She nods and her hand strokes over her hip in a nervous gesture. “Thanks for today. It was immense fun.”
“Sure thing, Miami.” Georgiana, my heart pleads, but I haven’t been open with her and now is hardly the time. “Good night then.” I look over her shoulder into the bathroom and she gets the hint.
“Sleep tight.” She disappears into her room and closes the door. The distance between us is so short, but neither of us dares take that first step.
For a long time, I stand under the cold water, until the heat of my exertion dissipates. When I make it back to my room, my body aches and with a groan, I slip into the sleeping shorts I wear because she’s around. I lie on top of the covers and plug my earbuds in to listen to my thriller audiobook, hoping someone else’s fictional terror will submerge my own.
22
GEORGIANA
The scream that cuts through the thin walls pierces me and I startle awake, my heart hammering. For a moment, I’m disoriented, but muted moans keep coming through the walls and I scramble out of bed. Raiden sounds as if he’s being murdered.
In the dark, I fumble for a weapon, the only thing coming to mind being the bedside lamp. I jerk it from the socket and stumble my way to his door. I raise the lamp above my head and open the bedroom door wide, ready to whack whoever is in the house into the next dimension, but I freeze on the threshold.
Raiden is sitting upright in his bed, a hand reaching out, a sheen of sweat shining over every part of his exposed body. His eyes are wide open and staring blindly right through me, stopping me from coming any closer.
There’s no sign of an intruder, and I lower my weapon in slow motion, wary of giving him a fright. Raiden isn’t exactly with me, and I’m not sure I want to know where he is, because by the pull of his face, it’s terrifying.
I settle the lamp to the floor and step closer. All I want to do is take him in my arms, but I don’t know if it’s wise. If he’s having an attack of sorts and is about to retaliate, I don’t want to get in the way of his strength.
“Raiden?” I say softly, but he doesn’t register that I’m there. I tiptoe to him, until I’m right next to the bed, whispering his name. His agonized moans have waned to a few strained gasps of air, and when I touch his shoulder, he seems to slip out of his spell and looks up at me.
“Hey.” I force myself to keep calm and put pressure on his skin, feeling tremors run through his body as his head slumps forward.
“God,” he mutters.
Legs weak, I slump onto the side of his bed. My heart still sprints even though I know he is out of his attack. My hand strokes down his arm in a gentle caress. I have no idea what that was all about. “You okay?” I ask as I take his hand in mine. He still trembles and tries to regulate his breathing.
“Will be.” With these words he slumps into me, dropping his head to my shoulder.
I gather him to me and stroke his back, my fingers in his hair, the need to comfort him overwhelming. “Yes, you will,” I murmur as he slowly calms in my arms.
His hands have found their way to my hips, clutching and releasing my slip’s black satin between his fingers in what feels like gentle strokes. For a long time, we just sit like this, in a sinful closeness we’ve been avoiding for weeks. He’s heavy against me, but I don’t let go, taking in the smell of him, the soft scratch of his beard against the dip of my shoulder, our sticky skins gluing where we touch, as if we’ve just had intense sex. I mouth a quiet curse at finding everything about him arousing. Nothing about this should be sexy, but with Raiden, I can’t stop my body’s reaction, even with him like this.
He isn’t in the same headspace as me, because when he eventually straightens, there’s only regret in his eyes. “Sorry for waking you. At least now it’s done.”
“What’s done?” I murmur as he removes his hands from my body and shifts to create a gap between us.
“That.”
It’s all he says, and I sense him closing up. I grab at a last straw. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Hell no.” He drags his hands down his face and breathes into them when they cup his mouth. “Go back to bed. I won’t remember any of this in the morning.”
Speak for yourself, buddy. But I know when I’m unwanted and won’t outstay my welcome. I stand and slip out of the room, the sound of his weight falling back onto the mattress the last thing I hear before I close the door.
One thing’s for sure: this episode won’t be up for discussion over breakfast in the morning.
It’s Friday afternoon and my thoughts are still circling around the events of last night when Raiden comes up to me where I’m measuring the inside insulation to cut it to size. Of course, he didn’t say a word about last night’s events and carried on as if nothing had happened. I let it go, because if it were me, I’d probably want the same. New dawn, new day, best to let those demons rest.
“You know it’s the fair in Ashleigh Lake this weekend?” he asks as he pockets his phone.
“Can’t miss it, can you?” Yeah, let’s talk about happy things. There’s been a buzz in town as the fair is the highlight of the summer’s social calendar. Already the town is overflowing with visitors, and I’ve been contemplating skipping town again, but for this one, I might have to stay. Rachel has worked on me from one side, and the few times I’ve bumped into May, she’s also begged me to be here for it. There’s the livestock show, fabulous food, the country music and dance, as well as a Miss Ashleigh Lake to be crowned. Small town fabulous, indeed.
“You’re staying this weekend?” he asks, and I try not to imagine a hopeful tone in his voice. After last night, it feels as if any ground I gained with him has widened again. “Hunter’s launching his Nutty Crust flavor and you should see how his business all started.”
“Sounds like fun.” I’m sure Raiden already has a list of avoidance strategies that will ensure we’re not in each other’s space. Usually, I head out with my car in any direction and see what’s en route, but with my jobless state and uncertain financial future, I’ve decided not to spend unnecessary cash. Sadly, that includes traveling on a whim.