Anti-Stepbrother - Tijan Page 0,79

his chest. His face was just as gorgeous as the last time I’d seen him, but it was exhausted, like Diego’s had been. No, that wasn’t true. Caden looked like he might be the definition of exhaustion. But over all of that, a hard mask came over his face. His jaw clenched, and I knew this was the no-bullshitting Caden.

“Just tonight and this weekend?” he asked.

I let out a small breath and glanced down to the floor. My hands twisted around the end of my shirt. “No, not just for then.” I looked back. “I can’t tell you why I’ve been avoiding you.”

“So you have been avoiding me.”

I paused. “Was that a trick question?”

He rolled his eyes, shifting so he rested against the wall. I moved so my side was against it too, and we stood even closer now. “Just tell me what’s going on with you.”

“I can’t. That’s the problem.”

“Why not?”

“Because if I did, that’d lead to a whole other conversation, and to be honest, I’m almost shitting my pants even thinking about that conversation. So yeah. I’m here, but I don’t want to talk about why I haven’t been here, and I just want to be here for you. That whole last sentence doesn’t make sense, but I don’t care. Can we truce it for the night?”

“No.”

My shoulders slumped. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t like it. Why the disappearing act? I won’t let you stay until you tell me. Is it because you have feelings for me?”

“WHAT?!” My eyes snapped open.

“Because if you think you have feelings for me, you’re wrong.”

“I am?”

He shook his head, a slight smirk there, and hooked a finger into a loop on my waistband. He pulled me closer, lowering his head. “There’s lust between us. I’m going to give that to you, and knowing how screwed up you are about your stepbrother, I can understand if you got it twisted. You don’t have feelings for me.”

“I don’t?”

He was wrong. But he was making it okay to be around him, and I was going with it. I needed to be here. I couldn’t have stayed away any longer anyway.

I was so weak.

“No.” He pulled me the rest of the way until there was no distance between us.

I felt him. I felt the thump of his heart. I felt the heat of his body, and I especially felt how he wanted me. I was salivating.

He lowered his head until his breath warmed my lips. “But here’s my warning for you: I need you tonight. Don’t run.” He pulled his head back, his eyes searching mine. “Please don’t run.”

He delivered a bomb to me and stepped back as it detonated. I felt wrecked, but I could only nod, because in that moment, I would’ve given him anything. I was his for the night. I was maybe his for more than the night, and if he wanted to call it a lie, I didn’t care.

I whispered, “I won’t.”

His hand cupped the side of my face, his thumb resting on my cheek, and I felt the tension leave his body. Everything relaxed, and his forehead came down to mine. “Thank you.”

I cupped the side of his face, too, but I bit down on my lip. I kept the words from spilling out, the ones that wanted to be released so badly.

He was wrong. My feelings weren’t just misplaced emotions. They were a lot more than that.

“Mr. Banks?”

A nurse came down the hallway in blue scrubs.

Caden stiffened, readying himself, and turned around. “Yeah? Is he okay?”

She nodded, a tight smile on her face. “He’s awake and asking for you.” Her eyes moved to me. “Family only for now. Doctor’s orders.”

“Yeah. I know. That’s fine.” He reached behind him and grabbed my hand. He held on tight. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” She started to leave, but paused a few steps away. “Would you and your guest like some coffee? I was going to take a quick break myself. I can bring some back.”

“That’d be great. Thank you again.”

She nodded, and a sad and weathered smile filtered across her face. “I can bring you coffee all night, if you’d like. That’ll never be a problem.”

I had a flashback to when my mom was in the hospital. Another nurse had said the same thing, “I’ll be here with you all night.” She’d offered blankets, a pillow, coffee, water, snacks. She’d come in every hour to check on us. And I knew she looked through the door more often than that, just to make sure