Dirty, Reckless Love (Boys of Jackson Harbor 3)

What a fucking idiot. He has Ellie in his bed, and he sneaks out to go to Molly’s hotel room. “What did he say?”

She shakes her head. “He didn’t know I was there. I fell off the porch, and then he texted to say he was staying at Jake’s.”

We turn to the stairs at the back of the kitchen that lead to Jake’s apartment above the bar. We both know he’s not up there, and most likely doesn’t plan to be.

“He was never going to marry me,” she whispers. The words shake, delivered on a trail of heartache. “I think that’s why he’s been pulling away the last couple of months. I’ve been dropping hints, and he . . .”

She closes her eyes, and since I don’t know what to say, I return to cleaning up her wound, wiping away the blood before applying antibiotic ointment and bandaging to the cut on her forehead.

“How’s that?” I ask.

She nods. “Good. Thank you. I’m okay.” But her occasional trembling turns into full-body shaking, and I step between her legs and pull her against my chest. She clings to my shirt.

“Let me take you home.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t want to go home.”

“You can stay here. Jake’s at Ava’s. He won’t care.”

“A little ironic,” she whispers.

I nod. “I guess it is.” Releasing her, I step back. “Come on. I’ll find you some dry clothes upstairs.” I lead the way to the stairwell at the back of the kitchen, aware of her behind me with every step.

Over the years, Jake has slowly turned the utilitarian loft above the bar into a nice one-bedroom apartment. It’s got that industrial look to it, with the rebar spindles around the stairwell and the exposed brick walls, but it’s still warm and feels like a home. He redid the kitchen last summer, swapping out the aging white appliances with stainless-steel models, and installing a big island between the kitchen and living area.

She follows me into Jake’s bedroom, watching as I open a drawer and pull out one of Jake’s T-shirts. He’s been slowly moving his stuff into Ava’s, so there’s not much here. A stack of Jackson Brews shirts and a couple of pairs of jeans. I pull open the other drawers, just in case Ava has clothes tucked away, but come up empty. I consider grabbing a pair of his boxers out of the top drawer but stop myself. Imagining Ellie in my brother’s T-shirt with nothing beneath it is bad enough. I’ll be damned if she’s going to wear his boxers too.

“Help yourself to the bathroom,” I say, handing her the T-shirt. “A bath might warm you up.”

As if on cue, she shivers. “That’s a good idea.”

“If you want, I can throw your clothes in the dryer for you while you’re in the tub so you have something dry for the morning.”

She stares at the floor. “Thank you, Levi.”

“Of course.” I step closer and press a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ll text Jake that you’re here, and lock the door on my way out. Call me in the morning?”

She grabs my arm before I can go far. “I don’t want to be alone. Stay with me? Please?”

I freeze, and for a few seconds, air refuses to enter my lungs. Stay with me.

Ellie looks up at me with her big blue eyes, her hand tightening on my wrist. Her wet hair curls into ringlets around her face, defying whatever she does to straighten it when it’s dry. Her T-shirt clings to her, giving me a clear view of her hard nipples beneath the cotton. She isn’t asking for anything more than company, but I’ve wanted to touch this woman from the first day we met, and resisting her tonight might be harder than ever. Because tonight, for the first time since before I laid eyes on her, Colton’s let her go.

I nod. “Sure.”

Her lips part and her eyes flare hot. She saw me looking. She liked me looking.

Both of us sleeping here tonight might be a terrible idea.

Our eyes lock for a beat too long, and she’s the first to look away. “I think I’ll take a bath,” she says. She walks past me, out of the bedroom and into the bathroom just down the hall.

When she’s gone, I lean my head against the wall and close my eyes. She wants company in the apartment. Not in bed.

I’m probably breaking every fucking rule in the bro code manual by even staying here, but I don’t care. Colton fucked up, and he’s going to lose Ellie as a result. I’ve kept my distance for two and a half years out of respect for my friend, but he lost that respect the second he hurt her.

The old pipes squeak, and I hear the bath running.

“Levi?” she calls. “Do you just want me to leave my wet clothes outside the bathroom?”