Eddie hated seeing Emily so sick. She’d had a rough night. He knew it would only get worse, but he hoped she wouldn’t be so sick.
He ran a washcloth under cool water and pressed it against her neck. Gently, he pried her hair out of her hands and pulled it back. He wrapped a band around it very messily, he’d never done that before, but it stayed out of her face. Eddie sat behind her, cradling her back against his front, and willed his body to not react.
Not that he thought that was possible.
It was Emily. The woman he’d been in love with since he’d met her. The woman he always knew deserved better than that asshole.
Eddie caressed her back, hoping it would help her feel better, and prayed the heaving would stop soon. He’d made her his own hangover remedy, one that tasted like shit, but relieved the pressure and pain if you could choke it down. Getting the concoction into Emily might prove to be more of a challenge than he’d originally figured.
“Thank you,” Emily choked as the vomiting subsided. “I’m sorry.”
Eddie smiled to himself. That was Emily. Always apologizing for things out of her control. “No worries, Em. I just hope you feel better.”
“You know me?” she asked, trying to push back. She craned her neck and looked up at him. When her endless brown eyes met his she sighed in relief. “Eddie. Thank God. I didn’t know where I was. I thought I’d gone home with someone. You know, like slept with a stranger.”
Memories of the night before flashed through Eddie’s mind unwarranted. His body responded to the images his brain was replaying, images of Emily pressing herself against him on the dance floor. Of her crawling on his lap to kiss him in the cab. Of her stripping out of her clothes in his living room and begging him to take her to bed.
Eddie deserved a fucking medal for being a gentleman and putting her to bed. In one of his t-shirts. Alone.
He was fairly certain the only thing she was wearing was his t-shirt. He’d left her clothes on top of his dresser, but judging by how quickly she’d rushed to the bathroom, she probably hadn’t pulled on her panties.
Which meant she was bare beneath his shirt.
Eddie jumped up quickly, before Emily felt his erection against her back. “I made you a hangover drink when you’re ready for it. Your, uh, your clothes are in the bedroom. I’ll let you get dressed.”
Eddie bolted for the door, closing the bedroom door on his way out. He leaned against the wall and prayed she wouldn’t realize just how effected he was by her.