Page 15 of No Apologies
It was a terrible idea. It would haunt him from here to eternity. But he’d already admitted to himself that he was not a good man. He didn’t think rationally when it came to this woman. He gave in to her all the time for far more trivial things. This was important at least.
Colt slid into the bed without pulling off his shirt. He’d thought about it momentarily. It would be easier to get her warm skin to skin but that would have been courting danger. She’d said he was usually shirtless in her dreams, an easy admission that would drive him crazy to know why that was.
Did she like his chest? He worked out, a lot. It was a good way to burn off all of his restless energy. Besides, as long as he was fighting for Lincoln he had to stay fit. Or was it the artwork that she liked? His chest, like his arms, was covered in tattoos. He’d put enough of them on her skin to know she had a thing for ink but just thinking about that made his pants uncomfortable so he banished the memories of her squirming in his chair from his mind and focused on ice water, glaciers and freezing rain instead.
“Come here.” He raised his arm and she immediately snuggled against him.
He held his breath as her soft body molded to his harder one. Her head fit against his shoulder, her hair tickling his chin. She curled up against his side, one arm slung across his chest so that her hand rested above his heart. She pulled her leg up over his as well, fitting their bodies together like puzzle pieces. And damn if they didn’t fit.
“Oh God…” Skylar moaned as she settled in against him, “You’re so warm. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“Mmm, our little secret.” She agreed with a smile he could feel against his chest.
She shivered against him and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer. She felt like she was burning up but if she was cold, he’d do everything he could to warm her. He found himself stroking his hand up and down her back in a soothing motion before he’d ever decided to touch her.
As her shivering began to slow, he felt his own tension fade. He tried to fight it. Tried to keep his head on straight and not let it get to him, but it was impossible to deny how right it felt to hold her like this. He might never get an opportunity like this again so he gave in to the warmth and comfort that she unknowingly returned to him and simply enjoyed the moment.
“Mmm…” Her hum a while later surprised him because he’d thought she was asleep again, “This is nice.”
He bit the inside of his cheek but couldn’t keep the truth back, “Yeah, it is.”
“Thank you for coming to check on me.” She whispered into the darkness.
“You don’t have to thank me. I told you. We’re friends. I’ll always be here for you when you need me.”
“I know.” She traced a circle on his chest with her finger, “And I’m glad you’re here now.”
He smashed his hand down on hers, stopping the movement. It was teasing, flirtatious, and neither of them could have that right now. She was sick, he reminded himself. Out of it. He wasn’t going to take advantage of that. He wasn’t going to cross the line and ruin their already fragile friendship. She meant too much to him for that. She sighed but didn’t move her hand again when he pulled his away.
“I can’t stay long. I have somewhere I’m supposed to be.”
“Oh…” She stiffened against him, “Okay.”
He didn’t owe her any explanations so he didn’t give her any. What was he going to tell her? No, he wasn’t going on a date, but it would be better if she thought he was. The truth was, he let her think he did a lot more dating than he actually did. A lot more hooking up too, because it was an easy barrier to keep between them, a way to keep her at arm’s length with nothing but innuendos and lies. He was good at both and he didn’t need her thinking he was sitting home alone pining over her. Besides, he wasn’t going to tell her about his illegal extracurricular activities and pretending they were date nights killed two birds with one stone.
“Colt?”
“Hmm?”
“What made you come over here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the shop?”
He was grateful for the change of topic and sighed, “Jemma called.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
“She was really worried about you when she couldn’t get you on the phone, Sky. She thought the worst.” He brushed her hair back from her face, “We all did.”
“My phone must have died, that’s all.”
“She didn’t know that. All she knew was that you were really sick and had refused to call anyone for help. You wouldn’t go to a doctor or to the hospital and then you stopped answering the phone and…” He growled and shook off the flash of fear that hit him when he thought of losing her forever, “Don’t scare us like that again, okay?”
Skylar nodded against his shoulder, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry anyone. That’s why I didn’t call for help.”
“We worry about you whether you ask us to or not. That’s what being friends means, right? Worrying about each other. Taking care of each other.”
She was silent and he fought the urge to lecture her some more. It wasn’t his place. But they were friends, so maybe it was.
