Glass Hearts by Lisa de Jong Read Free Book Online

hers as I work to make her forget all her worries and doubts. I want to make her forget everything except me. I push her onto her back and rest my legs on either side of her hips. My hands and lips take on a frantic pace.
    As I begin to remove her shorts, she stops me by wrapping her hand around my wrist. “We can’t. Nolan’s in the next room,” she whispers against my lips. Her warm breath against my skin ignites a fire, and I cup the back of her head with my hand and move in for another kiss. I don’t give a fuck that Nolan’s in the next room. She pushes hard against my chest. “Dane, stop. Not tonight, okay?”
    “I can be really quiet,” I say, nibbling on her lower lip.
    “Well, I can’t,” she smiles. Fuck, I’m so hard a cold shower won’t even take care of this one. I make a mental note to thank Nolan for the cock block later.
    “Damn, Nolan,” I whisper under my breath as I rest my cheek against her chest.
    “How long is he here for?” she asks, running her fingers through my hair.
    “Just tonight. He’s in some trouble, so I gave him until tomorrow to decide if he wants to get help. I think he’s ready, or at least I hope he is. I can’t keep bailing him out, and he either needs to make some changes, or I need to let it go.” My voice is flat, and I’m trying not to let on how much Nolan’s problems affect me. How much the guilt affects me. I learned how to close myself off a long time ago, and I like to think I’ve reached expert status.
    “I hope he’s ready too.”
    I kiss the top of her head. “He has so much he could be doing with his life. I just wish he could see it.”
    “He has a great role model,” she replies, looking up at me with her big blue eyes. I wish I could agree. I wasn’t a role model. Sure, I helped raise him when no one else was there for us, but that doesn’t make me anything special. I wish I would’ve stayed on course, but I didn’t, and now we’re here.
    “I wasn’t a good role model. I showed him how to do exactly what he’s doing.” I roll onto my back and fix my eyes on the ceiling. I’m ashamed of everything I’ve done, but I wonder if I would be here with Alex right now if I hadn’t. If I had gone to college right after high school, I wouldn’t have shared an Art class with her. If I lived a normal life, I might not have noticed her in the way I did. The first time I saw her I was ready, and I knew she was sent to me for some reason. Little did I know, we were sent to each other. We saved each other.
    She straddles my hips, forcing me to look her in the eyes. “What you are now, that’s all that matters. You did exactly what he needs to do, and you can help him better than anyone else can.”
    She’s not telling me anything I don’t know, but she’s forgetting the part where Nolan needs to want help before I can help him take the first step. I hope he’s hit his bottom; that’s the only way for him to see his life is going nowhere. Alex should know a little bit about this. After all, her feelings for me weren’t enough to keep her in my arms. She had to hit her emotional bottom before she realized she belonged with me, no matter what it cost her.
    I reach up to pull her lips down to mine. She lets me tease, suck and nibble, but I don’t press any further. God, it takes everything in me to not get on my knees and beg her to let me go further. “I should probably go make sure Nolan is settled in for the night.” He’s high, and I know he won’t be falling asleep anytime soon, but I still want to make sure he has everything he needs.
    As soon as I get up from the bed, Alex follows. “What are you doing?” My voice is a littler harsher than I intended.
    “I’m going to say goodnight to Nolan and get a drink of water,” she replies. Oh, hell no. Not in that outfit.
    “Stay right here and I’ll bring you a glass of water,” I say, taking in her body with my eyes. She’s gorgeous.
    “But—”
    I wrap my arms around her