“Blown.” He pinched my side again, and I swatted at him. “Right.”
I snorted, and when I glanced up, his eyes were closed. As I watched him taking a well-deserved nap in the soft glow of the holiday lights, I knew I would always make the choice that kept him safe.
“You’re not going to have to be scared of any of those men on that list ever again.” I brushed his hair off his forehead, then leaned up and ghosted my lips across his. “That’s a promise.”
9
TYLER
I woke up at some ridiculous time in the morning to my mother’s screams echoing in my head. My nightmares were so real that, for a bit, I wasn’t sure if the sound was in the house or not. For a few minutes, I didn’t open my eyes while panic crawled around in my body. Eventually, reality filtered into my mind and I was able to take a deep breath.
At first, I didn’t know how early it was until I found Eddie’s phone on the coffee table next to me and tapped the Power button. There was a picture of the Hollywood sign on the lock screen, the type of thing that made me think he’d snapped the photo himself. An ache wove around my heart. What would it have been like to go with him? My life would be different.Iwould be different. The pain that festered inside me wouldn’t exist.
Shaking off the thought, I focused on the time as much as my half-asleep brain would let me.
2:00 a.m.
I groaned. Way too early. I glanced around, blinking as my brain came online. Eddie wasn’t on the couch with me. The kitchen light caught my eye when I sat up.
I spied those pointy floor ornaments nearby and shook my head. Eddie was a good-hearted guy, which was why he owned those death traps, but he really needed to move them far, far away from anyplace he ever walked.
They weresucha bad idea.
Dragging myself off the couch, I yawned, unconcerned about my naked ass. He’d sucked my dick dry. I didn’t think it mattered that I was walking around his house with no clothes. Plus, he had the heat blasting, and it was toasty. Perfectwalking around the house nakedtemperature.
I found Eddie sitting at the kitchen table, a copy of my shit list in his hands. I had a tendency to write it out again if I didn’t have one on me. I’d jotted it down on a notepad Eddie kept around to make grocery lists when I’d gone to the kitchen for a glass of water earlier.
At this point, reliving my grievances as I wrote down those names was a compulsion. If it’d been any other night, I would’ve rushed over to rip the paper out of his hands, but I didn’t. I’d brought my baggage here, and as strange as it was because of how recently I’d been mad at him, I wanted to stay. I’d trusted him once and I did again. He’d shown me he cared and actions spoke louder than words.
He was in his sweatpants, which was a shame. But not entirely because he looked damned good in them. They were loose around his crotch, giving his dick a free swing, and right now it was an outline against his thigh. My mouth watered.Yum.
The ink on his neck was stark against his pale skin. I licked my lips as the urge to run my tongue over each letter settled in. But it wasn’t his dick or tattoo that entranced me. It was his mouth, sweet and tilted downward in sadness, and I hated theemotion on his face. Maybe I could kiss the frown right off his lips.
“Hi,” I whispered, afraid of scaring him into doing something silly.
And I wasn’t wrong. He nearly tipped the chair to the side in surprise. He caught himself right before both him and the seat went toppling. His forehead crinkled, lines of concern dipping into his skin. “Oh fuck.”
“Are you okay?” I smiled and took the chair beside him while he chuckled at his near miss. I warmed at the way his gaze darted up and down my body. It was unusual for me to feel like someone couldn’t look away for agoodreason.
He placed my list on the table, not embarrassed about being caught with it. If anything, he was calm and calculated, more than he should’ve been at two in the morning. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He tapped the list. “Sorry.” He didn’t explain why he had it, and I didn’t ask. “Who’s the next guy on your list? Aaron Newland?”
We both ignored the fact thathisname was on the list. He seemed a little nervous, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to explain anyway.
Aaron.
Fuck.
It was almost easy to forget about him.Almost. He was my first boyfriend. I’d trusted him. I’d met him about a month before my nineteenth birthday while I was working at a diner. He was rich and smart. One of my coworkers had told me to stay away from him, but he’d begun flirting. Of course, I’d fallen head over heels. The moment he’d asked me on a date, I’d said yes, thinking I’d met my happily ever after.
It all came to a crashing end when I’d found out I was a bet, like from one of those stupid teen movies. Except, Aaron didn’t regret it. He’d used me and filmed me without my consent, and shared clips with his friends. They came into the dinerconstantly to mock me and shame me about how I’d cried and told Aaron I loved him during one of our“lovemaking” sessions.
Aaron laughed with them.
When I couldn’t stand the harassment anymore, I quit my job.
I didn’t tell Eddie any of that. Instead, I grabbed his hand, sliding my fingers through his. His digits were longer than mine and sturdier, and they were solid enough to ground me in the moment with him.
“Do you work tomorrow?” I snorted. “I should say today. I never asked what you do.”
