Unexpected Oasis by Cd Hussey Read Free Book Online Page B

steps back. I'm trapped. I really am trapped.
    Panic squeezing me, I turn and run toward my building. I've got to get somewhere quiet, put on some soft music, do a little yoga in the dark, maybe meditate, probably pop a Xanax…
    What have I done? What have I done. What have I—?
    The mantra is interrupted as I turn the corner and run smack into Trey's thick chest.
    I immediately burst into tears.
    He puts a hand on my shoulder. "Hey. Hey, what's wrong?"
    All I can do is snivel and shake my head. I'm trying to curb the tears, I really am. I just can't. Weeks of pent up emotion is hell bent on tumbling out straight through my eyeballs.
    "Let's take a walk," he says, his voice quiet, authoritative, but somehow calming.
    "I—"
    "Please? I could use the company."
    I'm not sure how I can say no to those gorgeous brown eyes, especially with that concerned furrow between his brows.
    God, how can I possibly avoid being attracted to him when he's perfection bundled in tan skin?
    Afraid if I open my mouth to talk some weird gagging noise will come out, I simply nod.
    He places his hand on my elbow briefly to guide me in the right direction—which happens to be toward my room—but then puts his hands into the pockets of his khaki cargo pants.
    I want him to touch me again. When you're married you don't realize how much your body craves the touch of another human. After I lost Jim, I was so touch deprived I had to get a weekly massage just to feel human. Right now, I want nothing more than to bury my head into Trey's chest and sob while he caresses my back. Fuck the guilty conscience.
    Suddenly he stops and turns to me. We're inches from my door. "What's wrong, Andrea? Talk to me."
    "I—" I glance over at him. He looks sincerely interested and concerned. And gorgeous. God, it would be so nice to unload some of this drama weighing me down, but I'm not sure I'm ready to spill my guts to him yet. It's such a humiliating and pathetic tale.
    It suddenly dawns on me; Trey is actually interested in me. In a non-professional, he'd be asking me on a date if we weren't stuck in a three-acre walled compound, sort of way.
    I'm speechless. All I can do is stare into those gorgeous pools of brown. My breath feels labored, the air like molasses as it strains to move in and out of my chest. He's so incredibly beautiful. And smells like…like pure masculinity. I just want to swim in his eyes and drown in his scent.
    His gaze travels over my face, lingering on my mouth for a few moments before returning to my eyes. I feel my tongue wet my lips, though I'm barely aware of the command made by my brain.
    He leans close to me for what might be a kiss and I jerk away startled, my back hitting the door behind me.
    "I'm sorry," he says, taking a quick step back. "I misread…sorry."
    My tongue is still frozen in shock. He frowns, tips his head to me, turns, and marches away. I fall onto the door, pressing my palm and forehead against the metal.
    God, I'm such a wreck. First it gets too heavy for me at the barn and I turn tail and run. Then I decide I want nothing more than to drown my troubled heart in his strong arms. And then, when he indicates he might like being my life preserver, I panic. I really have turned into that sixteen-year-old girl. I like the boy. I don't like the boy . I wonder if said boy likes me. He does? I don't know if I want boy to like me.
    At this point, I have no idea how to fix it. Or what to even do about it.
    Shaking my head in frustration, I unlock the door to my room and push it open. Before stepping inside I glance over my shoulder. Across the grass courtyard, Trey stands on the sidewalk, smoking a cigarette. Gaze hidden behind mirrored lenses, he glances toward me, takes a draw from his cigarette, and then turns and walks away.
    With a sigh, I step into the cool, dark room. I'm not ready. Not yet.
     

 
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    I nstead of dealing with it like a grown-up, I immediately go back into hibernation