A quiet growl echoes as she pouts. That plump bottom lip plops outward, and I force myself to look away.
I leave the door open to my bedroom and walk us over to the bed. The covers are messy from my restless half-sleep, but there’s plenty of room for the two of us.
Unless she doesn’t trust me…
I hold her steady. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Within the shadows of my room, I watch shock blanket her face. “Absolutely not.”
“One way or another, you’re sleeping in a bed. You either let me buy you one, or you sleep in this one.”
There is no other choice.
She thinks for a moment, and I narrow my gaze.
“You know how persistent I am. So what’ll it be?”
Her warm breath fans against my chest. “I don’t want you to buy me anything.”
“My bed it is.” I drop her onto the soft mattress.
Dark waves frame her face before she pops up onto her elbows to gape at me. I get a glimpse of her soft thighs when her t-shirt rides up.
Yeah, I better sleep elsewhere.
“I'll be on the couch,” I announce, backing away.
Those big, brown eyes turn doe-like as she watches me go. She looks so damn good on my bed–sweet but enticing.
I force my back to her.
I’m almost all the way through the door when she pipes up.
“Wait!”
One tiny word is all it takes.
I wait.
Twenty-Four
REESE
I swallowmy humility and stare at Malaki from across the room. As soon as the wordwaitblurted from my mouth, he stilled, and now there’s nothing but silence separating us.
My stomach flutters as he slowly spins around. His hands grip the top of his doorjamb, and the only thing I can do to stop staring at his tight stomach is scramble to the opposite side of the bed.
“I won’t be able to sleep knowing you gave up your bed for me,” I ramble on, lurching to the very edge. My feet tangle in the blankets from my rushing, and next thing I know, my back is on the floor.
Malaki appears just in time for my embarrassment to settle.
He towers over me with a furrowed brow. “I know I’m a lot bigger than you, but I don’t needthatmuch room on the bed, Reese.”
I snort out a laugh, and he chuckles. He pulls me to my feet and gently grabs my hips, guiding me to sit on the bed. I sink onto the mattress, and my body automatically lets out a sigh of relief.
It’s cozy. The mattress, the blankets, the scent. All of it.
“Lie back,” Malaki orders.
