I went to stand and really did feel dizzy. Tristan reached out for me. “I don’t think I can stand in there alone, Tristan.”

“Ahh . . .” I couldn’t tell if the idea of being in the shower with me made him happy or scared the hell out of him.

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My lower lip trembled as I asked, “Please? Everything is spinning and I feel so funny.”

“Um . . . yeah, no.”

My heart dropped the moment he said no. Nodding, I whispered, “Okay, I’ll make it work.” Slipping my panties off the best I could, I reached for a crutch. I let out a small scream when Tristan reached down and lifted me up. He began walking me into the shower and I fought like hell not to smile.

“I didn’t mean no, I wouldn’t help you. I meant . . . I don’t know what I meant, Ryn. Let’s just get you cleaned up.”

It wasn’t lost on me that Tristan had kept his sleeping pants on. A part of me was glad he did. I wasn’t sure what I would’ve done if I had seen his dick.

Oh. My. God. What is wrong with me? Get it together, Ryn.

Getting the water to the perfect temperature, Tristan moved me into the water. He had lifted my ankle and set it on the bench seat. “Does that hurt?”

Slowly shaking my head, I whispered, “No.”

I reached for the soap and washcloth, but Tristan took it from me. Before I could stop him, he had the washcloth moving over my body. My heart was slowly breaking all over again when reality hit me. He was only taking care of me because I sprained my ankle. He felt responsible for taking care of me. Maybe I should have had Dodge come down.

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Closing my eyes, I tried to just enjoy the few moments I had with Tristan. He slowly moved the washcloth over my body, cleaning me so tenderly as if another part of my body would break if he went too fast. Tristan squatted down as he cleaned both my legs. Glancing up, his eyes caught mine. Since my left ankle was sitting on top of the bench I was spread open to him. Tristan ran the washcloth up my right leg and I felt my body shudder as he grew closer to the area of my body that pulsed with desire.

Swallowing hard, Tristan began to clean between my legs. Biting down on my lip, I fought like hell to not let out a moan.

Then he withdrew the washcloth and I internally screamed out no. He stood and rinsed the washcloth off before he grabbed the removable showerhead and began rinsing me off. When the warm water hit between my legs, I sucked in a breath.

“Sorry,” Tristan whispered as he quickly pulled it away. I shook my head and wanted to beg him to not stop. Hell, I wanted him to take me right there in the shower. Fuck the sprained ankle, I’d be able to push through the pain to feel Tristan buried inside of me.

Turning the water off, Tristan turned to me. “Let me get a towel and dry you off.”

Jumping out of the shower, he stripped out of his pants and wrapped a towel around himself so fast I didn’t even get to see a thing. I wanted to stomp my foot on the ground.

Then he reached in and took my foot down and helped me out of the shower. He dried off every inch of my body and then took the plastic bag off my foot. “Sit down, baby. I’ll grab you some clothes.”

Nodding my head, I sat down. As soon as he left the room, I let the tears fall. Maybe Tristan had found something with Sierra. Or maybe I had pushed him away for too long and he . . . he wasn’t interested anymore.

I thought back to the other day on the beach when I ran into him. He seemed like he wanted me back, but maybe I was reading everything wrong. So many emotions ran through my head and I couldn’t make sense of any of it. Wrapping my arms around my body, I attempted to stop my shivering.

Why did I have to be in love with Tristan still? Why?

I hadn’t heard Tristan walk back into the bathroom. When he appeared in front of me and placed both hands on the sides of my face, I began to cry harder. I wanted this. I wanted Tristan to place his hands on my face and look at me like I was his entire world . . . not Dodge. I knew it in my heart, so why was my head fighting so hard with my heart?

“Ryn, baby what’s wrong? Did you hurt yourself?”

His thumbs moved across my face to wipe the tears away. Closing my eyes, I took in the heat that was left in the path he made.

I couldn’t stop crying. I felt like a fool sitting here getting upset over a man who pushed me away from him when things got to be too serious. Opening my eyes, I couldn’t help but notice the pain in Tristan’s eyes.

Slowly nodding my head, I whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Tristan’s hand moved down to my neck as he pushed his hand through my hair and pulled me a bit closer to him. “Baby, don’t be sorry that you’re in pain. I wish like hell I could take it away.”

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