Page 6 of Finding Carly
Then again, he’d never climbed into bed and held her either.
Before she could think about it anymore, however, Carly fell into a deep, healing sleep.
* * *
Carly stirred, and when she opened her eyes saw that it was no longer dark outside. The sun was shining so brightly, her cheap curtains weren’t able to keep the light out. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so late.
“Good morning,” a deep voice said from next to her.Rightnext to her. “Or should I say good afternoon?” Jag asked with a chuckle.
Carly would’ve been alarmed, but she’d known whose arms she was lying in. Coming up on an elbow, she looked at the man next to her.
His hair was mussed, but his eyes were no longer bloodshot and he looked a hundred times better than he had last night. Grimacing, Carly had a feeling she probably looked a hundred times worse. She couldn’t remember when she’d last showered and her mouth felt like she’d been sucking on cotton balls all night.
“What time is it?”
“A little after one,” Jag said.
“In the afternoon?” Carly squeaked in surprise.
“Yup.”
She couldn’t believe she’d slept that long. Or at all. “I slept,” she said in surprise.
“Yeah, like a rock,” Jag agreed.
“No, you don’t understand. I haven’t slept since…I don’t know when,” she said. If she hadn’t been so surprised at the late hour, she probably wouldn’t have admitted it. “I didn’t dream at all.”
“Good,” Jag said sincerely. “We need to talk, but first you can shower, put on some clean clothes, and I’ll make us something to eat.”
“Um…I don’t know what I’ve got in my kitchen,” Carly admitted.
Jag’s brows came down. “When’s the last time you went shopping?” he asked.
Carly wrinkled her nose and shrugged.
“Carly…” he said in exasperation.
“I haven’t been hungry,” she told him. “And the last thing I felt safe doing was going to the store. I’ve been using a delivery service. But, um, since I haven’t been working, I’ve had to really watch my budget. I haven’t had an appetite though, so it wasn’t a big deal.”
Jag’s frown deepened. “Change of plans. Gather some shit together, don’t shower, I’ll take you to my place. You can shower there. I’ll make us breakfast, then we’ll talk.”
Carly blinked in surprise. “Your place?”
“Yeah. I’ve got plenty to eat and my shower’s bigger.”
“I can’t go to your place,” she told him.
“Why not?”
Carly opened her mouth to answer, but she couldn’t think of one compelling reason why she needed to stay in her apartment.
“Exactly,” Jag said a little smugly. “You’ve been holed up here for too long. This place represents fear to you now. A change of venue will do you good. Trust me.”
Carly stared at the man next to her. The man she’d slept next to. She hadn’t dreamed last night, and she knew it was because she felt safe with him there. He didn’t have to come over. He’d been exhausted…and yet he’d still come.
And he wasn’t wrong. Her apartment had started out as her refuge. She’d holed up in here and, slowly but surely, the outside world became more and more menacing the longer she hid out. Until her apartment felt more like a prison.
Carly felt another twinge of anger deep inside. Anger at herself. Anger at Luke. Anger that she’d allowed herself to become so pathetic.
