My lips curl into a slow smile. “You do,” I disagree. “You knowexactlywhy. Say it.”
She shakes her head.
I put a hand on her thigh, causing her to jump and flinch backwards. That sort of reaction stems from experience; there was a time when I flinched at unexpected contact, too, and it was after some pretty dark shit went down in my life. I’m not certain yet, but I think Mira’s been hurt before. Not sexually, but physically.
I almost let go of her and let the topic drop—almost.But then, I can’t help myself. “Say it, Mira. Or would you like me to?”
“Please don’t.”
I stroke my thumb over the rip in her jeans, enjoying the smooth warmth of her skin. “I want you in my bed because Iwantyou. It’s little wonder that I want to fuck you, but that’s not what I’m looking for tonight. I’m looking to see howIfeel with you there. I’m looking forward to finding out what kind of sleeper you are—will you cuddle into me before or after you fall asleep, or at all? Do you curl up into a ball, lie flat on your back, or rest on your side? I’ll admit, I’m alsoverycurious to see what your hair will look like when it’s fanned out on my pillow.” I pause, gazing at her lips. “I want to see it all.”
She swallows thickly as she watches me. She squeezes her eyes shut and opens them, glancing down at the place where my hand rests on her knee. She picks it up and deposits it back on my lap, making me chuckle.
“There’s an animal in this house,” she says out of the blue. “Besides you and the other two insane guys, I mean. Can’t tell if it’s a cat or a dog, but I want to meet it. Is it yours?”
“You’ll have to go to the basement for that,” I tell her. She stiffens; I smile. “Not the part of the basement you’re getting bad vibes from.” I’m quite sure I know which room she doesn’t want to go near, and there’s a good reason for it. “The other side.”
“I don’t want to go down there,” she says, frowning.
I shrug. “We have a half-feral cat. She just had her litter, and she’s nesting in a cardboard box down there. I bought her at least a dozen different beds, but,” another shrug, “she chose the box.”
Mira’s eyes brighten. “Kittens?”
Hiding a smile, I nod. I had a feeling that the mention of kittens would excite her.
“How old?”
“Almost a month.”
She bites her bottom lip. “Can I sleep with them tonight?”
I feel my brows raise. “You’d stay in the basement? I thought you didn’t want to go down there.”
Her brows draw down. “Yeah, you’re right. I should leave them where they are. Can I go down to see them, then sleep here tonight? On this couch?”
I like that I make her nervous. I don’t get the sense she’s afraid I’ll force myself on her anymore—now she’s intimidated by my little monologue of exactlywhyI want her in my bed. Icouldset her in the spare room right next to mine tonight, but I’m not going to. I don’t want to. I’m going to have her under my sheets with me.
“Yes to going down and meeting the litter, no to staying on the couch. You’ll be sleeping in my bed—we’ve already discussed this.”
A cute little pout steals over her lips, and now I’m picturing kissing them again. Biting her bottom lip. Feeling them wrapped around my cock.
“Can I have my phone while I sleep?”
Our tech center is right next to the TV room downstairs, and it has the right equipment for me to get a bug and tracker into her phone. I’ll know what she’s doing on it, who she’s texting, and where she is at all times. She’s already guessed that I’ll bug her, so I don’t think she’ll do anything sketchy on it, like send out an SOS to her roommates.
“Yeah. Let’s go down to meet the litter. Then we can go to sleep, and I’ll give you your phone.”
“And headphones?”
I like the hopeful glimmer in her eye. “And headphones.” I stand, taking her hand and lifting her off the couch. She looks down at our hands, her frown returning.
“Why are you holding my hand?”
“Because I like the way yours feels in mine.” Strangely, I really do. I’m not usually a hand-holder; in fact, I’m not usually one to chase girls around. I’ve never had or wanted a girlfriend; I’ve never even kept a hookup in my contacts for longer than a few weeks. With Mira, though… I wouldn’t mind keeping her around for a good, long while.
“Why?” she asks.
Adorable. I stroke my thumb over her hand as I walk her down the hallway and toward the wooden staircase that leads to the basement. There’s a separate staircase that leads to a room where interrogations sometimes take place. My legion doesn’t really like taking people back here for questioning—scrubbing evidence from our home is a hassle—but sometimes it’s necessary.
