Chapter Nine #3
My heart begins beating too fast in my chest as I realize he lies up against me, his body wrapped around mine, his arm draped around my waist, pulling me close. My body thrums with awareness.
I open my eyes, look around, and realize this isn’t my room. It is his. I swallow hard. I remember feeling sick after a trip to the kitchen and lying down on the sofa. Then he came home, found me, and carried me to his bed.
The sweet man. The sweet, sexy, protective man. He is going to kill me with his kindness and caring while I am supposed to be guarding my heart against his potent appeal.
I wonder if I can roll out from beneath his weight and slip away without waking him. No sooner do I shift than he groans, the sound reverberating through me.
“What time is it?” he asks, not letting go of me.
I blink and glance at the clock on his nightstand. “Four,” I say. I slept the day away. “Umm … why am I in your bed? With your arm around me?”
Instead of releasing me, he hugs me tighter. “You’re in my bed because I wanted to be able to keep an eye on you if you needed anything. And as for the other, I fell asleep and it just happened.”
I notice he doesn’t apologize for it, either. “Thank you.” But this is not a position I need to be in and I push myself to a sitting position, forcing him to release his hold.
He stretches and sits up beside me, running a hand over his messed hair, which, damn him, gives him a hot, just-had-sex kind of appearance. While no doubt I look like death warmed over.
“How are you feeling?” he asks, his tone worried.
I take a minute to catalogue how I feel now that I am upright. A little underlying queasiness. Damn. I hope I really am all better.
“Not perfect but better,” I admit. “But I should go.”
“No, you should let me get you food. You passed out before eating. Did you have anything earlier?” he asks, giving me a knowing glance.
“No.” I bite down on my lower lip. “But I can take care of it myself.”
He shakes his head. “That would be a no. I don’t want to worry about you fainting or getting nauseous again, so sit tight and I’ll be back with toast.” He rolls out of bed.
I am grateful to see he is still dressed and I wear my sweats and a tee shirt. I still desire him too much, want him too badly to have any kind of temptation adding to this situation.
He heads downstairs and I toss myself back against the pillows. “What are you doing?” I asked myself.
I am letting him take care of me… and enjoying knowing that he cares. I am torturing myself with what I can’t have. While he is gone, I go into his bathroom, a nice-sized room with a Jacuzzi tub, a shower with extra spray jets, and a neutral-colored décor. It suits him.
I take care of business and wash my face, brushing my teeth with toothpaste and my finger before rinsing. I feel cleaner, at least, and marginally better. Heading back to bed, I settle in to wait.
He returns a short time later with toast and jelly along with a cup of tea, placing both on the nightstand.
“Thank you.” I pick up the cup and take a sip, finding the tea sugared, just the way I like it.
My heart warms at the fact that he notices. Why is he such a contradiction? A man who doesn’t want commitment on one hand, taking such good care of me and even noticing things no one else in my life ever paid attention to before?
“So how did things go with Kayla?” I ask, refusing to dwell on what I can’t change.
“It went just as I intended. She won’t be an issue for me or Bailey anymore.” But despite the good news, his smile holds a hint of sadness as does his tone.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ll tell you if you eat.” He gestures to the toast on the nightstand.
I can’t help but smile at his insistence. “Fine.” I pick up a piece of toast and take a bite. The sweetness from the jelly satisfies a craving I didn’t know I had. But Austin clearly did.
“Well?” I tip my head, indicating it is his turn to talk.
He breathes out a long breath. “When all was said and done, I was thrilled I got what I wanted and Kayla won’t be trying to take my daughter from me anymore.”
“But?” Because something is obviously on his mind.
His lips lift at my obviously correct conclusion. “But I couldn’t help but feel bad when the cops took her away. I don’t like her but this is my kid’s mother. I’ll have to explain things to Bailey when she’s older and it’s going to hurt her.”
I place the toast back on the plate. “Hey. You tried your best to make the marriage work. You didn’t tell her not to be a caring parent.
” I don’t use the word abusive, although that’s what her actions were.
“You only pushed when you had no other choice to protect your daughter.” I want him to see the facts and not feel guilty that he acted against Bailey’s mom.
“You’re right.” He runs a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t make me feel any better, but thank you. I did need the reminder.”
“Because you’re a good man.”
His lips curl in a warm smile. Then he tips his head again. “Now keep eating.”
I roll my eyes, pick up the toast, and finish both pieces, feeling much better once I follow that up with the warm tea.