Make Me Yours by Kendall Ryan Page B

not even able to support my weight. I crawled away from the car on my hands and knees and vomited into the grass. After spitting a few times to clear my mouth, I sat down on the ground, unable to move, unable to think and shaking violently.
    The sirens grew louder and several police cars and an ambulance skidded to a stop on the highway.  I watched as a stream of uniformed officers and paramedics jogged toward the scene. Cohen met them, and began shouting things and pointing. His face was a hardened mask of concentration, until he scanned the scene and met my eyes. I was sure I looked completely pathetic, sitting in the grass, crying and shaking, but I couldn’t even pretend to be strong right now.
    He returned to my side and helped me stand, holding my weight up by securing his arm around my waist. He walked me over to Aiden and said something I couldn’t hear. Aiden picked me up and carried me back to the car, laying me down on the front seat and covering me with a blanket. I closed my eyes and curled onto my side and bawled. The pain of losing Paul rushed up inside me and overwhelmed everything else. I was transported back five years, the memory of the crushing heartbreak as painful now as it had been then.
    Listening to the sounds of horror and grief taking place outside of the car, I knew I could never let myself love Cohen. My throat tightened and I struggled for air. I curled into a ball and wrapped my arms around myself. There was no way I would survive another crushing tragedy, and I renewed the promise I made to myself the night of Paul’s death. I had to guard my heart. It was the only way.

Chapter 11
     
    When we finally got home, I was exhausted and emotionally drained. Our journey back from the lake felt more like we’d gone to hell and back. The accident had added a few hours onto our trip, both with Cohen helping to respond at the scene, as well as the resulting traffic backup. The mood in the car had been subdued and quiet, with no one wanting to talk. That had been fine with me.
    Aiden and Ashlyn dropped us off, and Cohen insisted on carrying my bags inside. I tried to lift my suitcase from the trunk and found I had lost all muscle strength. Cohen’s hands darted in past mine and he easily lifted the bag, hauling it inside for me. I collapsed onto the couch while he heated a mug of water in the microwave and made me a cup of tea, mumbling something about it calming my stomach.
    The blissful weekend had taken a violent turn in the blink of an eye. It now seemed a lifetime ago that I’d relaxed in Cohen’s arms, that we’d shared some intimate moments. Almost as though they’d never even happened.
    Cohen set the mug on the coffee table in front of me, and sat down beside me on the sofa. He rubbed his hands against his knees, lost in thought.
    “Cohen, you can go. I’ll be fine.”
    His eyes met mine and were full of skepticism. “What can I do to help? Can I run you a bath?”
    A bath sounded heavenly, but something in me rebelled, reminding me not to get too close. “I can manage on my own. I think you should go.”
    Getting this comfortable with him so quickly had been a mistake. I was glad we hadn’t gone any farther over the weekend. I didn’t want him getting confused about my feelings for him. I had tried to convince myself otherwise, but I knew deep down that sex with him would never be emotionless and uncomplicated. I couldn’t explain how I knew. I just did. And I couldn’t let myself go there with him.
    Cohen hadn’t yet moved from the couch and was staring intently at the steam rising from the coffee mug.
    I stood and dragged my suitcase over to the laundry room off the kitchen, as if to prove to him that I was capable, and I started the washing machine. I was stuffing clothes into the washer without regard for color or fabric when Cohen came up behind me and gripped my upper arms, spinning me to face him. “What is this? Why do I feel like you’re breaking up with me when