Slow Agony by V. J. Chambers Read Free Book Online Page A

watch movies for two weeks.
    Eventually, it was dark outside, and I started yawning.
    Griffin noticed. “You tired?”
    “A little,” I said.
    “Yeah, I guess you’ve been through a lot today,” he said. “He, um, he shot her right in front of you?”
    I nodded.
    “That’s hard,” he said. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
    “I’ve seen things like that before,” I said. “I’m okay.”
    “Yeah. You’re tough.” He paused. “Um, you can sleep in the bedroom if you’re ready to go to bed.”
    His bed? The bed where he slept with the girl who shaved herself in his shower? I didn’t think so. I shook my head. “Don’t be silly. I’m not going to take your bed. I can sleep on the couch.”
    “No, you’re my guest. I insist.”
    “I don’t want to sleep in your bed. It would be too...” I looked away.
    He sighed. “I don’t have extra sheets. If you sleep out here, all I can give you is a blanket.”
    “That’s fine,” I said. I really didn’t care.
    He drew a hand over his face. “God. This is so awkward.”
    “Maybe there’s someplace else I could stay.”
    “No,” he said. “There isn’t.”
    “What about Sloane and... whatever the guy’s name is? You said they live in Morgantown, right?”
    “I can’t ask them to do that.”
    “Fine,” I said. I started to dig through my clothes, looking for something to sleep in. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I hadn’t brought any pajamas. I guess that hadn’t been high on my priority list when I was running from Marcel. I set the back pack down.
    “What were you looking for?”
    “Something to sleep in.” All I had were jeans and fitted shirts. I didn’t even have something I could use as pajamas. “I didn’t bring anything. But it’s not a big deal. I can sleep in my clothes.”
    “You can borrow a shirt,” he said.
    I bit my lip. I used to sleep in Griffin’s shirts. They were big and comfortable, and they smelled like him. I remembered how happy I used to be, crawling into bed with him every night, snuggling close to his hard, warm body.
    “Is that weird?” he said. “I was only trying to be nice.”
    I gazed into his eyes. “What happened to us, Griffin?”
    “Jesus, doll.” He walked away from me. “You know what fucking happened.” He ducked into his bedroom and came out with a shirt. He threw it at me.
    I caught it.
    “Go change,” he said. “I’ll get you a blanket.”
    I almost didn’t put on the shirt. But it was freshly laundered, and it didn’t have Griffin’s raw, male scent. It only smelled like detergent. So I put it on and left the bathroom.
    He looked up from the couch, and when his gaze settled on me, I realized how bare my legs were. Griffin’s shirt just barely covered my butt. Suddenly, I felt exposed and vulnerable.
    But then Griffin was deliberately not looking at me. He busied himself with smoothing the blanket on the couch. “Uh... so if you aren’t comfortable, just let me know.”
    Was he acting like that because he still found me attractive, and it embarrassed him? Or was it only that he was uncomfortable with how little I was wearing? I wasn’t sure. I walked around the couch. I wasn’t exactly a stranger to the idea of men liking to look at me. Maybe if I tested it, I could be sure.
    But he moved, putting the couch between the two of us.
    “Thanks,” I said.
    He looked at me again. “You’re welcome.” His gaze raked my body, taking me in entirely. His Adam’s apple bobbed.
    Yeah, I was thinking he was still attracted to me.
    “Sleep well,” he said. He turned away from me, heading for the bedroom. But then he stopped. He didn’t look at me. “You really haven’t been with anyone else.”
    “No.”
    “Why not?”
    I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure how to answer. I sat down slowly on the couch. I ran my hand over the blanket.
    He turned. “Doll?”
    And I didn’t stop him, because I liked it when he called me that. I missed him so much.