Page 46 of Raise Me Up

“Can I come see you?” he finally asks.

My heart skips. I don’t mean to hesitate. It’s just, this is the last thing I’m expecting from him.

When I find my words, they come out twinged with sadness. “Please.”

“Be there in fifteen. Keep your door locked until then.”

He hangs up before I can ask him how he knows where I live. He must have gotten the address from Hail.

Leaping out of bed, I quickly brush my teeth and finger comb my tangle of hair. I refuse to let myself hope, but maybe Beau’s right.

Maybe Liamhaschanged.

fourteen

Liam

Have you ever tried?

Beau’s question about relationships has been playing on repeat in my head for days. Was it right to call Stas at this hour? Fuck no. But I did it anyway, and now I’m leaping out of bed to yank on a black t-shirt, faded jeans, and my combat boots like my life depends on it.

Stomping past the spare bedroom, my heart stalls at Beau’s absence. It doesn’t settle until I backtrack and see his backpack rested against the side of the dresser.

He’s still here.

He must be at the studio. He’s been hanging there after his shifts almost every night since I coaxed him into working for me.

Should I offer him a ride home? I could give him the keys to the Porsche while he stays with me. It’s currently tucked under a protective cover in my other garage bay.

Hopping in my Pantera, I speed toward the dot on my phone GPS I’d keyed in earlier after Hail shared his sister’s apartment name and unit. I’ll risk a felony to get to her faster.

She’s posted up just outside Uptown, ten miles away but a thirty-minute drive in the daytime.

As soon as I whip into a spot next to her beat-up SUV, I catch her second-story door opening. I bound up the stairs, eager to get closer to her.

Why did I wait this long?

My stride falters when her big brown eyes land on me. She’s got her long, thick waves unbound, and she’s wearing a crop-top and black yoga pants.

Fucking yoga pants.

“Stasi.” I wait for the normal crushing pressure on my lungs that usually makes me want to run away. When it doesn’t come, I stride forward and pull her against me. I bury my face in the warm crook of her neck and ask the question I’ve been afraid of since I ditched her in my bed. “You okay?”

Her fingers glide up my back, spreading over my shoulder blades. “I am now.”

Dipping down to grip her thighs, I lift her up into my arms. She wraps her legs around me. Her hands come to rest over my heavily beating heart.

An apology sticks like a barb in my throat. Our night together was incredible, but I can’t reassure her of anything. I can’t pin down my own fucking nature. I’m afraid of promising something and then going back on my word. Afraid of risking her heart in some fucked up experiment to see if I can do this when I’m not even convinced I’m worthy of love.

She touches her palms to my cheeks like I’m something precious. Unable to hold myself back any longer, I surge forward and capture her mouth with mine.

What begins as a desperate kiss quickly transforms into a wild lashing of tongues. I don’t even pretend to be in control of myself tonight. I’m too tangled up in my lust for the woman clutched in my arms.

I want to give her more. I do. I really fucking do.

“Stas." I feather kisses over her mouth. "Ineedyou.”

She nods and whispers, "Always need you."