Page 10 of Wish You Knew
“Scott, seriously. All I need is a good night’s sleep and some water.”
“What if you get sick during the night? Who’s going to be there to take care of you?”
I sensed he wasn’t about to leave any time soon, so I had little option but to let him in. Without another word, I slipped the key card into the lift and pressed the button for my floor.
Once inside my room, I told Scott to make himself comfortable while I got changed. Inside the bathroom on my own, I examined my reflection in the mirror. I still looked like I’d drunk too much and the churning in my stomach didn’t disagree. Despite feeling as if I could sleep standing up, I grabbed some cleansing wipes from the side, and scrubbed the remainder of my make-up from my face. A proper cleanse and tone routine would have to wait until the morning.
I stripped off all my clothes and dumped them in a ball in the corner of the bathroom. A shower seemed attractive, but so did sleep. The latter won out. I pulled on pyjama shorts and a vest top, taking the hotel bathrobe from a hook on the back of the door and securing the belt tightly around my waist. Finally, I wound my hair up into a messy bun.
With a deep breath aimed at calming my stomach, I exited the room.
Scott had made himself comfortable. He’d taken off his jacket and boots, and sprawled across the bed, his close-fitting denim shirt unbuttoned allowing me to get a delicious glimpse of his chest and tattoos. His gaze fixed on the television where some reality TV show played out. Hearing me close the bathroom door, his green gaze swung to me.
“Christ, you were ages. I thought I’d have to bang on the door if you didn’t come out soon.” He stretched his arms behind his head, the next button down on his shirt strained against his muscular chest.
I swallowed hard.Stop those thoughts, Rosie. Nothing’s going to happen tonight.
Conflicted, I sank down onto the bed beside him, trying to stay as far away from him as I could.
He passed me a bottle of water from the mini-bar. “Here you go. Drink this.”
Gratefully, I accepted. The water was delightfully cool and soothed my sore throat and stomach. Despite my thirst, I tried not to down it all in one go.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been on a bender with you for the last few days.” I forced a smile. “Tell me it gets better.”
He quirked a grin. “If you’d been on a bender with me, you’d know about it. And it never gets better, Rosie. Never.”
5
Scott
Christ, she tested my willpower.
Normally, when we were in a hotel room—and it was always a hotel room—we were naked within seconds. I’d have her underneath me, on her knees, over the arm of the sofa, any which way.
Having Rosie a few feet away from me, wrapped in a hotel bathrobe, her hair pulled away from her gorgeous face, free of any make-up, made my dick twitch. Knowing I couldn’t, shouldn’t, touch her drove me crazy. I balled my hands into fists and crossed my arms, effectively stopping myself from reaching out for her. Nothing would have made me happier than gathering her into my arms to comfort her, and then…
I put a stop to those thoughts.
She’d been through a traumatic experience.
I was still up for tracking down that prick Mark and beating seven shades out of him. How many other women had he done the same thing to? Latent anger bubbled inside my chest. I shouldn’t waste my energy on him, but I hated to think what might have happened if I hadn’t seen what I did.
Rosie put the bottle of water she’d downed on the bedside table and turned to me. “Seriously, Scott, you don’t have to stay. You’ve done so much already.”
“I’m not leaving you alone. You might think you’re okay, but what happens when you fall asleep?”
“I’ll have some shitty, disturbed dreams because of whatever he gave me?”
“I don’t want you to have shitty dreams.” My fists clenched beneath my armpits.
“So because you’re here, they’ll be all rainbows and unicorns?” She glared at me. “I’ll be fine.”
“Jesus, just let me look after you!” I shifted into an upright position and fixed her with a similar stare. “Would that really be so bad?”
She folded her arms across her chest, causing her robe to fall to one side, allowing me a glimpse of her breasts. “Why, Scott? We’re not in a relationship. You’re not my boyfriend. You’re not my anything.”
