The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback (Astra and Zayne) novel Chapter 185

When I looked up, Astra was watching me. Color had crept into her cheeks, growing deeper when our eyes met. She glanced down at where I still held her hands, then quickly back at me, and that only made the blush worse.

I freed one hand long enough to push a strand of hair away from her cheek. My fingers lingered near her temple before following the curve of her face to her jaw. All those nights I’d sat in this room wishing she were here, and now I could feel her skin beneath my fingertips. I still couldn’t quite believe I had her back.

Astra didn’t pull away when my hand settled against her cheek. Instead, she leaned into my palm, and something in my chest nearly gave out.

“You scared the shit out of me, Trouble.”

Her blush faded as she searched my face. “I did?”

The question hit harder than it should have. She really had no idea. There was so much I could have told her-how many times I’d imagined the worst, how often I’d ended up in this room because being anywhere else felt wrong, how close I’d come to losing my mind when every lead went nowhere. None of it made it past my mouth.

My thumb brushed lightly beneath her eye. “You need to sleep.”

12:03 Thu, Aug 13 F

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

voucher

70

She didn’t argue, which told me just how badly she needed it. With a small nod, she moved farther onto the mattress and curled onto her side, Patches tucked against her chest while I pulled the covers over her. I stayed beside her, watching as she settled deeper into the pillow.

A few minutes passed before one of her eyes cracked open.

“Zane, are you seriously just sitting there staring at me?”

“I am.”

That’s creepy.”

“Then close your eyes.”

Her brows pulled together. “Are you planning to sit there all night?”

“If I feel like it.”

“That’s incredibly normal,” she replied, the sarcasm impossible to miss.

“Never claimed to be normal, Trouble.”

I brushed her hair back from her forehead, letting my fingers comb through the strands until her eyes drifted closed again. Once her breathing grew slow and steady, I finally got up. She needed sleep, and sitting there watching her all night wasn’t going to help with that.

I made it all of two steps.

“Zane?”

I glanced back. “What?”

Astra hesitated, her hand moving toward the empty side of the bed. “Can you stay?”

Christ. There went any intention of leaving.

She must have mistaken my silence for hesitation because she quickly added, “Just until I fall asleep.”

By then I was already pulling off my boots.

Her brows rose. “I said until I fall asleep.”

“Sure.”

“Zane.”

“I’m agreeing with you.”

“You’re taking your shoes off.”

“I’m not putting dirty boots in your bed.”

She stared at me for a long second before giving up with a sigh and shifting over. Good enough for me. I climbed onto the mattress and stretched out beside her, staying above the covers and leaving enough space between us for her to decide what she wanted.

Astra erased that space almost immediately. She tucked herself against me, forehead settling against my chest before one arm found its way around my waist. Every thought in my head disappeared for a second.

12:03 Thu, Aug 13

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

Well, shit.

5 vouchers

My arm came around her, drawing the blanket higher over her shoulders as she relaxed into me. The tension she’d been carrying all evening seemed to loosen little by little beneath my hand while I ran my fingers through her hair.

1

“You can sleep, Trouble. I’m not going anywhere.”

She didn’t answer. A glance down told me why. Her face had gone slack against my chest, breathing deep and even. Patches wedged awkwardly between us. Already asleep.

I rested my head against the pillow and looked up at the ceiling, one hand continuing its slow path through her hair. There had been too many nights in this room with nothing but that bear for company. Tonight Astra was curled against me with her hand resting over my chest.

She’d asked me to stay until she fell asleep.

Too bad.

There wasn’t a chance in hell I was leaving.

AD

Comment

Send gift

No Ads

12:03 Thu, Aug 13 F

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

While You Were Sleeping

ZANE

Sleep never came.

&

6 vouchers

Sometime after midnight I closed my eyes, telling myself it should have been easy. Astra was safe. Silas Mercer was dead. Enough security surrounded the estate that getting near her was almost impossible.

None of it helped.

The slightest shift from her pulled me fully awake. A change in her breathing. Her foot moving under the covers. It was ridiculous, and knowing that changed nothing.

The room stayed dark, moonlight cutting a thin line across the floor. Astra remained curled against me, one arm across my stomach, cheek pressed to my chest. Somehow Patches had wedged himself tightly between us, his badly stitched face digging into my ribs.

I left him there. The bear had been through enough.

Her hair had spread everywhere in sleep, covering half my chest and most of the pillow. A few strands clung to her lips. I brushed them away carefully, and my fingers lingered against her cheek.

Warm.

I checked the faint warmth of her breath against my skin before I could stop myself, then pulled my hand back.

Christ.

If Astra ever caught me checking whether she was still breathing, she’d never let me live it down. The thought should have embarrassed me. Instead I found myself hoping she got the chance.

Sleep was useless after that. I stared into the dark, listening to her breathe, wondering why having her back hadn’t quieted anything. This was what I’d wanted, yet every time my eyes closed the same image waited: the gun against her temple, the shot, and that endless second when I hadn’t known where the bullet went.

My teeth ground together.

Astra stirred. Her brows drew together as her head shifted restlessly against my chest.

“No…”

Whatever had been running through my head ceased to matter.

“No, please…”

“Astra.”

Her breathing quickened. The hand on my stomach tightened in my shirt.

“Trouble.” I turned toward her, threading my fingers carefully into her hair. “You’re home.”

Another frightened sound slipped out of her. I drew her closer without sudden movement.

“It’s me.”

She burrowed against my chest like she was trying to escape whatever had found her in her sleep.

12:03 Thu, Aug 13 F

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

8 vouchers

“Zane_”

Hearing my name like that hurt somewhere I couldn’t fucking reach.

“Yeah.” I ran my hand slowly along her back. “I’m right here.”

It took a while, but her grip loosened. Her breathing lost its frantic edge. The tension eased until she rested quietly against me again.

She never woke.

I kept my arm around her and watched the darkness beyond the window thin into the first gray light of morning.

So much for sleep.

I’d spent the entire night making sure she kept breathing and nearly losing my mind every time she moved. Completely normal behavior. Then again, when it came to Astra, normal had never interested me much.

My phone vibrated against the nightstand. I grabbed it before a second buzz could wake her.

6:42 a.m.

Mom: Your father is awake, he wants to see you.

I kept one arm around Astra while typing with the other.

Me: Later.

Mom: Zane.

Me: She’s sleeping.

The typing bubble appeared, vanished, then returned.

Mom: Nadine can stay nearby. Security is all over the estate. She won’t be alone.

She still didn’t get it.

Mom: He asked for you specifically.

That gave me pause.

Dad and I didn’t seek each other out unless one of us had something unpleasant to say. Most of our conversations turned into arguments or lectures about whatever terrible decision I’d made most recently.

But last night he’d been shot. I’d seen him on that concrete floor with blood soaking through his hand, and I’d run straight past him to get to Astra. I’d do the same thing again without hesitation. That didn’t mean seeing him like that hadn’t fucked with me.

My attention returned to the girl curled against my chest. Leaving her now felt wrong in a way I couldn’t explain. She could wake from another nightmare, open her eyes without knowing where she was, or reach across the bed expecting to find me there.

Dad was awake with Mom beside him. For now that was enough.

Me: I’ll come when she wakes up.

Nearly a minute passed.

12:03 Thu, Aug 13

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

Mom: Okay.

I set the phone facedown just as Astra stretched in her sleep and draped a leg over mine.

Seriously?

5 voucher

At some point she’d claimed almost the entire mattress. She was sprawled halfway across me while I occupied a pathetic strip along the edge, one bad decision away from the floor.

A million dollars wouldn’t have convinced me to move.

My fingers found their way back into her hair as pale morning light crept around the curtains.

By the time a soft knock came at the door, I’d lost track of how long I’d been lying there.

Every nerve fired at once.

“Who is it?”

A brief silence.

“Nadine.”

“Don’t come in.”

“…I wasn’t planning to.”

Fair enough.

“She brought breakfast,” Astra mumbled into my chest.

My attention dropped to her, but her eyes stayed closed.