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I prayed it was the same thing I wanted.
“My vision is freakishly good,” she murmured. “I could wander around the house in the middle of the night and never turn on a light. Crazy, huh?”
“Yeah.” I lay perfectly still, my body unsure if it should gear up for fun or disappointment.
“Hayden, I’m scared.”
“We’re not in immediate danger.”
“No.” Her hand cut through the air, as if to wash away what I said. “Not about that.”
Okay…
“When Blane broke my heart, I thought it couldn’t possibly hurt any worse, but I never liked him half as much as I like you.”
“You think I’m going to hurt you,” I said, “but I don’t want that to happen any more than you do.”
“It’s hard for me to trust myself, much less someone else. If I let myself go, let myself feel… if it goes wrong, I don’t know if I can come back from that.”
At that moment, I could’ve killed Blane for using Tessa the way he did.
“I’m damaged goods, Hayden.” She moved closer to the foot of the bed. “Maybe you should bail while it’s easy.”
“Is that what you want?” I asked.
“No,” she answered quickly, “I just think we should wait to sleep together.”
I inwardly groaned. I wanted her so badly, my body hummed with anticipation. But if we went too far and she freaked, I’d lose her. “Okay, our clothes stay on.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “For how long?” But could I do it?
“I don’t know. A few weeks?” She laughed softly. “If you can put up with me that long without sex, you earned it.”
A few weeks? Was she kidding? Because of the strings attached, our exclusivity, I couldn’t go elsewhere for satisfaction. Not that I wanted to. I only wanted Tessa. “If you’re all over me begging for it, I won’t say no. What then? I’m the bad guy because I broke my word?”
“I need you to be stronger than me,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “You already know I have trust issues with you.” She turned and fiddled with something on her dresser. “A part of me thinks that, you know, you only want me because I didn’t fall all over you.”
“It didn’t help, that’s for sure. We always want what we can’t have. Which means that’s going to be a really hard promise to keep.”
“Try. Show me it’s not about getting laid.”
“It’s not, Tessa.”
“Show me.”
I gri
One side of her mouth lifted. “You know what I mean. I can’t compromise. I need you to help me.”
“Okay. I’ll help as much as I can.” And I would, too. I knew we were very different and we wouldn’t last forever. But I wanted to keep her as long as possible. I wanted to ride it out, take our relationship as far as it would go. I’d only accomplish that by giving her what she thought she needed.
“Can I sleep in here with you?” she asked. “You know, with that understanding?”
I inhaled and slowly released my breath, grateful I hadn’t been able to sleep. If she’d come in and found me snoring, she probably would’ve gone back to her own bed. “Come here.” I held out my arms. “I’ll be good. I promise.”
She crawled under the covers and into my arms, scooting low with her head on my chest. It didn’t look like I’d get a kiss goodnight to close our evening, but if we started that…
I held her tighter, trying not to feel her breast against me. Girls didn’t usually wear bras to bed and Tessa was no different. I squeezed my eyes shut, doing my best to ignore the scent of Tessa’s hair and her arm draped over my chest. If my body stayed on alert, aware of her every move, it would be a very long night.
So long as she stayed, I’d gladly suffer.
* * * *
Tessa smiled sleepily. “I’m so impressed,” she said in a husky voice. “You didn’t cop a feel even once all night.”
“That you know of.” I chuckled, knowing she’d remained unmolested. I’d finally fallen asleep about an hour after she’d snuggled up to me. She smelled so good, I was amazed I slept at all. My scratchy eyes told me it was too early to get up. “What time is it?”
“Shhh.” She held a finger against my lips. “I have parents,” she whispered. “They might be home and, as strange and disco
I should’ve been exhausted. But I wasn’t. The only thing going through my head was how beautiful Tessa looked in the morning. “Hey. You were great last night.” I gri
“You too.” The corners of her mouth curled up. “In a minute, I’ll check and see if they’re around. Get dressed in case you have to sneak out the window.”
She moved to get up and I rolled over, pi
Tessa giggled. “No kissing until I brush.”
“Okay.” I gazed at her face and brought my hands up to cup each side. “Our mouths won’t touch.” Instead, my lips gently brushed her cheek, then along her jaw to her temple.
A breathy moan escaped her lips. “Oh, my God. You really need to get off me.” But her hands under my shirt said differently, as if they willed me to stay.
I chuckled softly as she leaped off the bed, blushing.
“Be right back.” She vanished and returned moments later to hover near the door. “My parents aren’t home and Bree’s sleeping.”
I sprung from the bed, caging her in against the wall. “Then you’d better go brush. We don’t have much time.”
She laughed and wagged a finger. “You better get dressed while I’m gone. If we get caught, we won’t be able to do this again.”
* * * *
The park came into view on our right as I guided the Viper through the intersection. In the distance, children scampered on the playground and a handful of people walked their dogs. Just like any other day in the park. Except for a small section near the benches where families would normally barbeque or picnic. It was almost as if all humans instinctively avoided the men in suits loitering there.
“We want to act like we’re interested in joining them.” I looked for a place on the street to park.
“But not too interested.” Tessa wiggled her fingers on both hands as if preparing herself for a piano recital.
“Don’t be nervous. They won’t do anything. If anyone should be nervous, it’s them. They have to persuade us, not the other way around.” I glanced at her in the passenger seat.
“Hayden, which side will you choose? Do you know?”
“I’ll go where you go.” I pulled over and killed the engine.
“When we break up, you might regret that. Choosing wrong could mean your life.”
“When we break up? Not even if, Tessa? Are we doomed already?” I don’t know why her words wounded me. It’s not as if we were in love. And I didn’t want us to go there.
She squirmed in her seat, playing with the sleeve of her shirt, her eyes downcast. “C’mon, Hayden. We live in the real world, right?” Tessa zeroed in on the group of well-dressed people, so out of place for a park. “So who would you choose?”
“As much as I dislike Chait—”
She snorted. “You only hate him because he’s hot.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You think he’s hot?”
Tessa blew out a breath. “We both know that word is an insult to his level of hotness. If I denied it, you’d know it was a lie.”
Neither of us made a move to get out of the car. Our lack of action only prolonged the inevitable.
“But I chose you.” Her eyes found mine.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you’re the one I think about,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
I gri
She held out a hand for a high five. Our palms co
There had to be twenty sorcerers present. Why did they bring so many people? I sca