Catastrophic Attraction - Eve Langlais Page 0,74
protested. One leg dangled from the side. Grabbing hold of it, she tugged it onto the bed, noticing his feet dangled off the edge because he’d missed the pillow.
She removed his shoes and holster. Weapons shouldn’t be left around the truly drunk. She didn’t touch his pants or shirt. She pulled the blanket over him and was tucking it around his shoulders when he opened his eyes again.
“Casey.” He sighed her name. “Why can’t I tell what you’re thinking?”
“Because it’s none of your business,” she tartly replied.
“But I need to know. How else do I know?”
“Know what?” she asked.
“Does she like me? Or hate me?”
“Why does it matter?”
“Because every time I trust a woman, it ends up a lie.”
“Who lied?” Because he spoke as if he’d had more than one betrayal. Had someone other than Theona also been untrue?
“She did. Saying she loved me. She loved me not.”
“She’s also dead.”
“I know. I killed her.” He said it softly, his eyes closed. “I was wrong once before. What if I am wrong again?”
“You can trust me,” Casey felt compelled to say.
“I know I can trust you.” For a moment his eyes opened, glowing blue. “But I’m afraid of everything else.”
“Like what?”
He shuttered his gaze. Thinking him passed out again, she went to move, but his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. “Where are you going?”
“To find a club to knock you out with,” she grumbled. She hated dealing with drunk people. She’d heard she was a pain in the ass when it was her turn to be lugged around. It didn’t happen often.
“Don’t hate me. I had to do it.”
“Do what? Drug me to visit your sister?” She leaned down and said, “I’ll make you pay for that when you wake up.”
“So long as you’re still here.”
The words caused a flutter in her chest. “And if I weren’t?”
“Then I’d know I truly fucked up. Again.”
That hurt her heart. “Yeah, you did, but we’ll get over it. I’ll see you when you wake up.” Because he needed sleep.
“Don’t leave me alone.” The words were husky and low.
“Why?”
“Because.” The only thing he said, and yet she could have sworn she felt a heavy warmth around her, welcoming and comforting.
She could have broken his hold on her wrist easily enough. Instead, she lay down, wondering at this vulnerable side of him. The broken part. She understood broken things. There were times her past haunted her, too.
Apparently, they had that in common. That was why he’d drugged her. Not because he wanted to hide his sister from her but to ensure she didn’t see his weakness.
He spooned her body into his, the size of him engulfing, and yet she didn’t feel constrained. Rather, cherished, especially when he whispered, “If only this were real.”
“What makes you think it isn’t?” she murmured back.
“Because the real Casey’s going to kill me,” he groaned, burying his face in her hair.
He then began to snore lightly, but she smiled. If he’d thought the striptease of earlier cruel, she had something even more wicked in mind for him.
She allowed herself to doze, one ear open to the noise around them. When he began to stir, she was ready, grinding her bottom into his body, feeling him harden. She pretended not to notice even as she purposely teased.
His arm around her tightened, his hand seeking her breast. She allowed one squeeze before she rolled out of bed.
“I call dibs on the first shower.”
“We could share,” was his guttural reply.
She cast him a glance over her shoulder. “No thanks. I prefer to masturbate alone.”
The most brazen thing she’d ever said, and her cheeks turned hot, but it was worth the shock in his gaze. His jaw completely unhinged.
She stripped on the way to the washroom and was gratified to hear him grumble, “Not fair. This is way worse than what I did.”
In a sense he was right because it made her suffer, too. But she took care of it in the shower, even as it lacked the release she would have gotten with him.
When she emerged, he appeared quite annoyed. He had also obviously answered the door, given they had a new tray of food. It occurred to her to chastise him, only to remember how many times Cam had done the same thing to her.
Wait a second. Was she coddling the king like her brother used to with her? She could see how easy it would be to fall into the trap of assuming someone needed their help. She knew Roark