Once she was warm, I climbed in beside her and dragged the heavy blankets over us. She curled into me, resting her head onmy chest and throwing her leg over mine. Her hand settled flat on my stomach.
For a few minutes, the wind howling outside was the only sound in the quiet room. But I could feel her heart rate picking back up against my ribs.
“Brock?” she whispered into the dark.
“Yeah?”
She lifted her head. “What are we going to do if I get fired?” Her voice wavered. “I’d… I’d have to go back to Chicago. And I don’t want to leave you.”
I hugged her closer, running my hand slowly up and down her back.
“I don’t want you leaving either, Starlin’,” I said quietly. “But if you decide you need to go back for a while… I’ll come see you as much as I can. I’m on the road half the damn year anyway. We’ll figure it out. I’m not losing you that easy.”
Sienna lifted her head, looking at me in the soft moonlight spilling through the window. “You mean that?”
"Every word."
Silence stretched between us. She rested her cheek over my chest again, her fingers stalling against my skin.
She let out a heavy breath. “I'm so used to fixing everyone else's problems. The one time I actually trusted a guy?—”
I felt my jaw tighten, but I kept my hand moving slowly down her back.
She tensed. “God, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be bringing this up right now.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I murmured. “I want to hear it.”
She let out a slow, shaky exhale. For a moment I thought she might change her mind, but then her voice came out quiet.
"We worked together. He screwed up and begged me to take the blame." Her fingers picked at the blanket. "I did, and I got demoted. Then, I found out he'd been cheating on me the wholetime. He only confessed because he wanted to move out of our apartment."
She tried for a smile, but it barely held.
"So... trusting a guy who says he's got my back? Not really my strong suit anymore."
My jaw tightened. No wonder she held onto control so damn tightly. Some bastard had used her to save his own ass, then twisted the knife on the way out.
I couldn’t claim to understand that kind of betrayal, but I did know the scar it left behind. That hollow certainty that depending on someone just gives them a place to stick the knife. My own brother had walked out on us and never looked back. I learned to brace for impact too.
I pushed the anger down. She didn’t need that from me tonight.
“Thanks for telling me,” I said softly, brushing my thumb over her lower lip. “I’m not him, Sienna. I won’t screw you over like that.”
Her eyes darted away. A tiny frown pulled at her brows, but then her shoulders finally relaxed against me.
“I know,” she said. “And I’m trying, Brock. I really am.”
My throat locked up. After all of it, she wanted to try. With me.
I pulled her in tighter, my arm wrapping around her waist, and pressed my mouth to the top of her head. Held it there.
“I know you can handle everything on your own, Starlin’,” I murmured against her hair. “But from now on, I’m right here. You give me your trust, and I won’t let you down. I’ve got you.”
twenty-six
. . .
BROCK
