Page 21

JACKSON

Aurora heads to bed, telling me she needs space . That term isn’t part of my vocabulary, but since she hasn’t kicked me out, I let her go.

I focus on what I can do for her.

It’s late evening in LA, and I text Ethan with an update.

She’s still throwing up and barely eats.

Rebound

Bring her home.

My initial thought is: Home is wherever she is, but that’s not accurate.

Home is where the three of us can be together and explore this situationship, a place where she and our child are safe and Kyle doesn’t exist.

For now, that’ll have to be frigid New York with fucking Ricky, not Ethan.

I listen to Aurora move around her room while I clean the kitchen, racking my brain on how to fix the distance between us. Since I’m sleeping on the couch, I search for the thermostat to take the chill out of the air but don’t find one.

Her bedroom light is on, and I figure not having heat is a solid reason to interrupt her space.

Despite myself, I respect her privacy and knock.

She answers the door in an oversized team T-shirt, Coach printed on the breast. What a possessive asshole. I need to step up my game.

Her nipples peek through the fabric, and with great effort, I look away. I’m already in enough trouble.

“Hey…where’s the thermostat?”

“There isn’t one. There are knobs on the radiators, but please don’t turn them on. They smell.” She crinkles her nose.

“The what now?” I ask with lowered brows, clueless how the fuck a radiator works in a house.

Her face brightens, and she giggles, the sound warming my heart. Maybe I’ll survive in New York after all.

She steps back and points to the wall. “This here, rich boy, is a radiator.”

I enter her bedroom and stare at the painted metal contraption. “In my defense, I’ve seen this before, from afar, probably in a museum, but I didn’t know they still existed in the wild.”

Her laughter fills the air, and I breathe it in, allowing its energy to flow through my veins and bring me back to life.

I slide my phone from my pocket and sit on her bed. “Let’s ask the old man. He lived here, right?”

With an excited grin, she climbs behind me and wraps her arms around my neck. “FaceTime him.”

Jesus, fuck. I would’ve dragged him here if I knew he was the key to getting Aurora to touch me again.

He answers with his typical scowl, but as soon as he sees her, his expression softens. “Hey, baby girl.” His gaze runs over her, ignoring me. “You wearing my shirt?”

Bringing the collar to her nose, she inhales deeply. “It doesn’t smell like you anymore.”

His lips tug into a rare smile. “Come home, and I’ll give you as many as you want.”

My eyeballs might roll right out of my head. “God, I hate you.”

It can’t be true, because with them flirting, Aurora’s tits pressed against my back, and her mouth an inch from my ear, I’m getting hard.

I adjust my pants, and he smirks with a devilish glint in his eyes.

“Did you call to show off my girlfriend?” he asks.

“No, I require your ancient knowledge.” I briefly switch the camera view to the radiator. “She says this smells when she turns it on.”

He bites his lips and raises his brows. “You think just because I’m thirty-five and grew up in the city, I know how to use a radiator?”

I stare blankly. “Yes…?”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “You two are fucking twins.” Then, he sobers and sighs. “Don’t turn it on. Looks like you got the landlord special. It could be burning off dust or mold.”

Aurora and I share an expression of sheer horror.

“Is the fireplace gas or electric?” he asks.

When we fail to answer, his thumbs move across the screen.

“I’ll text Ricky to check if the apartment has working carbon monoxide detectors.

If not, and that’s the reason you’re sick…

” His nostrils flare. “Whoever owns the place better say their fucking prayers.”

“Ricky is a medic; he’d know if the gas was making me sick,” Aurora states confidently.

“Of course he is,” I mutter. I must be delusional, because I’m certain her arms tighten around me.

We hang up with Ethan, and she moves away, creating an emptiness inside me.

The silence is thick with unspoken emotions, and I swallow the painful lump in my throat. “Can I stay with you? Or is that pushing it? I promise not to do anything.”

She holds my gaze, her anguish mirroring mine. “I have a lot to think about.”

“What’s there to think about? I love you, and you love me. Did you not read the part of Kyle’s text where I didn’t sleep with anyone?”

Torn by indecision, she twists the hem of her shirt. It takes a special person to love someone as fucked up as me, and I know she won’t refuse me—not when I’m this close, not if I grovel hard enough.

“I want you so fucking bad.” My voice is strained, and my vision blurs with tears and pain, my head throbbing from holding it all in. “I’ll get on my knees and beg. Please, Aurora.”

She crosses her arms under her chest, highlighting what I’m already struggling not to stare at. “Will you leave if I say no?”

“Probably not. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“Then why did you even ask?” A hint of a smile dances on her lips. “Switch off the lights.”

I hit the light and watch with longing as she pulls back the covers and crawls underneath.

She furrows her brows. “Shut the door.”

“Does that mean I get to sleep with you?”

“Are you waiting for a formal invitation? Would you rather sleep on the couch?” Again with the banter.

I scramble to close the door, undress to my boxers, and climb into the king-size bed beside her, leaving little room between us. Her scent lingers on the pillows, and I can’t fight back the heartbreak.

A week without her was a slow death. Now she’s next to me, but I’m not allowed to hold her. It’s fucking torture.

The headache worsens, and I throw my arm over my eyes. I haven’t slept in a day. My body is exhausted, as if I played the longest, most brutal game of my life, and tears run down my temples.

Her fingers weave through my hair, and relief washes over me. She’s my drug and my cure. Her touch calms me, and the chaos in my mind fades.

“What do you need?” Her voice is far gentler than I deserve.

“This.” Then, my shit emotions have me adding, “Even if we’re only friends, I can live with that. I just can’t live without you.”

The lie tastes bittersweet on my tongue. Yeah, I’ll take being friends over her shutting me out, but I’d fight like hell for more. I can’t bear the thought of sitting on the sidelines, watching her and Ethan build the family I fucking want.

“We’ll never be friends.” She exhales deeply. “You know that. I refuse to live with the drugs and alcohol, and everything that goes along with it. I care about you, but my child deserves better.” Her voice breaks. “ I deserve better.”