Kiss and Break Up - Ella Fields Page 0,85
Just put me down.”
“No.” He marched over the grass, stopping to grab the spare key from its hiding place behind a broken piece of wood on the exterior of the house, then unlocked the door.
After setting me on my bed, he walked back out of my room. I thought he’d left when I heard the front door close until his footsteps traveled back over the ancient floor.
“You can leave now,” I said, kicking off Mom’s heels.
Dash grabbed them, leaving the room again to take them to hers while I stripped out of my skirt.
He returned as I was pulling the duvet back, a bottle of water in hand. Holding it out to me, he took a sweep of my bare legs, breathed out a loud exhale, then left the room again.
“The hell are you doing now? You better be leaving!”
“Not leaving,” he said, returning with a bag of chips and splitting it open.
Shucking off his boots, he watched as I got settled and took slow sips of water, then set the chips next to me on the nightstand. “You should eat something to help soak up all that Johnnie.”
I put the bottle down and frowned as he took his jacket off. “And you should go home.”
He climbed over my legs, lying down over the duvet and curling onto his side. “Already am.”
Those words had me sputtering, they were a fist colliding with my chest, and I yelled, “No, you’re not. You wrecked me. You ruined me. You destroyed me. You’re not home. You’re not anything to do with me. I can’t …” I drew in breath after breath, unable to get enough air as the world turned an array of bright colors. “Where did you even go?”
“Shh.” He pulled me down to the bed and rubbed my arm. “Settle down, or you’ll be sick. I stayed at some shit-star hotel for a week and watched soapy as fuck TV.” Seeing my narrowed eyes, he added, “On my own.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
My heart wouldn’t stop galloping. “I hate you.”
“I know.” He sounded defeated, but I knew better.
“I despise you.”
“I know.”
“Was it worth it?”
“No,” he said. “Fuck no.”
The burning in my eyes couldn’t be extinguished, so I let the agony roll free.
Dash watched, his own gleaming and causing my tears to fall faster.
“Please don’t cry, Freckles.” I’d never heard or seen him so vulnerable. “Please,” he whispered.
“It’s your f-fault,” I stammered.
“I know.” His breath blew warm over my face as he sighed. “I know.”
The pounding started near my temple, and as it grew, morphing into a giant ball of pain inside my skull, it forced my eyes open.
Sunlight crested the bed, its soft rays indicating it’d not long began its ascent into the sky. The glow fell over the bed, and I shut my eyes, my mouth dry and coated in a layer of film that would probably take three rounds of brushing to clear.
They were heavy, but I forced my lids open again, taking in the sharp angles of the man lying beside me. His hand was close to mine, and the hairs dusting it matched that of his lashes, a dark brown that drew attention to his arctic eyes.
The depths beyond were frightening. Though the temptation to test the frigid waters called to me, I’d never felt it so acutely as I had this past month. Now I knew better.
You could get lost in a face like his—the high cheekbones, the feathered arches of his brows, and the masculine jaw. The dimple and his smile were an extra dose of unnecessary charm.
But it was his eyes. They wouldn’t just cause you to lose your way; they would haunt you until you lay trapped beneath their intensity.
Even asleep, all he was couldn’t be gentled. He was a slumbering beast veiled behind an angelic face.
His voice caught me before his eyes did. “I’m so hard right now, I could probably hump your mattress and come.”
My head thrashed as I attempted to roll my eyes. “Good morning to you too.”
One bright blue eye blinked open, and the groggy smile that illuminated his face had my breath stalling, a harsh puff of air leaving my nose. “Fuck, I love waking up next to you.”
I rolled to my back, closing my eyes against the brawl taking place inside my head. “You should go before Mom gets home.”
“Not so fast, Freckles.”
“Stop calling me that.”
He huffed, his voice rough from sleep. “Like you can ever stop me.”
I said nothing, wishing he’d leave and wishing he’d stay and tell me this