Page 51 of Unhinged

“No!”

Her eyes widened, and he forced himself to relax. “I'm sorry. No—that was the absolute last thing on my mind.”

She bit her lip, watching him cautiously, while he gathered his thoughts. “I didn't mean to overreact. You just… caught me by surprise.”

A deep blush spread across her cheeks. Luke reached for her hand, gently squeezing her fingers in silent apology. “It's an important decision, and I'm glad you told me. I promise I won't ever push you to do something you don't want.”

Relief softened her features, quickly followed by an emotion he couldn't quite identify. Before he could ask about it, she looked at him again. “Would you mind staying again?”

His gut twisted, but he nodded. No matter what happened between them, he intended to keep her safe. “Of course.”

She studied her toes for a moment before looking back up. “I was thinking you might stay… with me.”

Hope flared inside him again—that foolish, dangerous, yet undeniably welcome feeling—and he leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to her forehead.

“I'd love to.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-ONE

The woman was going to be the death of him. His heart gave a hard thump, and his blood turned to fire as his gaze swept over her. She had changed into a white tank top, and she sat there in the middle of the bed staring at him, looking like the most delicious fantasy.

Catching his eye, she flipped the covers back with a nervous smile. Maybe he wasn’t as far into the Friend Zone as he’d thought.

Not about to let her renege on the offer, he yanked his shirt off and shucked his pants before sliding under the cool gray sheets next to her. Hannah’s eyes widened momentarily before she averted her gaze and turned toward the nightstand. She flicked off the lamp, bathing the room in darkness.

He stretched out on his side of the bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling every flex of the mattress as she shifted. Why had she asked him to stay with her again? Was it just for protection? Or was it more than that? She had looked so vulnerable admitting her attraction to him that morning, but she had been giving off mixed signals all night.

She had withdrawn after admitting she was a virgin, and he couldn’t quite figure her out. Maybe he’d just give her some time, slowly earn her trust. He wouldn’t take advantage of her, but neither was he willing to give up on her just yet. As much as he hated it, he’d just have to wait for her to come to him.

Which happened sooner than he expected. The sheets pulled taut, and the mattress dipped as Hannah scooted so close that her hip touched his. Taking it as a sign, he rolled to his side and pulled her against him.

Draping an arm over her hip, he slid his hand beneath the hem of her tank top and settled it on her stomach. She snuggled closer, fitting her body to his and burrowing her head into the space beneath his chin. He tightened his hold on her and their bodies moved together, chests rising and falling with each breath in an easy, comforting rhythm. He was almost asleep when she spoke.

“There’s a reason I’ve never had sex.”

The seriousness of her tone immediately jerked him awake. He stroked his thumb over her stomach, silently letting her know he was listening, encouraging her to continue.

“I did something really stupid. Looking back, I can’t believe how naïve I was.” He felt her head shake in self-deprecation against his chin. “It was years ago—almost a decade ago now. God, I can’t believe it’s been that long.”

She was silent for a moment, lost in the memory. “My friend Selah and I were at the movies one night the summer before senior year. When we left, there was a guy standing on the sidewalk. He said he was stranded and couldn’t get home.”

A sense of foreboding slithered down his spine, but he remained quiet.

“Selah didn’t want to give him a ride, but I insisted. Our families were both very religious, and we’d been raised to be good Christians. If someone needed something, you did whatever you could do to help. Selah kept telling me no, but I ignored her. I didn’t want to listen…”

She drew in a shaky breath and shifted restlessly, a testimony to how much the past still affected her. He dropped a kiss on her shoulder. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, I do, I just…” Her voice wavered and she sucked in another breath. “I’ve only told a couple people about that night. It’s part of the reason I wanted to be a psychologist, you know. After what happened… I wanted to use my personal experience to help other people.” She let out a bitter laugh. “Look how that worked out. I obviously couldn’t help Rachel.”

She still blamed herself for that? “Sweetheart, whatever happened to you and whatever Rachel was going through were two entirely different situations. Rachel was suffering from something of her own, right?”

He felt Hannah’s slight nod and continued. “You may have made a mistake, but it wasn’t your fault that something bad happened.”

“I just…”

“Tell me what happened.”