My nose flares. “The usual. They mouthed off and I snapped.”
She pauses as she dabs at the broken skin on my knuckles. “Was this about me?”
“Some. They fucked with Boone, left him in a field all night in the cold while he was trashed.” Anger digs into my gut. “You don’t mess with our family.”
“Is he okay?”
“They took him to the ER. He’s already been released and is in a hotel with his parents.”
She finishes applying a Band-Aid to a cut on my head.
I catch her arm. “Hey. Tell me about your mom.”
She sits next to me. “You know about her issues.” She plucks at the quilt on her bed. “She hasn’t been taking care of herself, obviously, and now she has a bleed on her brain.”
Shit. “I’m so sorry.”
Exhaustion seems to ripple over her as she pushes at the hair in her face. “I need to wake up early and get to the hospital.”
Is that my cue to leave?
Fuck. Don’t make it my cue to leave. “All right, I can—”
She takes my hand. “Would you just be with me tonight?”
I study her face. “Yeah, sure, whatever you need.”
“Good.” She smiles as she gets up to turn off the lights. Moonlight streams in the window as she turns her back and pulls her sweater over her head. No bra, but I knew that already. She grabs a roomy shirt out of a drawer and slips it on. Her hands loosen her jeans and they fall to the ground.
Her panties are blue and demure, but my cock thickens to a steel pipe. I keep my groan inside.
She pauses in front of me and brushes her hand over my hoodie. Her words are hushed and soft. “I want to feel your skin. Is that weird? Is it okay?”
Not weird. “Um, yeah.”
I slide off my joggers, then my shirt. I stand in my boxers as she takes me in, her eyes drifting over my body.
She takes in the bruise on my chest.
On my side.
On my outer thigh.
A frown forms on her forehead and her voice is strained. “Oh. Eric . . .”
“I’m okay. I’m tough.”
She bites her lip as if she wants to argue, then pulls back the sheet and gets in.
I climb in and turn on my side towards her as I wrap her in my arms, burying my nose in her hair.
Something inside me that was hard and razor sharp, loosens.
“Kiss me again?”
“Yeah,” I murmur.
She tilts her face up, and I taste her mouth with careful brushes of my lips, my hands roving down her spine in gentle motions as I keep my hands on the outside of her shirt.
Fire zings over me as I slant my mouth across her pillowy lips.
Need rushes through my veins like a waterfall.
I haven’t been with someone in so damn long.
Her arms curl around my neck and tug at my hair as if she wants more.
“Julia . . .” I groan.
“Don’t stop . . .”
Lips and skin collide.
Sometimes it’s chaste. Sometimes hungry. Our tongues entwine and dance, exploring this new thing between us. My pulse quickens at her breathy gasps and sighs. My hands palm her scalp, massaging into her thick hair.
Throwing insecurities to the wind, I give in wholeheartedly to that kiss, reveling in the intoxication. I put my feelings in it as our tongues caress.
How beautiful she is.
How strong I think she is.
How broken I felt when I hurt her at the arena.
She’s dazed as we pull back.
She nuzzles her face into my chest as we slowly wind down.
I stroke her back in lazy circles, telling her I’ll take care of her and her mom, that I’ll make sure everything works out.
Her arms slide around my waist, careful of my bruises. Eventually her breathing deepens and my throat prickles with emotion.
When’s the last time I just . . . held a girl as we slept?
I can’t recall.
I press my lips to her forehead and fall asleep.
I wake up when Julia’s alarm goes off at half past four. We only got a few hours of sleep, but whatever we’ve done here is worth a thousand nights of rest.
I hold her face in my hands and kiss her hairline. “Do you want me to take you to the hospital?”
She stares at me for a few moments in wonder, then nods. “Thank you.”
She stops to knock on Taylor’s door and tells him that I’m taking her.
Hours pass as we sit in the waiting room. I run across the street and grab us a breakfast from Starbucks. She picks at her egg and sausage sandwich and I keep hounding her until she agrees to eat the whole thing. It’s three hours later when the doctor comes out.
He comes our way. “Everything went as well as can be expected. We stopped the bleeding, drained the hematoma, and removed the pressure in her skull. Right now, she’s asleep and resting. Later, we’ll assess the severity and what’s next.” He gives Julia a slight smile. “It’ll be a long recovery, but she’s stable. You can visit with her now.”