Chapter 8—Darian

Heather’s scream echoed in my ears. When I pulled back, her eyes fluttered closed, and she fell to the side. “Oh, shit.” I reached out and cradled her head so she wouldn’t hit it, guiding her to lie on the pillow. Her skin was clammy, and her hair clung to her forehead and cheeks. I hoped to hell she wasn’t feverish because I had a feeling we were going to trapped here for a couple of days with the way the storm was raging. But I wasn’t all that surprised she’d passed out. I prayed she wouldn’t be out too long. I smoothed the hair from her face and placed a tender kiss to the corner of her mouth.

I shouldn’t have kissed her again, but I didn’t know what else to do to get her to relax enough to let me fix her shoulder. And if I was being honest with myself, I really just wanted to kiss her again. I hadn’t been able to think about anything but feeling her lips on mine again. Now that I had, I only wanted more. I was afraid I’d always want more where she was concerned.

Getting off the bed, careful not to wake her, I searched the stocked shelves for the first aid supplies. When I’d found this room, I was going to leave it be, but Nathan had insisted we restock it and keep it functional. Just in case. I’m glad I’d let him talk me into it. I dragged my hand through my hair, the spike of adrenaline that had propelled me to act upstairs was slowly leaving my system, and my hands shook. God, when I’d seen that tree coming toward the window, toward Heather… I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I was pretty sure me landing on her is what dislocated her shoulder, but that was a small price to pay for her life.

I found the first aid kit and tossed it on the couch. This room ran on a generator, so it was the only place in the building that had power. It was small and cramped, and it would be a real bitch trying to keep my hands off Heather under these conditions, but it was the safest place for us to be. I prayed Nathan was okay. I retrieved the battery-operated radio from one of the cabinets and tuned it to the local weather. Rather, I tried, but all I managed to find was an emergency broadcast. Massive power outages. Downed trees and flooded roads. No unnecessary travel.

“Ow.” Heather’s low groan caught my attention, and I moved over to the bed, sitting on the edge of the mattress.

“How’re you feeling?” I caressed the side of her face. She was no longer clammy, and the color had returned to her cheeks. Some of the worry left my body.

“Sore.” She grimaced then sat up.

“That’s to be expected. Can you move your arm and shoulder?”

She lifted her arm and rotated her shoulder. Her movements were slow, and she winced a few times. “Yeah, but everything on this side is so stiff.”

“Maybe I can help with that.” I climbed onto the bed and sat, motioning for her to sit between my legs. When she did, I gathered her hair and draped it over her right shoulder, and then I massaged her left side, my hands kneading and caressing her neck and shoulder blade.

“That feels so good.” She let her head fall forward. “Everything happened so fast,” she said. “The window in your loft…”

“That can be replaced,” I said, pressing my thumbs against the curve of her neck. She had the softest skin. I wanted to let my hands roam, to explore the rest of her body.

“You…you pushed me out of the way.” She lifted her head and turned to glance at me.

“Yes. I didn’t mean to hurt you, though.” She probably thought I was a lunatic, but I would not apologize for protecting her.

“I know. It’s okay.”

I gently guided her head back down and resumed massaging her stiff muscles. “We’re probably going to be stuck here for a couple of days. It’s nasty out there, but I can go back to the loft and grab a few things. Some clothes. Our phones. Your suitcase.”

She nodded.

I licked my lips, resisting the urge to lean forward and kiss her neck. Instead, I dragged my hands down her arms. “Better?”

“Yes.” She straightened. “Thank you.” Twisting around, she laid on her side between my legs and rested her head on my chest. “You know you probably saved my life up there, right?”

My throat constricted. There was no probably about it. “I know.” I wrapped my arms around her and held her to me. I told myself it was because I needed the physical reassurance that she was safe, but I wasn’t fooling anyone. I liked how she felt in my arms. We sat there in silence, the only noise that of the storm outside, and my erratic heartbeat pounding in my ears. Everything about this moment felt right, like I was meant to be here with her, holding her, protecting her. I stroked her hair and placed a kiss to the top of her head.

She sighed and put her arms around me. “Darian?”

“Hmm?”

“You kissed me again.”

My head fell back against the wall, and I closed my eyes. “I needed you to relax.” I winced as soon as the words were out of my mouth. That might have been part of the reason I’d kissed her, but that was far from the only reason.

“Well, for future reference, that is not a good way to make me relax. It has the opposite effect.”

I laughed. “It distracted you, didn’t it?” I stroked my fingers up her back, noticing the way she trembled slightly. “And hopefully I won’t ever have to do anything like that again.”

She pushed away from my chest and stared at me. “Do anything like what again? Kiss me?” Her eyes narrowed, and I could see the anger brewing behind them. “I’m sorry it disgusts you so much.” She moved like she was going to get off the bed, and I grabbed her wrist before she could.

“Disgusts me?” I spat the words. “There isn’t a damn thing about you that disgusts me, Heather.” And now that I knew she was a virgin, I only wanted her more. I wanted to be the only man to ever be inside of her, to feel her come apart in my arms as I worked my cock in her tight pussy. Fuck. My dick was hard again. One thought. That’s all it took; that’s all it ever took. “Do you have any fucking idea how hard it is for me to sit here with you like this and not kiss you? Or touch you?”

“Then do it,” she said, her tone defiant, her gaze challenging.

“We talked about this, remember? We both agreed it wasn’t a good idea.” I’d been shocked when she’d agreed with me so easily. Part of me had hoped she would’ve pushed back, given me a reason to throw all my excuses away and take what I wanted more than anything.

“Did you really believe any of that bullshit you said to me?”

My eyes widened. Was I that transparent? “It wasn’t all bullshit,” I said.

She smirked. “No, just most of it.”

“Some of it,” I corrected. “But that doesn’t change the fact that we’ll hurt a lot of people if we do this.” And as badly as I wanted her, I didn’t want to hurt Nathan. Or Noah. But damn. The way she looked at me—so needy and seductive and hungry. God, I wanted to devour her. To fuck her until she couldn’t walk and was hoarse from screaming my name. To savor her innocence and worship her body. Needing some space from the constant temptation she presented, I got off the bed. “I’m going to go up to the loft and get a few things.”

She nodded, the disappointment evident on her face. “I’ll go with you.”

“No. You’re staying here where it’s safe.”

“Fine.”

Swallowing hard, I yanked open the door. “Is there anything else you want me to grab other than your suitcase?”

She shook her head.

I sighed, hating that I was responsible for putting that look on her face, for hurting her. “Okay, I’ll be back in a few minutes. There’s water in the fridge if you want it, and there’s some aspirin in the first aid kit.” I nodded at the couch.

She didn’t say anything, and I left the room. The sounds of the storm grew more violent as I entered the loft. Not that I should be surprised—there was a tree sticking out my window. I quickly gathered some clothes and shoved them into a bag, then I retrieved Heather’s suitcase from Nathan’s room. On the way back out, I grabbed her purse. The entire thing took me less than fifteen minutes, and then I was back in the storm shelter. Heather was on the couch, feet tucked beneath her.

“So, what’re the sleeping arrangements knowing there’s only one bed?” she asked.

“I’ll sleep on the couch.” I set her suitcase near the foot of the bed.

Heather gasped. “Darian!” She was on her feet and next to me within seconds. “You’re bleeding.” She gently touched my back, right below my ribs, and I jerked away from her touch. “You’re hurt. What happened?”

“I don’t know.” I hadn’t felt a thing until she just touched me.

“Let me see.” She lifted my shirt. “Oh, my God! Your back…it’s all scratched up.”

“Probably from the tree branch when it came through the window.” I vaguely remembered it smacking me as I lunged at her.

“You need to let me clean that up before it gets infected. Take your shirt off.”

I grinned, aroused by her take-control, bossy attitude. That could be hot as hell in bed. I removed my shirt, hissing through my teeth as the material brushed my cuts. Behind me, I heard Heather’s sharp intake of breath, and my cock jerked. She’d made that same sound when she’d walked in on me naked. I’d know that sound anywhere; I’d heard it in my dreams every damn night.

“Um, you need to sit,” she said.

I sat on the couch while Heather cleaned the scratches and applied bandages. It stung, but I was more focused on her hands on me, of the way her delicate fingers whispered over my skin. My body was on fire, and the only person who could extinguish me was off-limits. Why did it have to be her? Why did I need to be so fucking crazy for my friend’s young daughter? My son’s best friend.

“There. All done.”

I stood. “Thanks.”

She nodded.

“It’s late,” I said, grabbing a fresh shirt from my bag. “You should get some rest.”

She went back to the bed and laid down. I turned off the lights then settled on the couch, which was so fucking uncomfortable. The silence was deafening, and I shifted, trying to find a better position, but that was impossible when my feet were hanging off one end, and my head hung off the other. I sighed with aggravation, wondering if I’d be more comfortable on the concrete floor.

“You okay?” Heather asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“There’s plenty of room in the bed for both of us.”

I grunted. Right. Because that wasn’t trouble waiting to happen. “You know damn well if I get in that bed, neither of us are going to be getting any sleep.”

She was silent for a moment, then, ever so softly, she said, “I guess it’s a good thing I’m not tired.”

Fuck! I’d been waiting for her to give me a reason to take back every excuse I gave her for not being together, and this was the ultimate invitation. There was no fucking way in hell I was going to say no, and we both knew it. “Move over,” I said, standing.