God. That was sweet. And unsurprising, since he’d already hinted he was close with his family.
That was not the David I needed to know right now. I couldn’t forget that after tonight, he and I would no longer have a relationship of any sort.
I took the bottoms. “This is great. Thank you.”
He nodded once and closed the door on his way out of the bathroom. I changed out of my slacks slowly as soreness descended, then whiffed his clothing—fresh laundry and David. Though it was a little warm for sweats, they seemed like the safer option for this sleepover.
When I came out, he was setting a glass of water on the nightstand.
“How’s this for exquisite?” I joked in sweatpants rolled three times and a t-shirt that hung to the tops of my thighs.
“How come you roll your eyes when you say that?” he asked.
“Because it’s a ridiculous thing to say when I’m in oversized pajamas, no makeup, with a bruise forming on my cheek.” I walked to the bed and pulled back the comforter. “Then again, I can’t really blame you. I don’t doubtmanygirls buy whatever you tell them.”
“You do look exquisite.”
I stopped, glanced down at my outfit, then back at him before bursting into laughter.
He tilted his head and smiled in a way that could get even the Virgin Mary into trouble. My laugh vanished as he looked me up and down. His eyes morphed from curious to hungry, as if he might leap across the room and devour me. I felt less desirable than ever, but the way my body warmed under his perusal, I might as well have been naked.
“One day,” he said slowly, “I’m going to tell you, in detail too explicit for the moment,exactlyhow exquisite you look right now. I promise you that.”
I clenched my jaw and swallowed. His eyes lingered too long, and that empty heaviness returned between my thighs. I doubted I could even dream up the explicit details he threatened.
“Well,” he said, totally unruffled, “you’re all set. I’ll be back to check on you in a few hours. I want to make sure you don’t have a concussion.”
“I didn’t hit my head,” I assured him.
“Indulge me. I didn’t see the assault with my own eyes, so I’ll do as I see fit.”
“Does someone as determined as you ever do as youdon’tsee fit?”
A roguish grin was his only response.
I climbed into the bed and got under the covers.
“Goodnight,” he said, switching off the lights on his way out.
Every time I began to drift, a cold blade touched my exposed chest. A pair of hands shoved my back against a wall. My scalp screamed as someone yanked my hair.
I would’ve sworn I hadn’t slept, except that somewhere in the middle of the night, David’s comforting voice broke through the dark.
“Olivia.”
I blinked my eyes open.
“I’m just checking on you.” Faint light slivered through the room from the doorway. “Need anything?”
“Yes,” I said suddenly, sitting up. “Why’d you come back?”
“When?” he asked.
“You had no reason to believe I was in real danger. Mark could’ve been anyone, going to any floor in the building.”
He paused. “If there was even a chance you were in trouble,” he said slowly, “I wasn’t going to risk it.”
“Is that the truth?” His set jaw and determined gaze as he’d ended our relationship seemed so far away now. “You weren’t coming back for . . . for another reason?”
