Free Seducing Sam by Angela Verdenius

hands away.  Not to mention the little
blush that rose in her cheeks, which, thank goodness, he wouldn’t be able to
see with the shadows cast by the street light.
    Within seconds Ed was up on his
feet, one arm slung around Sam’s neck, and that was a stretch for Ed.  Sam hung
onto his wrist, his other arm around Ed’s back, bracing the smaller, much
slighter man against his body while starting for the garden gate.  “Open the
door, Carly.”
    Hurrying ahead of him, she did as
bidden, watching as he walked Ed up the steps and past her into the hallway.
    “Where’s his bedroom?”
    “Third door on the left.”
    Sam manoeuvred Ed into his bedroom
and surprised her by not dropping Ed onto the bed, instead, he carefully eased
him down until Ed sat.  As soon as Sam released him, Ed fell backwards on the
bed.
    Grabbing his legs, Sam flipped
them up onto the bed as well, somehow getting Ed in a proper position so that
his head was on the pillow before pulling his boots off with quick movements.  
Grabbing the folded blanket at the end of the bed, he snapped it over him.
    Standing in the doorway, Carly
could only watch in amazement.  Where was absent-minded Sam, the man she and Ed
thought was more of a laugh, a muscle-bound, nice but bit of a moron?  Fixing
her hand was one thing, but now she was seeing a different side of him.  A
quiet, authoritive side.
    It had her tingling in places that
had no right to tingle.
    “You’re a good man, Sam,” Ed
slurred.  “Kind of man Carly should have.”
    She froze.  Holy cow, had her
befuddled young uncle actually said that?  “Ed!”
    Ed turned his head on the pillow
to look at her.  “Good man, this Sam.  Better than that bastard who hurt you.”
    “Ed, stop.”  Moving forward, she
attempted to keep him quiet, shifting the pillow under his head and settling
the blanket around his skinny shoulders.  “Rest now.  Close your eyes.” 
Please.  Please .
    “Heard you cry,” he mumbled. 
“That night.  Bastard.”
    Conscious of Sam standing behind
her, she resisted the impulse to hold the pillow over Ed’s face.  “Go to sleep,
Ed.”
    “You’re a good girl.”  He tried to
pat her cheek, missed and flopped his hand back to the bed.  “Saw Mira there, Carly.”
    “Mira?”
    “At the pub.”  Ed closed his
eyes.  “Charlie left.”
    Shit.  Now she knew why he’d
gotten sozzled, or part of the reason.  Personally, she thought getting drunk
because of his ex was poor, especially when he was trying to impress another
woman.  Tomorrow she’d have to drag the full story from him.
    Ed mumbled a few more things
before growing silent.
    With a sigh of relief, Carly straightened
and turned around to look up into Sam’s steady gaze, his eyes behind the
glasses assessing.
    “Rough night,” he stated quietly.
    “Yes.”   When he continued to
watch her, she sighed.  “Thanks for helping, Sam.”
    “No worries.”  His gaze didn’t
shift.  “Will you be all right?”
    “Of course.  Ed will sleep this
off and suffer in the morning.”
    “I mean you.  You’re pale.”
    “Oh.”  She shrugged.  “It’s
nothing.”
    “Okay.”  He gave her one last look
before turning away.
    When he didn’t move further, she
realised that he was waiting for her to precede him.  His courteous ways were
delightfully old fashioned, but as much as it delighted her, it also made her
self-conscious when she walked ahead of him.
    Moving past him, she led him out
into the hallway.  “Thanks again, Sam, I really appreciate it.  I’m sorry I had
to involve you.”
    “Stop apologising.”
    “Can’t help it.  It’s not every
day you have to deal with a crying drunk.”
    “You’d be surprised.”
    By now they had reached the front
door and stepped out onto the veranda.  Unable to help the curiosity she felt
at his remark, she arched one brow at him.  “Are you a barman?”
    His teeth flashed white in the
dimness of the veranda light.