“No.” I shake my head. “I didn’t know. Let’s go get you some.”
Sierra shakes her head. “Nah. My friends bought me shots.”
“I don’t think you should take that,” I say quietly. “You’ve had enough.”
“Pshhh,” she waves her hand in the air. “We’re celebrating tonight. It’s their anniversary. Isn’t that amazing? People…people…” She closes her eyes for a moment then shakes her head. Fuck. I need to get her out of here. “She’s giving him a surprise present. Isn’t that so romantic?”
“Very,” I say when it dawns on me that the surprise is a threesome. That’s why they’re shoving shots in Sierra’s face and both looking at her like she’s an all-you-can-eat buffet. Physically speaking, they made a good choice, but no one is taking Sierra home when she’s drunk like this. I won’t fucking allow it.
“Want to know what else is romantic?” I blurt.
“Yeah,” Sierra says eagerly.
“I, uh, have to show you.” What the hell is wrong with me? I’m usually a good bullshitter and an even better liar. There’s something about Sierra that’s causing me to panic in a way I never have before.
Because I care about her.
The guy steps forward and puts his hand on Sierra’s shoulder. She shies away, moving closer to me for comfort.
“Come on, sweetheart,” he says, voice thick like gravel. “We ain’t got all night.”
“Right.” Sierra smiles and nods, then brings the shot glass to her mouth and downs the tequila with a shudder. Not even a minute later she looks at me, eyes wide. “I think you were right. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Let’s get some air.” I take her arm, grab the water, and look at the couple. “Good luck finding somebody else.”
The girl looks shocked, and the guy is pissed. Sierra wobbles on her heels, holding onto me for balance. We leave out the back and I offer Sierra the water. She takes a small sip and lets out a breath.
“I want to feel normal and not be sad,” she breathes. “For one night. Is that terrible?”
“No,” I tell her. “It’s not.”
I take her hand and lead her down to the river. We sit on a rock, and Sierra rests her head on my shoulder, eyes falling shut. We stay like that for a few minutes.
“Do you want me to take you home?” I ask.
“Not yet. I like listening to the water.”
“I do too.”
She shivers and inches closer.
“Do you want a jacket?”
“That’d be nice,” she slurs.
“I can get you one. Don’t fall into the water and drown while I’m gone, okay?”
She slowly moves her head up and down. I stand, take a step, and decide leaving her drunk on a riverbank is a terrible idea. “Come with me.”
I extend my hand to help her up. She takes a few paces, then stops, doubles over, and throws up. I spring forward, pulling her hair back just in time. She retches again and the smell of tequila and stomach bile permeates the night air.
“Better out than in.” I try to comfort her.
“I’m sorry,” she tells me, wiping her mouth.
“Hey,” I say and look into her eyes. There’s a good chance she won’t remember a thing in the morning. But I don’t leave things to chance. She has no idea I know about her past, and it needs to stay that way. “It’s okay. Don’t feel bad. Come inside and get some water and lay down.”
She wrinkles her nose. “I don’t want to go back into the bar. The smell of smoke…”
“We won’t go into the bar.”
“Oh. Okay.”
On shaky legs, she comes up the stairs to my apartment with me. I turn on the lights and take her to a kitchen chair. She puts her head down on the table, groaning. I get her water and a damp rag to wipe her face.
Sitting next to her, I gingerly lift her head up and run the rag over her chin. She takes another small drink of water and looks around the apartment, tears filling her eyes.
“Is there someone you want me to call?” I ask.
“No. Lisa is at a concert tonight. I’m just tired.”
“You can lay down here if you want.”
She takes in an unsteady breath and nods. “Okay.”
I help her up and lead her to the bathroom, then take her into my room, tossing a T-shirt and boxers onto the unmade bed in case she wants to change.
“I’ll, uh, come in and check on you.”
She nods and starts to pull her shirt over her head. My dick tells me to stay and watch because seeing Sierra strip would be one of the hottest things I’ve ever witnessed. Then another part of me speaks up, a part that usually keeps its mouth shut.
My heart.
It tells me that Sierra deserves respect, that she’s unlike anyone I’ve met before, I know the real reason she drank herself into oblivion tonight. Before I catch a glimpse of her perfect tits, I turn and shut the door.
Realizing that Sierra didn’t have a purse on her when she left the bar, I hurry down the stairs to look for it, knowing that it’s already too late.
“Chase,” Rayne calls, seeing me look under the booth Sierra had previously occupied. “Looking for this?” She holds up a little pink purse.
“I think so. Is it Sierra’s?”
“Yeah. I grabbed it the first time she dropped it. I haven’t seen her though.” Rayne gives me a worried look. “Have you?”
“Yeah. I took her home,” I say.
“Thank God. Want me to put this in the safe?”
“I’ll take it to her. Thanks, Rayne.”
She gives me a smile. “No problem.”
I rush back upstairs and look in on Sierra. Her skirt and shirt are on the floor, and she’s in my bed, curled up under the blankets, fast asleep. I leave the room again, keeping the door cracked in case she wakes up sick or something.
I sit on the couch with a weird feeling growing in my chest. I’ve never taken care of anyone before. And I don’t know if this weird feeling is stemming from doing a good deed—another thing I’m not used to—or something else.
Something I don’t want to admit to myself.
That I’m starting to have feelings for this woman, a woman I’ve only talked to a handful of times.
But there’s so much more to Sierra than that. Her messages spoke to me before I could put a face to the voice. I knew I shouldn’t have listened to them.
Screw up and learn, right? What the hell am I going to learn from this?
Chapter 9
Sierra
I wake with a dry mouth and a pounding headache. If it weren’t for the need to use the bathroom, I could go back to sleep for the rest of the afternoon. Slowly, I blink open my eyes, squinting from the bright sun shining through the large window.
I’m in Chase’s bed, and I remember everything from last night. I think. Maybe? Crap. I push myself up and realize I’m wearing his clothes. Okay. Don’t remember that. I close my eyes and think backward and finally recall him leading me into his room and leaving. I changed and passed out. From there, my mind is blank. I assume I stayed asleep the whole time, but I can’t be sure.