“Come in.”
Axel stood in the doorway, wearing light sweats hanging low on his hips and a white T-shirt that clung to the planes of his chest. His feet were bare, hair slightly mussed, like he’d been running his hands through it, maybe working up the courage to come to my room.
My ovaries took notice.Traitors.
“I’d like you to sleep in my bed.”
I blinked, certain I’d heard him wrong. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I just …” He scrubbed the side of his face. “I can’t sleep with you all the way across the hall. If someone broke into this penthouse …”
“This place is a fortress,” I reminded him.
“There’s no such thing, Sunshine. Someone with skills can get into anywhere.”
Well, let’s file that under Comforting Things That Will Cause Me Sleepless Nights in Perpetuity.
“I’m fine,” I said.
He didn’t budge. Instead, he swiped his thumb across his lower lip while I tried not to trace the movement, something coiling tight in my stomach.
Axel stepped into my room and sat on the edge of my makeshift bed.
“Okay, look. There’s a word I’m about to use, and I don’t use it very often. If ever.” He paused, then said it. “Please.”
Wow. Faith must have been right. You don’t worry about someone like this unless you care about them. I wasn’t expecting the swirls of light and heat stretching through my body at the thought of Axel Pierce liking me.
“You’re scared,” I realized.
“Those flowers concerned me.”
Maybe Faith was right. Maybe I was feeling something for Axel.
“I’m fine. Really.” I turned back to my book and flipped on the reading light. “If you wouldn’t mind getting the lights on your way out?”
Axel studied me for a long moment, and I could feel his gaze like a physical touch.
Eventually, he stood. But instead of leaving, he walked to the wall and flipped off the overhead lights, leaving only the soft glow of my bedside lamp.
Then he sank to the ground, his back against the wall.
“What are you doing?” I managed.
“You wanted the lights off.” His voice was rough, different. “But I’m not leaving.”
In the dim light, his eyes found mine. “Go to sleep, Sunshine. I’ll be right here.”
Oh, we’re definitely not sleeping now.
With all these confusing feelings circling around us, I officially wondered how in the world I was going to get through the next stage in our fake engagement: the dreaded get-to-know-you session. You know, finding out everything about each other that couples are supposed to know, so we could pass any scrutiny with the dinner from hell coming up.
How was I supposed to reveal my deepest secrets to a man who already saw too much? And worse … how was I going to survive learning his?
Especially now that our lives literally depended on selling this love story.
28
WHEN HE THREATENS YOU WITH ORGASMS AND YOU’RE TRYING TO REMEMBER WHY THAT’S A BAD THING. #EMPTYTHREATS
