Getting shot down by a woman in a bar just means it wasn’t my night and I could try again there or go to another place to risk my luck.
Losing Hayden isn’t an option, but it’s nearly impossible for me to keep my distance from the only woman I can see myself having a real future with. I’m so out of my element it isn’t even funny.
Chapter 30
Hayden
My body is trembling, the gunshot echoing in my head as I clutch my own stomach in pain. My heart pounds in my ears, silencing every other sound.
The touch to my arm makes me scream, but when I spin my head around, it isn’t a man with a gun but Quinten looking down at me from the side of the bed with pain in his eyes.
“Hayden? Baby, it was bad dream.”
I inch away from him, struggling to separate the two realities. The dream was so real, the pain I felt enough to take my breath away, and yet it wasn’t. It was all in my head even though I can feel the burn from the bullet still in my gut.
“He shot me,” I sob. “He pulled the trigger before I could.”
“A nightmare. Come here.”
I don’t hesitate crawling in his lap like a child when he urges me forward. I wrap my arms around his neck wondering why he was gone in the first place. Then I remember that I came in here alone. Everything felt so awkward when I saw him in the kitchen earlier.
I don’t date, he told me before rocking my world with his mouth then his cock. I went into that situation knowing nothing would come of it, and here I am putting him in another situation where he’s forced to act as my guardian when it’s something he doesn’t want.
He holds me tighter, his lips against the top of my head, as my tears begin to fall.
“I’ve got you, Hayden. You’re safe here. Just relax.”
He rocks slightly, the motion both soothing and destabilizing. I should be stronger. I should feel all I am woman hear me roar because I defended myself today, but I don’t feel an ounce of that. I feel drained and empty. I feel discouraged and idiotic. I feel like he doesn’t want me because I’m weak and powerless.
And yet, I feel whole for the first time in a long time while I’m in his arms.
“Get some rest, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”
I curl my fingers against the warm skin of his chest, take a deep breath letting his scent invade my mind, and I drift off to sleep. The nightmare that was powerful enough to leave me cold and broken doesn’t bother me again.
***
If there were ever a sight in this world I’d want to get used to, it would be Quinten shirtless standing in his kitchen. His tan skin is a stark contrast to the mostly white décor, his dark beard making his eyes shine the brightest blue I’ve ever seen.
His smile matches mine when he notices me, and I’ll be damned if he doesn’t do one of those sneaky flexes I’ve noticed men do around Parker to accentuate the muscles in his stomach.
Blame it on my hormones or the restful sleep I got last night in his arms, but I don’t look away from him as I cross the room.
“Pulling out the big guns?” I tease as I reach for a cup in the cabinet, frowning when I notice everything is shoved to the back of the shelf. There’s literally no way for me to reach what I need.
I look over my shoulder, noticing a smile he tries to hide behind his own cup of coffee.
“Did you move all of this?”
He shrugs. “Maybe I want you to need me.”
More like I need him to want me—for more than a quick romp between the sheets.
“Can you grab me a coffee mug, Mr. Tree?”
He chuckles, placing his own cup on the counter before closing the distance between us.
“You can get it yourself,” he says, close enough that I can feel the heat of his body against my back. Goosebumps race down my arms and tighten my nipples in the most delicious way.
I open my mouth to argue, but he wraps his huge hands around my hips and lifts me. I freeze, suspended in front of him before I realize his intent and reach my hand to the back of the cabinet to grab a mug. The glide back down to the floor has my back and ass running the length of his front. He groans, and I nearly lose it when I feel his erection press against me. I want to stay pinned against him for eternity, and that thought really stresses me out. Wanting something I can’t have is painful, a blow not only to my ego but to my self-esteem as well. Regardless of how things end between us, I want to enjoy the ride as long as I can.