“Tomorrow?” I ask lamely, pulling the sheet tighter to my nudity.
“Yeah. Tomorrow afternoon,” he says, his voice is more unsteady than I have heard from him previously. “King has me on Club business in the morning and I don’t want to wake Evan when I gotta wake up. I’ll catch ya once I wrap that up though,” he seems unconvinced of his own statements.
I guess he really is done. So much for that.
Unable to find my voice, all I can do is offer him a small smile and nod my assent. I want nothing more than to see him tomorrow. Hell, I want him to just come back to bed right NOW, but he clearly has other plans that involve getting out of here as quickly as humanly possible. He shoots me a devastating smile and presses a soft kiss to my forehead before turning away from the bed, grabbing his Cut, and walking out of the room without looking back.
I so badly want to chase after him and am just about to when I hear the front door close. He’s gone. Maybe he didn’t feel that same intense connection as I did. Maybe it was all in my head. Maybe me having that moment and not asking him to stay was a relief for him.
If he really wanted to spend the night, he would have said something. Anything. Right? He didn’t even try to stay, just wanted to clean me off himself and get back to his solitude. Maybe this was just something to get out of his system, take a tumble with the new girl in town and then move on.
But… if he wanted to hit-it and quit-it, he wouldn’t have asked about tomorrow. Right?
Dear god I’m giving myself a headache. What the fuck is wrong with me. I either trust him or I don’t. Jesus girl, take control of yourself.
With a frustrated huff I go clean up and find some pajamas before settling in for the night. It’s so damn late and I have work in only a couple of hours. When I come out of the bathroom and start pulling on my tank and sleep shorts, I hear a loud crash from downstairs.
“What the fuck was that?!”
I head down the stairs to see where the noise came from and stop at Evan’s door, peeking inside his room to make sure he is still asleep. Seeing him still curled up with his little turtle Lovie and sleeping soundly, I smile to myself and go to turn back out of the room. I quietly latch the door to Evan’s room and rest my head against the jamb.
Mommy’s crazy, little man. Tomorrow, I can wait ‘til tomorrow. I’ll just talk to him like we agreed and get all this crap cleared up. I’m sure this is all just nerves all the way around.
I breathe a sigh of relief, now that I have a plan. As I push back from the door and turn to go back to the bedroom, a blinding pain explodes from the back of my skull and I’m on the ground, carpet smashed against my face. A boot steps into view and then another pain in my temple turns everything black.
Chapter 18
Sawyer
The next morning, I wake up to the sound of my cell phone screaming at me. Rolling over with an incoherent grumble, I slap at my nightstand trying to find the damn thing and shut it up.
What the fuck was I THINKING! Why the hell am I here with this damned phone instead of a soft Tess curled up against me. ‘I got business to do.’ Fucking shit man, what the hell was that!? You know you wanted to stay but noooo, you had to chicken shit out because you’re scared shitless you’re shriveled little Grinch heart might actually grow a couple sizes with this one. I need to make this up to her, I need to find a way to make this right.
The phone starts ringing again, clearly whoever it is needs me to answer because even my mother isn’t this insistent. I grab the phone and swipe to answer the call without looking at who’s calling.
“Sawyer? You up sugar?” Alice’s sickly-sweet accent drawls through the phone.
Aww shit, now I’m really gonna know the depth of my stupidity.
“What is it Alice?” I grumble, my voice more gravel than words with sleep still clinging to my senses.
“Are you still with Tessa Darlin’? She hasn’t shown up for her shift and she’s an hour late; that’s just not like her,” Alice says a note of worry in her tone. “If you’re holding my best waitress captive in that bedroom with your tomfoolery, I will tan your hide boy! Let the poor girl up and get her to work!” she scolds, though her tone is heavy with mock sternness. Alice wouldn’t hurt a fly.
“Naw, I’m still in bed. My bed you devil woman. I’ll get up and go check on her. Sorry Alice,” I say, scrubbing a hand down my face in an effort to wake up.
“You didn’t stay with her? Boy, I’m gonna have to teach you some proper manners. Tell her not to worry about today, Jasmine has her covered; no sweat. You go make up for yourself and take care of my girl now,” she says sweetly. Terrifying creature that woman, threatening to bite my head off one second and then telling me to be good to a woman the next.
“Got it Alice, I’ll call back in a bit,” I grunt before hanging up.
Whelp, cats out of the bag now. Ugh, I hope I can fix this before Roxy finds out.
I roll out of bed and stretch before tugging on my jeans and a black Henley. Stomping my feet into my boots I head out the door, dragging a hand through my sleep mussed hair.
I’m fuckin’ nervous to see her after last night. I should have stayed; I know I should have. I regretted leaving before I closed the front door, but I didn’t know what else to do. I’ve never done anything different and fuck if she didn’t make me feel amazing last night. I’ve never felt so connected, so attached to a woman. I know she’s a runner, I felt the tension in her as soon as I walked out of the bathroom, I could tell she was about to bolt. There was no winning either way.
If I stayed, I know I wouldn’t have been able to resist taking her at least once more before falling asleep holding her in my arms, sprawled across my chest. Something I have never wanted before but felt every part of me screaming to have it last night. If I had stayed, if I would have taken her again, she would have been gone before the light of day; the truth of someone getting close to her would send her running. I can’t let her run. If I’m honest, leaving last night felt just as bad as staying would’ve been. Who knows what was in her head once she was alone. Fuck, if I was there, I at least could have tried to find out. There’s a very good chance I’ve good and truly fucked this whole thing.
I’m in for some serious damage control. Fuck.
As I jog across the street to her house, I pull up short when I reach porch steps. The screen door is hanging ajar, the new hydraulic broken in half.
“What the fuck?” I ask aloud as I take the three steps in one giant stride. “TESS!” I yell when I see the front door is also hanging open. Without another thought, I shoulder it open and barrel inside. The living room curtains are drawn, casting deep shadows around the room but as I search, I don’t see any obvious signs of a struggle or burglary.
Fuck, did I leave it open? No, I know I latched it.
Stepping into the kitchen I see one of the table chairs knocked over on its side. With a curse under my breath I tear up the stairs, “TESS!” I scream, taking them three at a time, pulling up short as I get to the first landing.
Tess.
She’s face down on the carpet, a purple bruise slashed across her temple. I rush up to her, gently turning her over.