Fast Burn (Burned Duet 1)

“On the sofa.” I walked down the hallway and past two doors on the right and one on the left. They led to two empty bedrooms and a bathroom, but it was the door at the end of the hallway which opened into the master bedroom and en suite. I pushed the door open and stepped inside, waving my arm for Elodie to come in with me.

“I…I can’t do this,” she whispered. Her voice was broken and hoarse, and I wondered if it was me. Was she scared to stay the night in a house with me alone? Had I made the right decision bringing her back here? Maybe I should have taken her to a motel for the night and—

“I’ve never slept in a bed this big.”

I chuckled, trying to get rid of some of the tension building up in my body. “Yeah, I was used to sleeping on a single cot when I was in the Marines.” I turned to face her and smiled gently. “Took some getting used to sleeping in a bed again.” I shrugged, deciding to be honest with her. I knew so much about her and yet, she knew barely anything about me. The scales weren’t level, and I needed to make her feel more comfortable. “Sometimes I still sleep on the floor because the bed is too much.”

“You do?” she asked, her eyes widening. “Does that not hurt your back?”

“Nah, I’m used to it.” I placed her bag on the bottom of my bed. “Sometimes it helps, especially after a long session tattooing.”

“Right.” She bit down on her bottom lip and stepped forward slowly. “I…erm…” She shook her head and blew out a breath. “Thanks for this, Asher. I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime, sweetheart.” I didn’t move a single muscle as I stared at her—really stared at her—and for the first time ever, I let my wall slide down a little. I let her see the part of me which I kept locked away. I wasn’t sure whether I was doing it to make her at ease, or because I wanted her to see it. But either way, I knew she appreciated it when her own eyes flared to life. She’d seen it, and now I had to walk out of the room, because I was afraid if I didn’t, I never would.

“See you in the morning,” I croaked out, and practically ran out of my own bedroom and down the stairs. I paced the downstairs hallway as I listened to her move about in the room, and finally after fifteen minutes, it went completely silent.

Elodie was in my house. She was sleeping in my bed. And it was because she’d been sleeping in her car. Fuck. What the hell was I going to do? There was no way I’d let her walk out of here tomorrow morning to go back to her car, knowing she didn’t have a safe place to sleep.

I had no idea what I was going to do though. I needed a plan and a—

I halted in the middle of the hallway and looked up at the stairs as Jax’s voice ricocheted in my head: you hear anything else or if she comes to you, you fuckin’ call me asap. I didn’t need to handle this alone, and neither did she. She may not have wanted help, but she goddamn needed it, and I was going to make sure she got it.

I pulled my cell out of my front pocket, shot Jax a message, and then headed into the living room.

Asher: Elodie is staying at my house. Found her sleeping in her car. We need a plan.

It was only seconds later when he replied.

Jax: I’ll be there first thing in the morning.

I should have known he’d come over, and in the back of my mind, I’d hoped he would. When it was only me and Elodie, it wasn’t awkward, but there was a sense of “why are you helping me.” If Jax was involved, maybe she’d accept it more.

I hoped.

* * *

ELODIE

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept so well. When I’d first gotten into Asher’s bed, I was afraid. Afraid the bed was too big. Afraid he wouldn’t stick to his word and sleep on the sofa. Afraid of what giving in and coming here meant. But after five hours of constant sleep in basically what was a giant fluffy cloud, my mind was clear, and my body was rested.

I had no idea how I was going to get to school or what I would do tonight after my shift at work, but I didn’t need to worry about that right now. All I had to worry about was—

“Elodie?” I shot up in bed and stared at the bedroom door. “You awake?”

“I…yeah,” I croaked out, pulling the covers up to my chin. Would he come inside now that he knew I was awake?

“Come downstairs when you’re ready?”

I breathed a sigh of relief at his words and grabbed my cell. It was a couple of minutes after six in the morning. “Okay.”

I didn’t look away from the door as footsteps echoed back down the stairs. My heart hammered in my chest, and my hands started to sweat. Last night we’d been covered with darkness, but this morning it was bright and early, and I already had to face what was ahead of me. I was the kind of person to push things off and keep waiting, but I didn’t have a choice today. I had to tackle it head-on, so I pushed out of the bed, made it, then headed into the bathroom.

Once I was dressed in a pair of dark-blue jeans and a light-pink T-shirt, I declared myself ready and carried my backpack in one hand and my tennis shoes in another. My footsteps were light as I came down the stairs and ventured into the first open door in the downstairs hallway. All of the walls were painted a light gray, and the living room I’d walked into had a black sofa and dark wood furniture. It was masculine and felt so much like Asher. I’d never stayed in a house so nice and I was afraid to reach out and touch anything in case I broke it.

“Morning,” Asher greeted, and I turned to the right, seeing where the kitchen flowed from the living room through a big archway.

“Morning,” I greeted, and stepped toward him, only focused on his face and—