The smudges under her eyes seemed to have grown darker and he knew staying here was only delaying her rest.
He stood. “All right, I’m going. But make sure you eat something.”
“Bossy Dom,” she muttered under her breath. He decided to pretend he hadn’t heard her.
“And you are to make an appointment with your doctor to get a check-up. Before you come back to the club, I want a medical certificate stating that you’re well.”
An alarmed look crossed her face. “What? You can’t do that.”
“I can,” he said firmly. “You could have been hurt tonight, Tara. It’s not acceptable.”
Seeing her so lifeless in Sloan’s arms had brought him to near panic. Dismissing his feelings for her wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d hoped. Maybe they could have a relationship without getting serious. After all she’d obviously had ‘friends’ before. One of them had put an alarm system in her apartment. Too bad he hadn’t insisted that she move somewhere safer.
If she was his, he’d have her out of here so quick she’d have no time to protest. Maybe there was some way of getting her to move somewhere safer, somewhere closer to his place.
Alex shook his head. He’d decided to distance himself from her. Hadn’t he? He really wasn’t sure what he wanted right now. He didn’t want a relationship and yet the idea of not seeing her, of her being with someone else made his gut churn.
He needed to get his head together and think this through.
Leaning down, he kissed her on the forehead. “Get some sleep. Remember, I want that medical certificate. And make sure you set the alarm behind me.”
As he walked out he couldn’t help but think that there must be some way they could both get what they wanted.
***
The ringing of her phone woke Tara from a deep slumber. She sat up and swiped at her chin. Urgh, she’d been drooling. So unattractive. She was grateful Alex hadn’t stuck around. She really wished he hadn’t insisted on bringing her home last night. Now he’d seen the dump she lived in.
Her phone stopped ringing and she slumped back on her sofa with a sigh. By the time Alex left she’d been too tired to bother making up her bed. She rubbed her eyes. She didn’t feel any more rested after…she looked at her watch…six and a half hours sleep. It wasn’t nearly enough, she felt like she could sleep for days. Her phone rang again and she searched around, finally finding it on the floor under the sofa just as it went silent.
She glanced at the missed calls—they were from her brother, Ben. She called him back as she rummaged around for some coffee.
“Hello.”
“Ben, how are you?” she asked warmly. “Sorry I missed your calls.”
“Hey, sis. I’m good.”
They chatted for a few moments.
“I thought I’d come visit,” Ben said suddenly. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen you.”
“Is everything okay?” she asked sharply. “Did you get the check I sent?”
Most of her salary went to Ben. He was twenty and studying to be a doctor. Ben’s trust fund should have covered his college tuition, but when their father had found out that he was gay he’d cut him off completely.
Their mother had died when they were kids and their father was a cold, unloving man. Both of his children had been a disappointment to him.
She still remembered the night Ben had shown up on her doorstep, near tears and shaking. He’d been seventeen. Back then, she’d lived in a nicer apartment in a better part of town. She’d managed to support them both through Ben’s last year of school. Then he’d gotten a scholarship to study medicine at Stanford. She’d been thrilled. But while the scholarship covered his tuition and books, he still needed money for his living expenses.
So she’d taken a job with Tim who paid more, even if the conditions sucked, and she’d moved into this apartment which was much cheaper than the one she’d been living in. Her other apartment had been furnished so she’d shopped around at second-hand stores and flea markets to find the furniture for this apartment.
She’d visited Ben a couple of times, but he’d never been here. She didn’t want him seeing how she lived, it would only make him feel guilty. He thought she’d moved because she to live closer to her work. It hadn’t been a complete lie. This apartment was closer. That was pretty much the only thing it had going for it.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Ben replied, but there was a funny note in his voice.
She stayed silent for a long moment, something she’d learned from Nate. He had a way of getting people to confess everything without saying a word.
Ben sighed. “Chris and I broke up.”