I ultimately decide against finding Jessie, because that’s an argument I’ll save for a different day.
I kneel in front of Kelsies curled body and smile. She’s sleeping so peacefully, and has a drop of drool pooling at the edge of her plump, pouty lips, with her hair a mess.
I brush the stray hair out of her face and caress her arm while whispering, “Kelsey, wake up, we need to get you home.”
I repeat her name a few more times before she finally growls like a wild animal. Raising my brows, I can’t help but chuckle at her. She has continuously surprised me tonight. She’s kind of like Jessie in a way, so I can see why she’s taken to her.
“Kelsey, don’t make me have to carry you out of here.”
“Mmm,” She moans, but her eyes remain closed. “I can’t go home,” She mumbles.
“You have to. Who did you come with?” Her bloodshot eyes snap open, looking horrified, as she scrambles to sit up. “You don’t understand, Ican’tgo home. My parents would send me to an early grave after they interrogated me about my night.” She rushes out, pleading with me.
I don’t know how to respond because I have no experience with having strict or even remotely caring parents. Mine were just nonexistent. I brush a few flyaway hairs out of her panicked face and cup her cheek. I feel myself caving in to her.
“Fine. Come on.” I stand, picking her back up to carry her upstairs to my room, and she giggles.
“Where are you taking me?” She asks between the laughter.
“My room.” Her laughter dies, and I feel her heated gaze on me as she searches my face for a hint that I’m joking. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am.”
“But where will you sleep?”
I don’t answer. I’ll figure it out.
I sit her on the bench at the foot of the bed, handing herone of my T-shirts, and I help her put it on. It swallows her body, but I have to admit it makes me hard as fuck seeing her in it. It falls halfway down her thighs, and the way her long hair drapes down her back makes me want to wrap it around my fist and pull it, making her scream out as I fuck her from behind. Shaking that thought from my head, I pull the covers back on the bed, motioning her into it. She lies down on her side, tucking her arm under the pillow.
“Stop looking at me like that.” She says, as her cheeks flush.
Her eyes are heavy, and her breathing has picked up. I could ask her, ‘like what?’Just to hear her explain, but she’s exhausted and needs the rest. So, instead I say, “I’d prefer you sober when I fuck you. Get some sleep. I’ll bring you something for the headache.”
“I don’t have a headache,” She argues.
Oh, but you will, Little Bird.She had way too much to drink.
“And if you prefer me sober, then why did you get me so drunk tonight?” I keep my back turned to her and glance over my shoulder to see that she’s now sitting up.
My brows crease, “You chose to play. You could have said no if you truly didn’t want to.” And then I walk out, softly shutting the door behind me, cutting off whatever she was about say.
Entering my bedroom, it’s quiet. I look over to my Bird lying in bed, her eyes closed, and her chest softly rises and falls. She’s asleep. Setting the pills and water on the nightstand beside her, I walk around the bed to my side and sit.She wiggles at the creak in the bed, but quickly settles. The air that blows up when I pull the covers up carries Kelsie’s rich scent, and it caresses my senses like the sweetest dream—warm vanilla and honey. I could live off the smell of her alone. It’s funny how she makes me feel all soft inside. It’s such a stark contrast to the heaviness I carry every day.
I lay with Kelsey’s back to my front—only a small space between us. I’ve never kept a girl overnight before, so I’m not sure how to cuddle or be nurturing. However, something about Kelsey triggers that protective response in me. I want to keep her locked away, safe forever. I want her to be mine and only mine.
I lie here for hours, just watching as her breathing escalates and settles while she dreams. The way her body twitches and her eyes flutter. The sun is just barely starting to peak through the opening in the blackout curtains before I finally doze off.
9
KELSEY
Cracking one eye open, I close it immediately from the pounding ache in my head. I groan, wishing I hadn’t had so much to drink. The room is dark, with a sliver of sunlight peaking through the curtains. My eyes pop back open, and panic overwhelms me.Where the fuck am I?
Nothing is familiar, and I can’t seem to remember how the night ended. I remember being in the basement with Ryder, but after that, it’s all a blur. Panic seizes my body as I take in my surroundings. Everything is black, as if I’m in some sort of horror movie. Who the hell has a roomthisdark?
My back goes ramrod straight when I sit up, noticing the clothes I have on are most definitely not mine. At least I’m not naked, right? But then that leaves the question of, where are my clothes, and why do I not have them on? It’s a man’s, a big man’s, because I’m swimming in this thing.Maybe Hayden’s? I hate that I can’t remember anything that led to this moment. The headache intensifies, and I wince. My stomach isn’t feeling any better than my head either.
While patting the covers and blindly searching the nightstand for my phone, I find two pills. I hold them towards the light from the window, seeing that they’re pain relievers and there’s a bottle of water.
