“Yours. I don’t want to explain anything to Daniella or my brother tonight. They might be there.”
I nodded. Elle and I hadn’t talked about sleeping together and what it meant, so seeing her brother was the last thing I wanted to do. I guided us toward the elevator, and we waited. “What’s in your head right now?”
“Exhaustion. When it settles though, I replay the moment the fight started. Or when your hand came through the broken window. I thought… I thought it was that guy.” She trembled again, and I wanted to kill Todd.
“He’ll be charged. He won’t come back.”
“I know.” She gulped and brought her hands tight against her middle. “I’m glad you were there, Cal.”
Me too.I couldn’t speak, the combination of relief and anger making my voice box break. I brought us into my place, and after locking up, I tugged her toward the bathroom. “Come on.”
She followed, questions in her eyes as I hoisted her up on the counter. Blood flecks covered her face and neck and arms from the shards, and I wet a towel with warm water. I started at her forehead, carefully wiping the blood and making sure there was no glass.
Once I was done with her forehead, I got her cheeks and jaw. She sat there, quiet and watching me. I finished her face, and with shaky hands, I cleaned her neck and shoulder. I couldn’t stop myself, and I pressed a soft kiss where her neck met her shoulder. “I’m sorry this happened.”
“It’s not your fault,” she said, her voice hoarse.
I moved my face to stare down at her long lashes fanning against her cheeks with each blink. Her full lips pulled in a pout. God, she was incredible. I sighed, eyeing the blood on her black tank, and I grabbed the edge. “I’ll give you one of mine.”
She nodded as I lifted the shirt over her head and tossed it on the floor. She wore a white lacy bra that had my blood pumping. She was gorgeous, and her small cleavage was inviting, but it was not the time. At all.
I found an old hockey shirt and carefully put it over her head. She drowned in it, and if I was a sentimental kind of guy, I’d have taken a picture of her like that. “Water?”
She nodded.
I got two glasses and found her removing her shorts in my room. Good. I wanted all reminders of the bar gone. “Drink this. I’m getting out of my clothes too.”
“Okay, thank you.”
I moved to the bathroom when she said, “Cal?”
“Yeah, baby?”Shit.The term slipped out.
“Keep your shirt off. I can’t seem to warm up.”
“Okay.” I smiled at her and did as she asked. I got ready for bed and climbed in next to her. She wasn’t lying—her body was freezing. “Come here.”
I positioned us so her entire back was against my chest, my arms wrapped around her middle. She sighed and relaxed into me, her little sounds adorable. The image of her fear was still rooted in my mind, and I squeezed her tighter. “I thought something was gonna happen to you. It terrified me.”
“Me too.” She snuggled deeper. “My mind is racing, and I can’t relax. I don’t know if I’m gonna cry or pass out, but it’s overwhelming. That was fucking scary. The glass, the violence. What if someone had a gun?”
I could barely swallow. Those thoughts were in my head too. “What would help you relax?”
“Reading, usually.”
“Want me to read to you?”
She tilted her head up so her forehead hit my chin. “Would you?”
“Sure.” I smiled and kissed the top of her head. “I have my blind date right here. Only a few more chapters left.”
She settled into me more as I picked up the book where I’d left off. It had been fucking years since I’d read out loud. Brief flashbacks to high school had me pausing, but I let that go. If reading helped Elle relax, then I’d do it.
I finished one chapter, then another. My throat was dry, but her muscles started to softened as I spoke. It felt surreal to be reading a book to the sister of a former teammate, a girl who’d hated me for months. But somehow, it felt right. Perfect, even. I was always the one causing others to be angry or upset, but to be the comforter? It was a nice change of pace.
After thirty minutes of reading, Elle’s breaths slowed down, and her head leaned back on my arm. I checked, and she was asleep. Her lips had parted slightly, and her hair hung in her face, the image so strikingly cute I stared a little longer than appropriate. When I was satisfied that she was okay, deep in sleep, I set the book down, shut off the light, and moved us so I spooned her. I didn’t want her to wake up cold, so I tucked her in tight.
We could worry about the bar, hockey, and what was happening between us tomorrow. For now, I was going to enjoy the moment because I knew more than anyone that moments like these wouldn’t last forever.
