Falling for the Player by Sherry Ficklin

Author:Sherry Ficklin [Westerfield, June Stevens]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-02-10T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Clay

The night is painfully long, holding her as she sleeps, unable to fall asleep myself as I measure every breath she takes, half afraid she’ll be sick, or worse, in her condition. Terrified she will roll over, open her eyes, and panic, regretting what we’d almost done, what she almost said.

She had been trying to confess something to me last night, of that much I was sure. But she hadn’t made sense. I want—no, I need—to understand what happened to her. To know what made her run back here in fear. But I won’t push.

Despite the lack of sleep, part of me is glad she passed out. If she hadn’t, I’m not sure I could have stopped myself from taking her, even if she was a little drunk. Her tears twisted in my heart like knives, the warmth of her skin threatening my very sanity. She asked me to want her, and I didn’t—don’t—have the strength to resist.

Even now, in the stark light of morning, I hold her against me, letting my fingers trail down the flesh of her side, from her bra to the top of her hip. She’s a miracle, an angel. More than I deserve.

And if there is a god above, when she wakes up, she still will be.

There’s noise outside my door, no doubt Ava stumbling to the kitchen for aspirin, if she drank half as much as Emma. I debate slipping away to get some pills and a bottle of water for her when she wakes up, but, if this morning goes badly, I want to hold her like this for just a little bit longer.

As it turns out, my time is painfully short. Emma murmurs, rolling over and nuzzling her face into my chest before opening her eyes and blinking up at me.

“Holy shit,” she mutters, making me laugh.

“Well, that’s better than I expected, I guess.”

She frowns, but doesn’t pull away so I take the opportunity to pull her in a little closer.

“Last night…” she begins, but I cut her off.

“Nothing happened. You passed out,” I say, and she exhales, I can’t tell if it’s in relief or disappointment. “Not for lack of trying.”

“I didn’t mean to barge in here and molest you,” she says softly, her cheeks flaming pink. “I mean, yes, I did, but…”

“It’s alright,” I offer, kissing her on the forehead. “How are you feeling?”

Grabbing the sheet, she pulls it up over both of us, tucking it under her chin, “Embarrassed mostly.”

“Why? Because you called me a sex God and threw yourself at me?”

She snarls, “I did no such thing. Did I?”

With a chuckle I shake my head, “No, but you wanted to. I could tell.”

“Well,” she says, touching the tip of my chin with one finger. “That’s probably true.”

I freeze, torn between kissing her and releasing her. “Look, I know you were drunk last night. So, I don’t want you to think I’m going to hold you to anything you might have said. Truly.”

Her eyes flicker up to mine, jade green and wide with surprise.

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