Page 119 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. One

Once Wren is done with her soup, I take her hand. “There’s another bedroom at the end of the—”

“No.”

“What?”

Her hand tightens around mine. “Can I stay with you? I know you’re not sleeping. But I don’t want to be alone. Please?”

Right. Of course she doesn’t want to be alone. Why didn’t I think of that? “Sure. Let me get you a pillow and some blankets.”

As I head toward one of the bedrooms, I peek in on Elliot and Oliver. O is still sound asleep, with Elliot holding him from behind. Safe. Peaceful.

When I come back into the living area, Wren is sitting on the couch with her chin propped on her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs. She’s so far gone to the world that she jumps when I drape a blanket around her shoulders.

“You can sleep here. I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep. If I leave the room, I won’t go far. I promise.”

She hugs the pillow I hand to her. “Thank you, Rhett.”

Kneeling next to the couch, I take her hands in mine, pressing my lips to her fingertips. I’d hold her while she falls asleep, but I don’t want to disturb her when I inevitably get up at some point. And I don’t know how much more touching I can handle tonight. “I’m proud of how well you handled everything today, sweetheart.”

“Rhett,” she whispers.

“Hmm?”

“Kiss me.”

Cupping her face, I capture her mouth with mine. She grabs my arms to hold me close to her, matching the desperation that bleeds into every one of my movements.

I know I’m not everything you need. But I’ll never stop working to be. I don’t want to lose you.

When I break off the kiss, she gasps in a breath.

“Wren,” I murmur, barely opening my eyes to take in the sleepy, content look on her face. And then my mouth is on hers again, and I’m wondering if, with this kiss, I can communicate all the words I can’t seem to force out of my mouth.

Her little sighs warm my heart, soothing the ache in my chest that appears whenever I think of Sammy. This time, she moves away first, her fingers tracing lines over my face. When she yawns, I push her down onto the couch.

“How are your cramps? Do you need pain meds? Or water?”

After I realized on Monday how little I know about periods, I spent the better part of the day reading every article on them that I could get my hands on. Drinking enough water seems to be pretty important.

“I should probably have some water, yeah.”

I grab her a glass, and after she takes a couple sips, I set it on the coffee table. “Sleep, Wren. I’ll be here if you wake up.”

With a moan, she pulls the blankets over her body, wiggling deep into the cushions. “You promise?”

“There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

Chapter eleven

Elliot

When I wake, Oliver is still sleeping, clutching me to him like I might disappear at any moment. I brush my fingers down his arm. He doesn’t stir.

His panic attack last night was concerning to say the least. Not only was the timing potentially dangerous, but it’s also the first one he’s had in a long time. Which has me wondering if he stopped taking his meds again.

I have a feeling I know just what triggered him to do it.

“Ol.” I give him a little shake.