Page 71 of Little Sunshine

I wanted Ash. Big behemoth Ash who took care of me. Made me feel safe. Who I trusted.

As much as I was capable of trusting anyone, at least.

“Just covering you up, sunshine,” Ash murmured, pulling the blanket over us. “You’re shivering.”

“Sorry.” I tried to pull away. “I’m fine now. You can?—”

“Hush.” The one word was a firm order, softened by his mouth pressing against my forehead. His lips grazed the skin there when he continued. “I’ve got you.”

I’ve got you.

That time when I fell asleep, it was nothing but peaceful rest.

Because Ash had me.

Chapter 10

Keep Your Big Mouth Closed

MILA

Waking up the next morning, I didn’t open my eyes before trying to bury my head under a pillow. Rather than the soft, supportive comfort I sought, I smacked my forehead against a sharp edge.

“Ouch! Shit.” I grudgingly opened my eyes and sat up to see my head at the bottom of the bed and my feet aimed up at the diagonal corner. Rubbing my forehead, I pulled my hand away to see a hint of smeared blood on my fingertips. “Shit, shit, shit.”

Even though I wanted to stay in bed and ignore the memories for as long as possible, I also didn’t want to get blood on the sheets. Those stains were a pain in the ass to get out.

I hurried to the bathroom and cleaned myself up, my mind trying—and failing—to block out the night before.

My nightmare.

Everything I’d shared.

Clutching at Ash and not letting him go.

I can’t believe I did that.

Will he ask me to leave? Should I make it easier by offering to?

But I already knew the answer. I had to go.

There was no way around it.

Which meant I had to ask for a ride. It would’ve been easier to avoid the confrontation and sneak away… right up until I ended up stranded in the mountains.

And then there was his promise to chase me—a threat that made my stomach swirl in a way that was not right. Of course, after the night before, that was probably null and void.

I decided to take advantage of one last hot shower before getting dressed in my own clothes. That’d been the plan, but I had no clue where said clothes were. Instead, yet another set of loungewear waited for me.

I’ll have to ask Ash, but heavenly soft clothes will have to do.

For now.

I straightened up after myself and made the bed, saying silent goodbyes to the taste of luxury I’d likely never experience again.

When I couldn’t stall any longer, I pocketed my broken phone and put on my shoes before going downstairs.

I paused at the bottom when I realized I had no clue where to find Ash. In all my exploring the afternoon before, I hadn’t seen or heard him. He’d probably been in one of the closed rooms, but with the size of the house, that didn’t narrow it down as much as one would think.

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