Deep (Heavy Hearts Book 2) by Sarah Duncan (reading tree txt) 📕

more words out, I slip into my bed, a bed I haven’t slept in for such a long time. It feels strange until Ayden slips in next to me, fully clothed. Now my bed feels too big and too small all at the same time, yet oddly it feels right. Perfect.

We both shuffle around, trying to get comfy while avoiding touching each other in the small space. Ayden had turned the light off before climbing in with me but left the hall light on. I’m glad he did that. I need the soft glow that filters in through the open doorway. It helps to scare away the shadows that come to life.

Downstairs I can hear the faint murmur of voices and the TV. My house has never felt more like home than in this moment. I wish I could stay here tomorrow, but I know we will have to go back to Marcus’s, and I’ll have to face that lonely lilac bedroom.

“Ayden?” I whisper, raking my eyes over what little I can see of Ayden's face, which is so close to mine. We are on our sides facing each other. Tonight is going to be torture.

“Yeah?”

“Your mum is going to be mad at me for not coming home by curfew.”

“Nah, I already covered for you. You’re in the clear.” His voice is gravelly and sexy as sin as he tries to whisper.

“You shouldn’t have done that. No more lying to your mum, remember?”

He chuckles. “It’s fine Lex. I didn’t lie. I told her you were with me and that we are all staying here. I even sent her a selfie with you in the background.”

“What! When did you take a photo?”

“Right before you started dancing.” Ayden chuckles.

I need to remember to ask him to show me the picture in the morning.

“How’d you find Rhys and me, anyway? We only told you we were going to a party in Redfield. Come to think of it, why were you there?”

He sighs. “Dale. He added me to SnapChat, and he didn’t ghost on SnapMaps. And we were there, Lexi because you didn’t check in with me like you promised.”

“Stalker much?”

“When it comes to you, always. Not in a creepy way, though.” Ayden tries to sound convincing. It’s cute.

I giggle. “Oh no, there’s nothing creepy about Ayden Mitchell stalking me.”

Ayden laughs with me, and when we are done, we both fall quiet again before he speaks.

“Why were you kissing Rhys?”

“I plead the fifth.”

“Lexi, you do know that’s not relevant in Australia, right?” Ayden’s deep voice is laced with humour.

“So everyone keeps telling me!”

“Stop avoiding my question.” He chuckles as he speaks.

I sigh, seeking out his eyes in the darkness. From his vantage point, he has a better view of my face with the light filtering in on it. But his face is covered in shadows, all except for those damn panty-melting ocean eyes. It’s like they glow.

“Rhys said that kissing her would help me forget about kissing you.” The honesty comes out before I can tamper with it and twist it into some sort of half-truth. Damn him and his power to render me useless!

“Did it work?” Ayden whispers.

“I-I plead the fifth.”

Ayden chuckles before linking his pinkie finger with mine. Warmth spreads through my body at the contact, making me relax into the mattress, and as if he summoned me to sleep with magic, I fall into a dreamless, peaceful sleep.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Seeing Marcus and Rhys’s bare arses and tangled limbs on my mum’s bed really isn’t what I wanted to see… ever! Yet here I am, sneaking past them to get to my mum’s bathroom so I can shower. I’m going to make them wash the sheets themselves, because eww!

Showering quickly, wanting to avoid being walked in on, my mind wanders to what I saw and felt when I woke up this morning. Ayden lying next to me is a truly breathtaking sight, but I didn’t expect to see that he no longer had his pinky finger linked with mine, but he had my hand in his, tucked under his chin hugging it like it’s a teddy.

Fuck me! How’s a girl meant to find self-control around that?

“Lexi!” Rhys yells, pounding on the other side of the door, making me jump and nearly slip on the wet tiles in the shower. “I need to pee! Hurry up!”

“Okay! Hold on just a minute!”

I shut off the water and drag the towel over the top rail of the shower to dry my body. I didn’t bother washing my hair today, so I’m able to make quick work of drying myself off before securing the towel around me to step out of the shower.

Then I scream!

On instinct, I throw myself back, and at the same time, Rhys reefs the door open, eyes wide, seeking me out. I know the moment she sees it. What someone has written in the fog of the mirror. No, not someone. Mike. It can only be Mike.

I CAN STILL GET TO YOU LEXI.

IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME!!!

Marcus is suddenly in the bathroom with us, and I scream again and cover my eyes with my free hand when I get a full frontal of his junk.

“Lexi! Are you okay?” Ayden’s voice gets louder the closer he gets, and before I know it, the small space is filling with Ayden and the guys on his heels.

Curses ring out before Ayden growls at Marcus and shoves him out the door.

“Get dressed!” Ayden hisses at his cousin before turning back to the mirror.

I should be trembling, crying, running, but I’m not. I’m pissed.

“Who showered in here last?” Jared asks, taking his phone out and snapping a picture of the now fading message. With the door open, the steam in the room is escaping, and with it, the message.

“Not me. I’m still dirty from Marcus!” Rhys giggles, and I hear someone make a gagging sound. Probably Simon.

“I did. Last night before, Rhys and I got ready for the party. There definitely