By the time I stepped out of the bathroom, steam billowing out behind me, my mood had downshifted from murderous to merely irritated. Which was about as much as I could ask, given the situation.
Glancing around, I made it three steps into the bedroom before I did a double take so hard I nearly gave myself whiplash. In the time I’d been in the shower, Lincoln had contorted himself onto the pallet I’d made on the floor, and the sight of him there halted me in my tracks.
He looked ridiculous—like a grizzly bear curling up on top of a hand towel. With one arm tucked behind his head, he held my book with the other, clearly making himself at home. His legs were positioned straight up on the curved wall because that was literally the only place for them to go.
The bed I’d made didn’t even really fitmy5’9” stature, so it had no hope of holding the towering wall of smug muscle that was Lincoln Steele.
“What the hell are you doing?”
He lowered my book and glanced at me over the dog-eared pages. “Just enjoying the accommodations. It’s nice and cozy down here. And you even hooked me up with some late-night reading material.” He tapped his finger on the cover. “Shifters aren’t usually my thing, but you really got me interested with that breeding book.”
I didn’t bother responding to his taunt because the last thing I wanted to do was discuss my kinks with my husband. “That’s not meant for you.”
“The book? Fine. I brought my own.” He gathered his duffel close and patted the side pocket where a paperback featuring a half-naked man on the cover was poking out.
I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. “I meant the floor bed, jackass.”
“Well, it’s sure as fuck not meant for you.” Though his tone was light, the words were harsh—a directive he expected me to follow.
My brows flew up as I stared at the absolute audacity of this man. “Excuse me?”
“Hate the break this to you, snickerdoodle, but you have a fucked-up back. As much as you’re bound and determined to pretend otherwise.” He gave one firm shake of his head. “I’m not letting my wife sleep here.”
I didn’t know which part got under my skin more—lettingorwife.
“You don’t get toletme do anything,” I said through clenched teeth. “And I’ve slept on worse.”
“And paid for it the next day, I’m sure.” He tapped the blankets that were poorly padding the floor. “This little torture mat is barely fit for a rabid raccoon. I’m not about to watch you wince your way through all the shit on your to-do list tomorrow just because you’re stubborn.”
My pride swelled, ready to bite back at his asinine proclamation and set him straight. Except as I squared my shoulders, my back twinged—the traitorous bastard—and it took everything in me to swallow a grimace.
He dropped his voice, his words coming out soft but firm. “That’s what I thought.”
God, he wasinsufferable.
“Well, you’re not sleeping there either,” I snapped. “It’s not made for a seven-foot behemoth with an ego the size of North America.”
“Think about the size of my…ego…a lot, do you, hellcat?”
“I swear togod, Lincoln…”
He waved me off. “I’ll be fine down here.”
Fine? Yeah. He’d be fine because he didn’t have a back that hated his guts or nerve pain shooting down his legs every second of every day. But I also knew he’d hold this selfless act over my head for the rest of eternity. A chivalrous little martyr. He’d toss it into every conversation he could—hey, remember that time you let me destroy my spine for your comfort?—and he’denjoyit.
The man was an absolute pain in my ass.
If I had to listen to him brag about howheroiche was for letting me have the bed, I’d snap and strangle him. And then I wouldn’t get the damn grant, which left me right back at square one.
“Fine,” I growled, stomping over to my side of the bed before tossing back the covers. “We can both sleep in the bed.” I stabbed a finger in his direction. “But I swear to god, I better not wake up to your stupid boy parts poking me in the back.”
I’d barely gotten the words out before he leapt to his feet and headed—still shirtless—straight for our shared doom.
“I’ll do what I can,” he said, that smug little grin back in place. “But fair warning—this bed’s fucking tiny. And my dick is…not.”
I ground my molars together and had never wished harder for lasers to burst from my eyeballs. Just incinerate the hell out of him, right on the spot. “Iwillthrow you over the loft railing. It won’t kill you—probably. But it would hurt.”
“With your back? I don’t know, wife.” He shrugged those giant shoulders, completely unbothered. “Seems unlikely.”
