Page 45 of Loving Bad

"Where are you?" he asked.

"At a friend's place," I replied vaguely.

"What’s the address?" he asked. I gave him the address.

"I'll meet you there as soon as my flight lands," he told me.

"Okay," I replied, not sure how I was going to be able to keep Sin a secret now that I'd given my brother his address. Feeling overwhelmed, I decided I would sort it out tomorrow. It was one of the reasons I hated lying. Lies always had a way of coming out.

"I'm so glad you're okay," my brother said, sounding a little hoarse. He was emotional and I couldn't blame him. Tonight had reminded him about the time he'd nearly lost me.

"Travel safe and I'll see you in the morning," I replied, trying to keep my emotions from bubbling over.

"I love you," my brother said.

The last time I'd spoken to him before the night that had changed our lives, he'd forgotten to tell me he loved me. So now every time I spoke to him—brief or not—he would always say those three little words to me. It was like he was scared if he didn't say them that something bad would happen to me.

"I love you too."

The call ended and I sat for a while after just staring down at my phone. I rubbed my forehead as I tried to think of a way to make sure Connor didn't see Sin. I let out a sigh when I realized that I couldn't let my brother control my life. I was old enough to make my own decisions and even if he didn't like the decisions I made, they were mine to make.

Feeling tired, I lay down on the bed as I waited for Sin to return. I curled up in a ball and held my phone to my chest as I let myself relax for the first time since the attack. I must have fallen asleep because the next time I opened my eyes, it was dark. The darkness reminded me of the darkness in the stairwell. I felt something touch me and I shot up in the bed.

The memories from my attack assaulted me and I found myself trembling as I remembered my assailant pushing me against the wall. The fear I'd felt at that moment returned. My heart pounded so fast I put my hand to my chest.

"Hey, it's just me," Sin said to me as he sat up beside me.

I put my hand to my head as I tried to breathe through my panic. Gently, Sin put an arm around me and pulled me against his bare chest.

One minute ticked into two. I began to relax and my heart began to slow down. It was the warmth from his embrace and the steady beating of his heart under my ear that soothed me. The fear began to disappear as I shoved the memory of the attack into the back of my mind.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, feeling like an emotional mess.

"It's okay," he soothed gently as he stroked my hair. I pulled back slightly and looked at him. The moonlight lit the room enough to see the outline of his features.

His fingers reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear. I ran my tongue across my bottom lip as I felt the soft touch of his fingers against my skin. Something sparked to life inside of me. Without even questioning it, I leaned forward and kissed him.