The Rebel - Raleigh Ruebins Page 0,73

wishing I could pull him even closer, wishing that we could stay that way forever, locked in each other like two pieces snapping together.

And finally, that overwhelming feeling of belonging with someone—even when I knew I couldn’t have him—that was what broke me. A couple stray tears fell down my cheek, leaving a hot streak that then went chilly in the night air.

“Liam,” Red whispered as he saw them, running his thumb under my eye to wipe them away. He pulled me into a tight hug, burying his hands in my hair.

“I’m sorry,” I managed to say. “It’s just… so much. And I’m so tired.”

“Come with me,” he said, wrapping one arm around my shoulders and turning toward the house.

“You don’t have to come inside,” I said, taking in a shaky breath.

“Normally I would make a joke about what you just said, but I’ll refrain.”

I was surprised when a laugh escaped me. “Make any jokes you want, Red.”

He nuzzled his nose into my hair again, breathing deep. “Fine. Typically, if you weren’t crying and we weren’t both wondering why we’re so crazy for each other, I’d have said something like… but coming inside is my favorite part. How’s that?”

My heart leapt in my chest.

I turned toward him again, squeezing his hips. I took a deep breath, finally not feeling tearful anymore. “That’s perfect. I needed that, honestly.”

“Good,” he said. “And now you need a good night’s rest.”

I reached into my pocket, fishing out my keys. “Those are hard to come by these days, but I’m going to try my best.”

Red bit his bottom lip for a moment, clearly mulling over a thought in his head. “Well, I’m going to help you,” he said.

My eyes snapped up to meet his. “What?”

“Just open the door.”

“You don’t have to help me—”

“Stop telling me what I do or don’t have to do. You hate sleeping alone, right?”

I swallowed. “I do.”

He nodded. “Then you’re not sleeping alone. Not tonight.”

“But your dogs—”

“I left them with plenty of food, and they’re used to nights on their own sometimes.”

A protest was on the tip of my tongue, but Red’s eyes on mine told me that he wasn’t going to accept anything like it.

And if I was being honest with myself, I knew that there was no chance in hell I’d ever refuse Red spending the night. Even if I was trying not to let myself get attached to him, I was powerless to say no to the one thing I wanted more than anything in the world.

I let out a breath, pushing the key into the lock and heading inside. Within moments, Red’s arms were around me again, leading me toward the bedroom.

He stripped to his boxer briefs and got into bed next to me, the bed sinking a little under his weight.

“Why do you do these things for me?” I said, my voice nearly a whisper.

He turned onto his side, facing me in the low light. He reached out, running his fingertips through my hair.

“Because I care about you,” he said finally. “And I’m sick of pretending like I don’t.”

The man was going to break me. It was almost too much of a good feeling.

I was so afraid to be cared for. It felt too vulnerable, like the second he cared about me, I was bound to fuck something up.

But it was too good to deny.

I let out a long breath, my eyelids fluttering shut. The feeling of his fingers stroking through my hair was a gift.

I started to drift to sleep as he pressed small, slow kisses to the top of my head. With him by my side, this strange, alien world of my new life didn’t seem so daunting.

Red made me feel like I could survive through so much uncertainty. He made me feel like I was safe.

When I woke up my body was too warm, and the sunlight pouring through the windows was strangely golden. I blinked my eyes open and saw that it was already one in the afternoon.

“Fuck,” I muttered, hauling my ass out of bed and padding out to the kitchen. Red was nowhere to be found, but there was a piece of paper on the counter with his unmistakable scrawl of handwriting.

L—

Had to head out to take care of my girls and get to the bar. The producers are calling for a quick meeting tonight and I’m heading in early.

I stayed as late as I could, but you were snoozing like hell. Fucking adorable.

—Red

PS: Your morning wood was poking through.