anyway. Tugging my sweatshirt off and over my head, I drop it to the bathroom floor along with my sweats, leaving my boxers on.
Scooping her up into my arms, I cradle her against me as I step into the tub.
Taking a seat on the bottom of the shower floor, I let the cool water wash over us. I pull her tight against me as Savanna clings to me, her face buried in my chest. Kissing her forehead, I gently slide my fingers up and down her back.
Gooseflesh erupts across her skin. “Dalton...” she whines, letting out a shiver.
“I know, baby. I got you.” I hold her tighter as the cool water washes over us.
We stay quiet like that, clinging to each other, until I hear a whimper. I look down and see tears streaming down Savanna’s face, mixing with the shower water.
Alarm pulses through me.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” I tilt her chain up, my thumb brushing her cheek.
She lets out a quiet sob in my hands. “It’s because of you.”
My forehead pinches together in confusion as I watch her shoulder shake. “It’s because of me, what baby?” Panic swells within me.
What is she talking about?
“That I’m like this,” Savanna gasps, trying to catch her breath.
“Baby, you need to talk to me. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”
It kills me when Savanna cries.
“That I’m drunk,” she slurs, her voice echoing off the shower walls. Savanna’s body curls into me as harder sobs rack her body.
“I caused you to get drunk?” I ask, rearing my head back. Savanna got piss drunk because of me?
Because of something I did?
“Yes! I told Hailey everything, Dalton!” she says in frustration as she shakes her head back and forth across my bare chest.
“Everything? What’s everything, Savanna?” I grip her body tighter, not letting her move an inch.
“Everything.” Her breaths come out ragged. “That you came to town and made me want things that I only dreamed about.” She pauses, a choked sob escaping her. “That you drive me crazy...”
My heart rate spikes.
I look down and watch her eyes squeeze shut. “That you will just leave me like you did last time.” She grows quiet, the cool water raining down on us. “That I’ve loved you my entire life...” she mumbles, exhaustion overcoming her as she grows quiet.
With my chest heaving, I grip her body, steadying her against me.
Leaning forward, I press a kiss on the back of her head.
I sud up the soap bar, brushing it over her skin, washing her.
I tilt her head back, massaging shampoo into her hair, my fingertips making gentle circles on her scalp before fully rinsing.
Once I’m finished, I pull her back into me again and let her rest, knowing we only have a few minutes left until this shower goes from cool to ice cold.
My shoulders hit the ceramic tile wall as I close my eyes tightly, feeling as though someone has already thrown a bucket of ice water on me.
The two things my brain grasped the most from Savanna’s drunken confession are that:
One, she thinks I’m just going to leave.
And two, that she loves me.
After I get Savanna carefully out of the shower, I dry her body off, slipping an oversized shirt over her head.
Adjusting my raging erection, I sit her on the toilet and brush out her long, wet hair.
Her eyelids flicker shut as she sits there quietly.
The slow strokes of the bristles against her scalp seem to calm her.
Setting the brush aside, I pick up her toothbrush. Motioning for her to open up, I give her teeth a quick brush—she will thank me in the morning. Scooping her up, I cradle her, walking us to her bedroom. I set her down gently on her bed, tucking her in.
Savanna’s eyes fall heavy-lidded against her pillow, seconds away from passing out.
I press a featherlight kiss on her forehead and back away from her bed slowly.
My body sinks into the cracked leather armchair next to Savanna’s bed—preparing myself to stay up tonight and keep watch.
There’s been plenty of all-nighters in the military.
Staring at Savanna while she sleeps should be a piece of cake.
Settling into the chair, I stretch out my legs. Sliding my phone out of my sweatpants to pass the time, I go through my email, my attention snagging on my reenlistment details.
Shifting in the chair, my stomach drops.
What a fucking mess.
My ears perk up, head jerking toward Savanna when I hear a subtle noise coming from her. She’s been practically comatose since her shower confession.
“Dalton?” she whispers into the half-lit room.
I clear my throat. “Yeah?”
“Lay with me?” Her soft voice comes out weak, making it so I can hardly hear her.
Shit.
My eyes dart back and forth between Savanna and the open space beside her, self-doubt creeping in.
I don’t think this is a good idea.
I know I can trust myself to stay in this chair and keep my distance from Savanna tonight. But lying in bed with her? With her body touching mine while I’m wrapped up in her scent?
I’m not sure I have that much willpower in me.
Especially after everything she just confessed in the shower to me.
When I take too long to respond, a quiet plea slips from her lips. “Please, Dalton? Hold me?”
Damnit.
I can never say no to her.
I stand from my chair and stalk silently toward Savanna’s bed, sitting down gingerly in the open spot.
My weight dips down into the mattress as I lie on my back.
Taking a few shallow breaths, I stare up at the dark ceiling—trying my best to focus on my breathing and not the girl I’m crazy about beside me.
Getting out of my head, I roll over onto my side and drape my arm across her chest. Savanna’s body molds perfectly to mine as I tuck her into me.
Just when I think Savanna is asleep, I hear a soft mumble. “Good night, Dalton. I love...” and before she can finish her sentence, she’s out cold.
Electricity courses through my veins as I think of the last word of that sentence.
You.
She was supposed to say you.