Broken Juliet by Leisa Rayven Read Free Book Online Page B

finally, in my bed.
    When exhaustion finally takes us, I curl into his side and rest my head over his heart.
    Whatever internal dilemma he’s going through, we’ll find a way to make it right, because that’s what couples who love each other do.
    I go to sleep with Ethan’s heartbeat in my ear and his arm around me.
     
     
    The next morning, light bleeds through my eyelids, and I’m dimly aware of birds singing in the trees outside. I smile as I register the warm body beside me.
    The first time we slept together, he left before I woke. This time, he stayed.
    I breathe in his scent and run my hand over his chest and stomach. He’s warm, and it seems so decadent to feel the length of his naked body pressed against mine. This amount of Ethan should be illegal. He feels too good.
    Just being beside him arouses me, and I contemplate which sexual positions we could try this morning. There are so many new things I want him to teach me.
    As I snuggle into his chest and sigh in contentment, I realize his heartbeat is fast. Too fast.
    I open my eyes to find he’s awake. Staring, stony-faced at the ceiling.
    A rush of heat crawls across my skin. “Hey.”
    He blinks and turns to me. “Hey.”
    His posture is stiff. Alarmingly so. The arm that held me close last night now lies straight out from his body, barely touching me at all.
    I sit up. “What’s wrong?”
    He blinks a few times, jaw tense. “I have to go.”
    Before I can protest, he swings his legs over the side of the bed, grabs his underwear, and pulls it on.
    “What? Ethan…?”
    “I need to go home and pack before heading back to New York for the holidays,” he says, not looking at me. “Plus, I have to go see Erika about what extra credit I need to do over the Christmas break to make up for flunking this term’s acting class. Merry fucking Christmas to me.”
    He pulls on his jeans and buckles his belt before going in search of his shirt.
    “Well, I could come with you. Back to your place, I mean. After you pack, we could get breakfast. My flight home isn’t until this afternoon…”
    “No.” He disappears into the hallway and sickening knots form in my stomach. I sit up and pull the sheet to my chest as he reappears, buttoning up his shirt.
    “You don’t want me to come with you?”
    He sits on the bed and grabs his boots and socks, not even sparing me a glance as he pulls them on and laces the boots. His movements are tense. He looks angry, and I don’t know why. Doesn’t he remember last night?
    “Ethan … talk to me.”
    He finishes tying his shoes and stares at the floor. His jaw tightens as he takes a deep breath.
    “Cassie…” He sighs. “I can’t … we can’t do this. I thought that maybe…” He squeezes his eyes shut. “We just can’t.”
    “No,” I say, my panic rising. “Don’t start with that crap again. We can. We did last night. Do you even remember how amazing it was? How incredible we are together?”
    His breathing speeds up as he turns to look at me. “Last night was a mistake.”
    I freeze. His words hang in the air like a toxic cloud. Something inside me cracks and ruptures.
    He’s not saying this. He can’t be.
    He was there. He felt it. How could he not? It wasn’t just sex. We made love . Many times.
    “A … a mistake?”
    For a moment, I see pain flicker across his face, then it’s gone.
    “Last night was…” He shakes his head. “Yesterday, I flunked acting because I couldn’t open up. But that shouldn’t have come as a surprise to you, because you’ve been asking me to open up for freaking months, and I failed at that, too.” He looks over his shoulder but doesn’t meet my eyes. “I’m not capable of being a proper boyfriend. We both know it. Last night doesn’t change anything.”
    My cheeks burn with anger. “How can you say that? You proved how you feel about me all night long. We said we loved each other, for God’s sake! It changes everything!”
    He turns to me, his eyes filled