morning if Jax hasn’t already fixed it. I’m on a mission—to Tess. Walking into our lavish lobby, I nod at the night doorman. I think his name is Tomas. He looks the other way as I enter my private elevator.
I’m still jacked up from Aaron. No doubt about it, I lost it tonight. No one will ever have Tess but me. If it were up to me, I would lock her up and only I would be able to see her, feed her, bathe her. Unfortunately, that can’t happen, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Snickering at my drunken thoughts, I try to be quiet as I navigate in between my mom’s elaborate furniture.
I head straight to Tess’s room and lock the door quietly behind me. It’s dark. The only light in the room is from the moon and the lights of Manhattan. Tess hates to be alone, so she always leaves the curtains open.
She’s asleep, her long brown hair curling all over her pillow. Her even breathing alerts me. When I turn on the light, she doesn’t even move. On the nightstand are her pills. Reaching for the bottle, I force my mind to focus on the arduous task of counting them. Twenty-seven. That means she only took one 5 mg of Valium. I hate that she needs it, but it seems to work the best for her. Doctors always want her to try other drugs that are less habit forming. Xanax did nothing for her and she is allergic to a lot of antianxiety and antidepressant meds. Seeing that she’s a teenager, they don’t want to mess with a bunch of stuff. So, they monitor her. It’s unnecessary since I watch her, and she rarely takes one.
Right now, I feel like shit for numerous reasons, mainly that my girlfriend must have had a panic attack. I sit down next to her, watching her sleep.
I love to watch her. When she walks, she has the sexiest walk. When she laughs, she makes everyone laugh. When she smiles, she takes your breath away. And when she sleeps, she’s like a beautiful angel. A sigh escapes her soft lips, and she turns toward me, her hand reaching for me in her sleep. Her black, sooty eyelashes move up and down. We stare at each other.
“You all right?” Her voice—God that voice—is raspy from sleep.
“Yeah, Kitten, I’m fine. Go back to sleep. I’ll be right back.” Caressing her hair, I turn off the light. After I use her bathroom to shower, I wrap a towel around my waist and walk down the dark hall to my room. As much as I would love to sleep with Tess naked, she’s not ready. Plus, she might scream and alert the house I’m in her room. Pulling on some sweats, I’m almost ready to head back to Tess when I hear my mom.
“Reed?” She taps on my door.
“It’s open.” Pulling on a white tee quickly, I have no desire for her to see my knuckles, which are red and swollen.
“Have a good time?” she says, squinting at me. She glances at me from top to bottom.
“Yeah, sorry I woke you. Tess do okay tonight?”
“As far as I know. I checked on her around ten and she was already asleep. Just making sure you were okay, honey.”
“I’m fine, Mom.” She must feel guilty about Tess.
“Okay, well good night, sweetheart.” She hesitates.
“What, Mom?”
Shaking her brown hair, she whispers, “I… I want you to know that I’m proud of you for following the rules. Also, you came home before midnight. You’re still my wonderful boy no matter how big you get.” She quietly shuts my door.
With a snort, her “wonderful boy” sneaks back into Tess’s room and locks us in.
After I remove my shirt, I slip under the cool sheets, pulling Tess’s warm body to mine. My nose snuggles into her hair and neck. Her vanilla scent wraps around me like a ribbon on a present. No more strawberries. I don’t know when her skin morphed into smelling like vanilla or cookies, but it’s her own scent, and I need it to live.
“Kitten,” I whisper in her ear.
“Hmm? Reed? What are you doing? I thought we’re not allowed to sleep together.” Her voice makes me instantly hard.
My chest aches at how much I love her. “We’re not breaking the rule,” I murmur, pulling her even tighter. “Mom said for you not to sleep in my bed—nothing about me in yours.” Kissing her neck, I want so