If she managed to sleep, everything would be fine.
Erin walked through the room, but there wasn’t anything besides the bed, a nightstand and a dresser. It was a room for resting.
She was going to have to come to terms with the dark someday.
She turned off the lights and stood next to the door, gritting her teeth.
It wasn’t absolute darkness. She could still see, thanks to the moonlight coming through the windows. It cast a square of light on the floor and once her eyes adjusted, she could see the shapes of the furniture.
An invisible hand closed around her throat. Sweat dampened her underarms and her mouth went dry.
Yeah, that was enough of a test. She turned the light back on and sucked down an easier breath. She was thirty years old and afraid of the dark.
This was stupid. She just needed to get over it.
Once more, she flipped the lights off and jumped in bed before she could talk herself out of it.
She squeezed her eyes shut, willing her mind to remember the room bathed in light instead of shrouded in shadow. She listened to her own breathing. The size of the room didn’t matter. It was still damn loud, just like it had been in the cellar.
Any minute, someone was going to bang on the door and jolt her awake.
This wasn’t working.
She needed to move, to pace, to see.
Erin rolled out of bed and flipped the lights back on.
The stress had worn her thin. What she needed was to get home, back in her apartment, have a strong drink, maybe a sleeping pill. She’d work through this. She had to. She would.
A tap at her door made her stop short.
It wasn’t the hinge rattling bang, but it might as well have been the way her heart galloped in her chest.
She stared at the shadows under the door.
Who was it?
Another tap.
“It’s me,” Riley muttered.
She glanced at the digital clock.
Fuck, it’d been an hour already?
She opened the door and peered out.
Half of Riley’s hair stuck up at an odd angle and he rubbed his eye. Sleepy Riley was more adorable than the one who’d fed her and talked to her all through the evening.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Her voice came out strained and too high.
“You sure?”
It was just the two of them. She didn’t have anyone to impress except him, and she wasn’t going to do that anytime soon after tonight. She blew out a breath and took a step back. Riley followed her into the room and closed it behind him.
“I can’t sleep. I don’t want to be in the dark, but with the lights on...” Her throat tightened, and she couldn’t finish the sentence. She didn’t want to be weak.
“Hey?” Riley took her hand and gave it a little squeeze. “Don’t beat yourself up, okay? You get to be or feel whatever, got it?”
Erin nodded and squeezed his hand back. He tugged, and she took a step closer, then another until they were chest to chest. Riley wrapped his other arm around her in a gentle hug. She sucked down a breath and leaned her head against his shoulder.
Damn him. She didn’t want to lean on anyone, but he made it so easy to talk to him. She’d told him more about herself than she should. In a few hours he’d drop her at the airport and that would be it. They’d never see each other again. It was okay to be weak now. She could lean on someone this once.
“Mom says even the toughest cookies crumble. It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone,” he whispered.
“Shut up. You’re ruining it.” She let go of his hand and hugged him properly, with both arms. There was something about his arms wrapped around her that loosened all the tension in her back.
“Sorry.” He chuckled and folded her in his arms.
Erin turned her face so she inhaled the scent of man and soap on his shirt, reveled in the tactile nature of being held by someone. She wished he was just some guy she met one night, that it was fate causing their paths to cross for a perfect moment.
“Thanks,” she muttered.
He leaned back and looked at her.
Erin peered up at Riley. His heavy-lidded gaze was sleepy, and yet she could feel the warmth of him in the look. She swallowed, fully aware of what that look meant. They were adults. He hadn’t just been good company, he’d flirted.
Any other night, she wouldn’t hesitate, but now she did. Was she trying to cover up the bad memories with something good? Or was this perfect time, perfect man?
She swayed toward him, her body betraying her. His hand tightened around hers, tugging her just a bit more off balance, deciding her fate for the next few moments. She went up on tiptoe and told her brain to pipe down. She pressed her lips to his and curled her fingers into his shirt, fisting the fabric. He jolted, sucking in a breath and rocking toward her. He slid his hand up her arm to her shoulder. She arched her back and pulled on his shirt until he bent his head. His mouth moved with hers, a hunger in his touch. Warmth unfurled in her stomach, answering that same hunger in her.
Erin would mourn losing him. She knew that from one kiss. That didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy each other tonight.
Riley cupped her cheek and lifted his head. Their breathing was the loudest thing in the room now, for completely different reasons. She kept a firm grip on him so she didn’t tip over.
“What do you want?”
“I don’t know.” She nuzzled his cheek and kissed his face.
“Sure you do.” His fingers coasted down her throat to her shoulder.
“I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
“You could have just
