False Start - Jessica Ruddick Page 0,52

arm around her and tucked her against my chest. She snuggled against me.

Hell. I’ll just let her rest her eyes for a few minutes like she wanted. But then a few minutes turned into twenty, which turned into an hour. All the while, I watched her like a creeper. I couldn’t help it. Even with her injury, she was still the most goddamn beautiful creature I’d ever seen. I wanted to keep her like this—safe and in my arms.

Her eyelids fluttered, and I sighed. While I would be happy to hold her like this the entire night, she would get better rest in a bed.

“Bec,” I whispered.

She blinked sleepily then turned her face toward mine. “What?”

“Let’s get you to bed.”

“No,” she moaned. “I’m comfy right here.” Then she sighed. “Okay.” She pulled herself to a sitting position, and I stood, offering my hand. She took it, but when she straightened, she swayed and gripped my shoulder.

I wrapped my arm around her waist to steady her. “You okay?”

“Sorry. I got dizzy. I just need a minute.”

“I’ve got you.” I wondered if she would protest if I scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom. God, I really wanted to, and not for the innocent reason of letting her rest.

I’m such an asshole. She was injured, and I was having the most inappropriate thoughts, ones that were wrong on too many levels to count. But when she looked up at me with her big, vulnerable eyes, she undid me.

What if my thoughts aren’t so wrong? She was already wrapped around me. All I needed to do was lower my mouth to hers, and that question would be answered in an instant. It was so tempting, especially when her mouth was so damn pink and plump. She licked her lips, and I nearly groaned. It was like she could hear what I was thinking and daring me. Then she closed her eyes, and my face shifted toward hers, just a fraction of an inch.

When I’d fixed her shower and she’d been wet with her hard nipples taunting me, I’d almost lost it. But now when she was so vulnerable, I was having a harder time reining myself in.

She opened her eyes. “Carson.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Yes?”

“I think I’m okay now.”

“Good.”

Because I sure as hell wasn’t.

CHAPTER 13

Becca

“WHAT DO YOU mean you’re going out?” Carson asked.

I gingerly patted my forehead with the makeup sponge, doing my best to cover the bruise. If Lucy were there, she would be able to mask it perfectly. She’d actually decided to stay in New York for a few more days since she was about as eager as I was to get back to our apartment. Though she hadn’t been there, it had been her room that had been rifled through, first by the burglar then by the police. Plus, she would use just about any excuse to spend time in the city. No doubt she was racking up credit card debt with all the Broadway tickets she was buying.

“I’m going out,” I said again, being purposefully vague. Last night, I’d been so close to giving in and kissing Carson. I had gotten dizzy when I’d stood up, but I hadn’t needed nearly as long as I’d taken to recover. Instead, I had been fighting for control, trying to talk myself out of doing something that might end up becoming my biggest regret. Because if I kissed him and he rebuked me, I would never recover from it. Though I’d been exhausted, I’d lain awake, thinking about what had almost happened. Hell, it would have happened if Carson weren’t so much taller than me. If his face had been level with mine, I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself.

So that morning, I’d texted Blake to set up a coffee date. We’d been texting back and forth since my original text but hadn’t managed to meet up yet. After last night, though, I was so desperate to distract myself from Carson that I was willing to go on a date with a huge bruise on my face. If Blake was put off by it, then I could write him off. Consider it a test.

“You still shouldn’t drive.”

“Blake is picking me up.”

Carson cracked his knuckles, and the sound echoed off the tile in the small bathroom. “Who’s Blake?”

Here we go.

“He’s on homecoming court with me.” I spun and braced myself by gripping the sink behind me. “You promised you would be cool about this sort of thing.”

He wouldn’t