Chapter Thirteen
Dylan
“So you’re saying your dad put that piece of paper on your door?” Tessa is asking. “What for?”
“Believe me,” I say, “I have no fucking clue.”
Tessa’s arm is around my back as she tugs me into the house. I put mine around her slender back, too, and pull her to me. She’s warm, pressed to my side, and I try not to lean on her too much. I don’t want her to see how dizzy I still am. Don’t want to think about it, either.
She’s here. That’s all that matters. I thought I’d never get to hold her in my arms again.
Second chances.
Dakota comes out of the kitchen to meet us, wiping her hands on a towel. “Tessa! We were so worried. Dylan, you said you’d call me if you found her.”
“Shit. I forgot.” A full body shiver goes through me. “Is the heater off? It’s fucking cold in here.”
“Heater’s on. If you ask me, it’s hot like the pits of hell in here.” Dakota’s eyes narrow on Tessa. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry I got you worried. I was at work, running late, that’s all.”
Dakota nods. “I was about to leave. Need a lift?”
“Nah, I’m fine,” Tessa says, leaning into my side. “I have my car.”
Another shiver goes through me. I clench my teeth to keep them from chattering.
“Dylan, you okay?” Dakota shifts from foot to foot. In her short dress and with her wild dark hair, she looks a bit like a dark version of Tinkerbell.
“I’ll be fine,” I mutter.
A beat goes by in absolute silence.
Dakota shakes her head, gives a faint smile, then gathers her stuff and leaves us alone.
Tessa and I don’t move. We’re standing in the middle of the room, arms around each other. The feel of her pressed against me is so distracting that finding something to say is a struggle.
A huge shiver goes through me, rattling my joints.
“You’re so cold,” she mutters. “Maybe a hot shower will warm you up. That’s the only thing that helps when I’m cold.”
I nod, strangely reluctant to move.
“So,” I say, “you’re seriously moving out of your apartment? No more going back to your castle?”
She lifts her head. Emotions flicker in her wide eyes. “I’ve given up my castle, and my servants and my unicorns,” she mutters. “I swear.”
“Fuck, Tess.” My pulse beats erratically in my ears. So much I could read in those words, and my resolve is fraying faster than ever. “You shouldn’t be here.”
She pulls away slightly, her mouth twisting. “Don’t worry. I’ll go.”
“Dammit, Tessa, that’s not what I meant.” I scrub a hand over my face. “It’s just that… I can’t control myself when you’re with me, I can’t… Can’t keep away. I want you to stay. I want it too much.”
Her blue eyes darken, and this need for her, this urge to kiss her and fill her, grows with every passing second.
“If you don’t love me,” she whispers, “then what are you afraid of?”
But I do love her, and I am afraid. I stare at her.
She’s the one you want. The one you can’t live without, and you’re letting her slip through your fingers again.
“Tess…” I lift a hand to caress her face. “You asked what I’m afraid of. Here’s the thing: I see you in every woman I cross paths with, in everything I do. I wake up thinking of you. I go to fucking sleep thinking of you.”
She leans into my touch with a sigh. “You do?”
“Yeah. I work and walk and talk, and all I can think of is you.”
“Dangerous,” she whispers. “Didn’t know I was so distracting.”
“You are.” I stroke soft hair off her face to better see her eyes. “God, you are. Fact is, I can’t stop wondering where you are, what you’re doing all the time.”
Can’t. Can’t stop wanting her, can’t stop pouring out my heart to her, letting her know what I want. What I fear. Who I desire most: the one who can break me with one word, one look. It’s one and the same.
Her.
***
My brothers are playing in their bedroom. I can hear their laughter as we pass outside. Tessa is quiet as she tugs me toward the bathroom.
I let her guide me. I feel drained—like telling her what I fear was a purge, an act of bloodletting.
She releases me when we enter the small bathroom, and I fight a shiver. I feel cold to the marrow of my bones. Maybe I’m coming down with something. The thought has crossed my mind a couple of times. But the weakness comes and goes, and besides, no time for me to be sick.