I Just Need You - J. Nathan Page 0,47

and slammed her door, likely waking half the floor.

Coward?

That single word was like a sucker punch to my gut. I prided myself on being brave and running into danger as opposed to avoiding it. But when it came to Kresley, she’d been right. I ended up being the biggest coward of them all.

I lowered myself to the floor outside her room, knowing I needed to sit out there to keep her demons at bay. Little did I know at the start of the night that I would’ve become one of those demons now.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Kresley

I contemplated not going to the shelter the next morning. I considered staying in my room all day so I didn’t have to face Tristan—so I didn’t have to pretend things hadn’t gone south in a matter of seconds. But why? Because he hurt my feelings? Because he turned his back on me? Because he was lying to himself?

I don’t think so.

I was Kresley Hastings. I hadn’t gotten to the place I was in by cowering in the face of adversity—as much as I might’ve wanted to at times. I’d escaped kidnappers, for Christ’s sake. There was no way I was letting some bodyguard break me. If I’d been such a mistake, I was going to be a mistake that he had to face.

I opened my door.

Tristan waited in the hallway with his arms crossed and sunglasses on making it impossible to know if he was looking at me or not.

I wouldn’t lie. The sight of him gave me a momentary pause as a rush of emotions flooded my chest. Regardless of the hurt I felt, I steeled my features and said nothing, just turned and walked down the hallway toward the stairwell.

“The car’s out front,” he said, as we walked down the stairs.

I quickened my pace. Immature? Maybe. But self-preservation was a powerful thing.

Outside the building, I opened the back door of the car and slipped into the backseat. No need to sit in the front to ignore him. I could manage just fine from the backseat.

Tristan rounded the front of the car. As soon as he opened his door, I focused on my phone in my lap. That would keep me busy until we arrived at the shelter. I skimmed through my newsfeed, but I wasn’t paying attention to anything on the screen. My mind whirled with images of last night. How Tristan made me feel when he was telling me he couldn’t stop thinking about me. The way his lips felt against mine, so soft and demanding. The way his body felt as he moved inside me. The safety I felt in his arms as we slept.

Then, as if a horrific car crash, everything flipped on its head. His nightmares. Him pissed at himself for falling asleep. Him calling our night a mistake.

And, as much as I wanted to tell him we could work through it all, I had too much pride to beg him to want me.

We arrived at the shelter amidst a blanket of dark clouds. The forecast didn’t call for rain, but it would remain overcast—as if the heavens knew this day was going to suck. I opened my door before Tristan even shifted into park, needing to be far away from him.

I greeted Doris inside and headed to get my first three dogs. I stopped outside a cage with a new small black dog in it. “Doris? Who’s this cutie?”

“Oh, that’s Simone. She’s quite a handful. A real yapper.”

“Hello, Simone,” I said to the black dog.

She barked.

“Shhh. It’s okay. I’m gonna take you for a walk. Would you like that?”

She barked, but something about the way she did told me she was answering my question. I leashed her up as well as two other dogs then headed outside.

I avoided looking to where Tristan leaned against the car as the dogs headed straight toward the path. And, even with Tristan trailing somewhere behind me, walking in the woods gave me time to think. Time to reflect on what the hell happened between us. Tristan had been into it. He’d treated me the way I hoped to be treated by someone I cared about. He’d made me feel cherished. He made me feel wanted. He made me feel everything I knew he would. Then he had the nightmare, received the text from the bodyguard in the hallway, and all hell broke loose.

Rule number one. I got it. He wasn’t supposed to be with me.

But if Tristan had been being honest about his