“The snitch.” Her eyes were glazed, and she seemed so unsteady that he didn’t want to release her in case she toppled over.
Harper cleared her throat. “Tilly, I know Cody was going to drive you home, but I think it’s a bit busy. Would you mind—”
“I’ll take her,” Kayden cut in.
Tilly glared at her friend, a suspicious gleam to her eyes. “There’s no one here, Harper.”
“Sure there is.” Harper pulled Tilly into a hug and whispered something into her ear that Kayden didn’t catch, before stepping back and looking up at Kayden. “Get her home, safely, okay?”
“Of course.”
He slid an arm around her waist, not sure if she’d pull away from him. She didn’t. In fact, she leaned into his side, and it was the first time he’d felt good in the last week.
When they reached his car, he helped her in before climbing behind the wheel.
He expected Tilly to glance out the window. Maybe sleep a bit. Instead, she leaned her head back and watched him. He waited for her to say something. It was a good couple minutes into the drive before he broke.
“Why are you staring at me, Till?”
“Anyone else and I would have written them off after what happened, but with you, I can’t. And I’m not sure why.”
Fear buzzed in his ears at the thought of her writing him off. “Because you know that there’s a lot more to our story still to be told.”
When she was silent, he glanced over to see her frowning at him before she asked, “Why didn’t you trust me?”
“Because I’m an idiot.” He didn’t even need to think about that answer. “Because I didn’t realize what I had. Or maybe I did realize, but I was stupid and let it slip away.”
She shook her head. “But you’re not stupid, that’s the thing.”
“I am. When it comes to you, I’m the biggest fucking idiot on the planet. But I’m trying to be better.”
When they pulled up in front of her house, he didn’t miss the immediate tension in her body. The way her gaze skirted around the area like she was searching for her father.
He climbed out, muscles tense as he took in the woods. The dark shadows and easy hiding spots. Nothing. Nothing that he could see, anyway.
Carefully, he helped her out, and yet again she gave him her weight. Fuck, she felt right in his arms.
When they stepped inside, she went straight to her room while Kayden locked the doors and checked the house. When he finally returned to her, it was to see she’d slipped on a T-shirt…hisT-shirt.
Something rippled in his chest. It was fierce and territorial.
His. She washis. He just needed to work out how to make her realize that.
“I’m sorry, Tilly.”
Her eyes beamed into him. “You’ve said that already.”
“And I’ll keep saying it until you believe me.”
She slid beneath the covers. “I do believe you. But I don’t believe it won’t happen again.”
He crossed the space between them and perched on the side of the bed. Like his hand had a mind of its own, he reached for her cheek and cupped it. “How can I prove it to you?”
She leaned into him. “I don’t know.”
That was the problem. Neither of them knew. He lowered and touched a light kiss to her forehead. He wanted to stay, to keep his lips on her skin. To taste more of her.
Instead, he started to rise, but before he could step away, she grabbed his arm.
