He nearly slammed into her at the top of the staircase.
“I’m here. I’m here.” Her voice muffled into his shoulder as he crushed her against him.
“Jesus.” He pressed his forehead to hers before he could think better of it. His heart ricocheted around his chest like it was ripped from a deep sleep by a blaring alarm. “I wonder—” He sucked in a breath, trying to calm the panic storming through him.
“What? You wonder what?” She clutched the front of his shirt with a grip as fierce as his. When she tipped her face up slightly, their noses brushed, and the air between them crackled with a sizzling electricity. Those brown eyes shone back at him, so trusting, so sweet, so fucking needy for him, like he was the last safe place she had.
All he wanted to do was wrap her up in his arms and never let go.
The thought was enough to break the spell and snap him out of his momentary delusion. He exhaled sharply, taking a step back with effort, and putting much-needed distance between them.
“I wonder what my life would be like if you actually listened to me, just once.”
Her brow arched with familiar annoyance, her lips pulling tight in a combative expression he knew too well. Which was fine by him. Irritation, frustration, even her temper, he could handle. But the softness, that irresistible sweetness? Dangerous.
There were a million and one reasons why there couldn’t be anything more between them than cool familiarity. Starting with the fact that she was Joel’s sister-in-law and ending with the hard reality that she was a million miles out of his league.
She narrowed her stare. “Probably dull and boring. Oh wait, you like it like that.” Her tone was fiery, but there was still a wobble to it.
The sound would haunt him all night long, if not longer.
“Dull and boring won’t get you hurt.” Tucking his arm under her legs, he scooped her up in his arms.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, even as her arm went around his shoulders.
“You’re hurt.” He carried her to Sean and Ivy’s door. Practicality, he told himself. The apartment he was staying in was much closer than hers. It had nothing to do with the urge to keep her close.
“I banged my shin. I’ll live.”
“I asked you to stay put.I can’t keep you safe if you don’t do what I tell you to do.”
She squirmed in his arms, and he tightened his grip.
“I went up to the hall, Zeus. Besides, no one asked you to keep me safe. You decided to go outside all on your own. I told you not to.”
Frowning at the memory of her softly begging him not to leave her, he jerked the door to the apartment open and crossed to the couch.
As if he’d been summoned, Nigel sat there with a petrified look in his beady eyes. Damn thing was probably scared shitless. When Jordan heard Vanessa scream, he’d sprinted out of the apartment, slamming the door as he left. The basketball highlights still ran on the TV.
He gently set Vanessa on the couch, her body too limp and weary for his liking. Without a word, he tossed a blanket at her. He could tell she wasn’t herself yet since she didn’t try to stop him or get up to go to her own place. She simply wrapped the soft fabric around her body and scooped Nigel onto her lap.
Then he went to the kitchen to pour her a glass of water. When he got back to the living room, he found her petting Nigel, concentrating hard on his tiny furry body.
Without looking up, she said, “I’m sorry I caused a scene. I know I probably didn’t see anything. Most likely, my imagination was playing tricks on me.”
She stroked her long, slender fingers gently between Nigel’s ears, and Jordan had never been more jealous in his life. “My mom always told me I have an overactive imagination.”
When he set the glass of water in front of her, she wouldn’t look at him, and somehow that made everything worse. How many people had made her feel like she was overreacting? Being too dramatic? Too much?
You, for one, you fucking jackass.
With a slow, deliberate inhale, he settled onto the armchair across from the couch. The hum of the TV filled the silence as she continued to stroke Nigel’s fur. She seemed lost in the movement, grounding herself.
Attention never leaving her, he picked up the remote and turned off the TV. “I wouldn’t say that about you.”
She snorted softly, a sound laced with dry humor. “You don’t have to be nice. I know how you feel about me.”
His heart skipped a beat, and he leaned forward, elbows on knees. “Do you now?” He highly doubted she had any idea how he felt about her. Hell, he couldn’t even piece together howhefelt about her. It was a mess of contradictions. A push and pull so strong it was like a bloody purgatory, being caught between the heaven and hell of her.
