Smiling at him as I yawned. “That would be great, Donovan, thank you.” He wove me through his giant house. There was no way a man decorated it. There was art on the wall and beautiful accents. Everything was perfect. I noticed a lack of photos, but maybe in fancy houses, you just do art? But no, Cora’s house had a ton of photos everywhere. “Since we’vegotten into some of my uncomfortable laundry, can I ask you a question?”
“We’re almost to your room, so better make it quick,” he smirked.
I couldn’t help myself. “Do you have visitors? Like in this house. It’s just, it’s a huge, huge house.”
“You can’t make that make sense, huh?” He chuckled. “No, I have no frequent, recurring visitors, a secret family, nor do I throw Great Gatsby parties. An opportunity to get this place arose, and I picked it up as an investment. Honestly, I didn’t intend to love Savannah Springs, so the plan was to flip it, but it didn’t quite work out like that. I know it’s big, but I really like the house.”
“I’ve only seen a few rooms, and I can see why you love it. We’ll do the whole thing tomorrow?”
“Yep-the whole thing. There is toothpaste and a toothbrush in the top right drawer in the bathroom vanity and ... oh shit, do you want sleep clothes? I don’t even know what I could give you that would fit. I can get the smallest pair of shorts I own.” And off he ran before I could even answer him. Sleeping in jeans wasn’t ideal, but I’d done it before, and I wanted to be an easy guest. Heading to the bathroom, I got ready for bed. Unsurprisingly, the bathroom was pristine as well, and looked like it belonged in some luxurious spa, not a bachelor’s house. Opening the drawer he told me to, I saw three individually wrapped toothbrushes. What a weird thing to have on hand for someone who didn’t have company. When I came out, he stood in the door with a pair of rugby shorts and sweatpants that were so big I’m sure evenmyass wouldn’t hold up, so I reached for the rugby ones.
“Did you play? Bennett did in college.”
“No way, how funny. I’m shocked that hasn’t come up yet.I played a season or two for fun in college when I wasn’t off being a lunatic. But, that’s an oxymoron because most of the rugby players I know are good guys, but are off their rocker. I guess it’s no surprise Bennett and I get on well.” He laughed as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the door, lost in a memory.
I stopped to turn to him and he just effortlessly exuded sexiness. Even him standing there leaning on the door made fangirl a little bit. “Thank you again for tonight, for driving me, and for letting me stay here. I really appreciate it.”
“The pleasure is mine, Audra. I mean, I’ve heard I have this huge house that no one visits, ya know? I should make use of it, so I’ve been told.” Mirth was dancing all over his face as he ribbed me.
I couldn’t stop the smile or chuckle that followed. “You should. It’s a beautiful house, Donovan.” I smiled at him. “Good night.”
He closed the door, and I continued getting ready for bed. Sleep didn’t come easy that night, though. I couldn’t relax because I was feeling every emotion under the sun. I was freaked out about Theo, but I still wasn’t sure I wasn’t overreacting. He’d never done anything like it before, so maybe he was grasping at straws because he was losing me? Did I want to go to the cops?
And Donovan freaking Wright. He sure came out of nowhere. How far we’d come from me not thinking he even liked me. He was unequivocally one of the kindest and most thoughtful men I’d ever met, along with a plethora of other wonderful attributes, including the world’s best kisser. Somewhere in the house, he was lying in his bed. If I were braver, like Jules, I would’ve gone to find him. Because she was good at just sex. But I didn’t think the just sex thing would work for us.Christ, if that kiss were any indication, sleeping with him once would screw me for life. Ugh, I shouldn’t have been feeling anything for him, but I couldn’t help it. There was a magnetism there that made those feelings hard to ignore. My brain and my heart definitely wanted two different things.
At 1:30 in the morning, I picked up my phone and lamented what time it was, but fell asleep soon after..
30
DONOVAN
Did I take a shower and jerk off to thoughts of Audra, who was sleeping down the hall? Yup. How depraved was I that in this time of serious emotional duress for her, I was imagining taking her clothes off, grabbing those fucking hips I couldn’t stop thinking about, and sinking deep into her warm body. Jesus.Get it together, Donovan.
I lay in bed and wondered what her reservation with me was. I refused to believe she didn’t feel the chemistry, too. The intensity of it was almost scary. Every time she was in the room, I had to look at her. Every time I was by her, I wanted to reach out and touch her, find her lips again, and hold her against my body. I wanted to hear her laugh and see her eyes crinkle up. It took a monumental effort not to seek her out in her room. Although I wasn’t used to having to wait for things, I’d wait for this. Us together was undeniable; she just had to get there. I learned my lesson after kissing her last week. I can’t be that forward again and scare her away. My eyes got heavy as I drifted off to sleep with thoughts of Audra King. Some sweet, some not.
“NO! STOP!” Audra’s screams reverberated through the house. It must have looked like I was struck by lightning, given the way I jumped out of bed and sped down the hall to her room without even stopping to put shorts over my flimsy boxers. I was moving so quickly that I crashed into the wall at the end of the hall to stop my momentum. Throwing open her door, I was ready to take on whatever was behind it.
Except I was absolutely not ready for it. Because it was Audra, just Audra, having a nightmare. Her shirt had hiked up because of her thrashing and I saw scars around her chest. She had mentioned an accident before; I wondered what happened? She was shaking like she was fighting someone, and then she let out the most soul-piercing whimper. It was time to wake up.
“Audra … Audra, wake up.” I started with just words. Nothing. Then I gently put my hand on her shoulder to shake her a little. “Audra, you’re having a nightmare. Wake up,” I said a little louder.
Her hand shot to my wrist, and she bolted up in bed. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were wild and wet with tears. She was heaving as if she’d just run miles, and it took her a couple of seconds to register where she was.
“You’re safe, Audra. You were having a nightmare. You’re in my house, Donovan’s house.” I said quietly while rubbing her shoulder to ground her.
Then a sob escaped her lips. “He had me and wouldn’t let me go. He was hurting me,” the cries broke free.
I didn’t have to ask who he was. She couldn’t keep putting this off. It was time to involve the authorities. I’m not exactly sure what they were going to do, but it seemed like it was time to involve them. But that task was for morning light. At thatmoment, all I could do was open my arms to comfort her. I was still treading lightly, so if she wasn’t okay with it, she wouldn’t have to lean in. She immediately scooted over, draped her legs over the side of the bed to sit, and wrapped her arms around me, resting her cheek on my bare stomach. Her scent and warmth invaded mine, and I put my arms around her, pulling her in and smoothing her slightly damp hair while she tried to get her heart rate down and her breathing back to normal. I had a conversation with my dick to please,pleasestay under control. All that separated us was a thin layer of fabric. It could go south real quick if I poked her in her chest. Not to mention, getting hard when she was in tears, post nightmare, is fucked up.
“It felt so real. I was so scared,” she whispered. “I never thought he’d act this way or do these things. I’m worried he is going to do something to me.”
After dancing around admitting it, the veil of night and the fear from her dream pushed out her confession. Hopefully, she’d be open to the police now. At minimum, she had to cover her bases. And if we hit a dead end there, my mind started going through some of the less savory people I knew that I could call on from my past. Not that I was ever involved in that kind of shit, but I knew people who were. A deep breath from her halted my thoughts and brought me back to the moment.Right now, all I have to do is hold her,I reminded myself.
It didn’t take too long for her to calm down, and when she pulled away, it seemed like she finally realized what I had on, or rather didn’t have on. Her mouth opened slightly, and I could hear her breath hitch. I looked down at her, and I shouldn’t have. Because the position was way too similar to a much different scenario, and when I watched her pull thatbottom lip into her teeth and look at me with big doe eyes, the arousal that had been hanging by a thread barreled in. The blood rushed south. “I…” My throat cleared. “I’m going to get different clothes on real quick.”
She shook her head ever so slightly. “Please don’t leave me right now.” Her voice barely a whisper.
“Okay,” I said, as I blew out a breath and then stepped back to walk around to the other side of the bed, trying to keep my back to her. At least if I could get under the covers, I could somewhat conceal my situation. I could feel her eyes tracking me, so I pulled the covers back and hopped in as quickly as I could. Scooting so my back was against the headboard, I opened my arm again, offering her a space to rest. She came over and curled up like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like we’d done this a thousand times before. Like she belonged right here in my arms.
