Page 63 of Tears of Glass

He shifts a little, his eyes dark and hollow, and pats the sofa. I hesitate for a split second and then scoot down next to him. He pulls me in, snuggling me into his side. “They had to go; their babysitter could only do until ten.”

“That’s a shame. I would have like to thank them for coming. I’ll call them later, I guess.”

I stare at the ceiling. This is awkward, and I hate it. Dan is my oldest friend, my protector, my brother. “So, you stayed at His Lordship’s manor last night?”

“Dan,” I warn.

He turns slightly and stares at me, smelling of sleep and beer. “Don’t ‘Dan’ me. He broke you, Faith. Smashed you with his empty promises. And then, what, he puts on a tuxedo and plays some cheesy music and the next thing you’re dropping your panties for him?”

I roll off the sofa and glare at Dan. “How dare you speak to me like that.”

“It’s the truth.” I kick at him with my foot, but he grabs it and holds it tight. “Come on, Faith. This isn’t like you. Why are you letting him back in?”

“Because I love him.” I snap the words and Dan’s brown eyes widen.

“Fucking shit.” He shakes his head and shifts upright on the sofa, dropping my foot with such abandon I almost fall over. “Shit, Faith. Total shit.”

“What? You want me to say I love you because we had sex once?”

He unfolds himself and stretches up until he’s towering over me. “No, Faith, I want you to protect yourself from aristocratic scumbags who don’t know the first thing about you.”

“Dan.” I’m at a loss for what to say. “I know you’re hurting and grieving, but don’t lash out at me. Why didn’t you tell me Elijah came to Brighton straightaway? You could have saved me weeks of agony.”

“This has got nothing to do with grief, Faith. I’ve spent all our lives protecting you, wanting to give you everything. I sent him away because I was still doing it, still protecting you.”

“It’s not like that between us.” My chest is so tight, I don’t know how my ribs are still allowing an intake of breath. The brown eyes that have spent a lifetime smiling at me harden and I sit on the sofa, falling almost.

“I know.” He sighs a little, his huge arms wrapping across his middle and folding across his chest. “I guess I thought maybe once you were free of what Aiden did to you, you’d realise I was the guy who’d always been there.”

I stare at him in shock. “You have always been the guy who’s been there. You’re my best friend.”

He drops his gaze to the ground as he stalks for his jacket thrown over the armchair. He’s at the door, the veins in his arms pulsing as he clenches his hands so tight. “See you around, Faith.”

I try to stop him. I go to reach my arm out to grab him back, but my body won’t move, my tongue won’t speak.

The door closes and my oldest friend walks away.

What would Al say to me now?

I dash away an angry tear. I don’t think I’d want to hear it.

Chapter Seventeen

Sun streams through the glass and the shout of voices from outside the open windows cuts through my lazy, dream-filled doze. For a minute there I could believe Elijah and I were together and lying in a hotel room in the South of France. I could believe that we’d rediscovered each other under the gauzy hangings of a four-poster bed.

Fingers trail up my spine. “Are you awake yet?”

“No.” I smile slowly, my eyes still closed. His touch is somewhere close to heaven. His fingers dip along the curve of my buttocks, slipping between the cleft there.

“Awake now?”

My smile grows, and I stretch, rolling over to face him. It’s not a dream, this is real.

This morning we were in his London Mews home. Now we are here, which I think must be some place that doesn’t actually exist. As far as I can tell we are in a town that’s built within medieval castle walls. Well that’s what I could see before we got to our room and all I could see, taste, and feel was Elijah.

His hand moves to my front, trailing delicate brush strokes across my stomach, between my breasts around the swell of each one. I reach my hand for his head, my fingers sliding through his hair as I guide his mouth to mine, kissing him with such intensity it all but consumes me. My tongue darts against his, my teeth grazing his lower lip. His body stirs next to mine, his arousal hardening and pressing into my thigh. “Fuck, Faith, I could stay here forever with you.”

I grin stupidly.