“I’m going to sleep now,” she said quietly.
“Call out if you need anything, honey.”
Her chest rose. “I will.”
The door closed with a soft thud, and he had to fist his hands to stop from pushing up from the couch and going to her. He just wanted eyes on her. To hold her. Tell her he’d messed up and beg for her forgiveness.
He turned off the lights and climbed beneath the blankets on the couch. But he didn’t sleep. He lay there, memories of thatafternoon playing over in his mind. The open front door. The blood on the floor. The fear when he couldn’t find her.
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force the memory away.
He wasn’t sure how much time passed, maybe an hour, maybe three. But at some point, a soft shuffle sounded from the bedroom, followed by her door opening.
It was dark, but he could still see the shine of her eyes as they met his. The length of her legs left uncovered by the shirt.
Without a word, she made her way over to him, pulled back the blanket, and slipped in beside him. When she looked up, her eyes were wide and vulnerable. “Is this okay? I can’t sleep. If it’s not—”
“Yes.” He wrapped an arm around her and tugged her closer. “Sleep. You’re safe with me.”
She sighed before laying her head on his chest. Slowly, her breathing evened out. And finally, he could sleep too.
CHAPTER 25
The hum of Clara’s breathing whispered across Holden’s arm. Damn, she was soft. Her back was pressed to his front while one of his arms lay over her waist and the other under her cheek.
Perfect. She was perfect. And last night, he could have lost her. Hell, even before that, he’d lost her by being an idiot. What would happen when she woke up? Would she put that distance between them again? Distance that was his own doing?
He tightened his arm around her as if that could somehow keep her in his life.
When her breathing shifted from long, slow breaths to shorter ones, his muscles tensed.
What’s the plan, Clara?
Long seconds passed where she was completely still.
Instinctively, he stroked his thumb against her stomach.
She sighed. “You’re awake.”
Gently, so gently it was barely a graze, he lowered his head and kissed her neck. “I am.”
Her breathing shifted, moving faster now. “What are you doing?”
“I’ve been wanting to kiss you there for hours.”
“You’ve been awake for hours?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t get back to sleep, but I didn’t want to leave you.”
She rolled onto her back. The pink of her cheeks, the red of her lips—all of her was damn breathtaking.
“Holden…we can’t.”
“Can’t what?”
“Kiss…say things like that.”
“Why not?”
