Every curtain he pulled back showed the dark night and nothing else…until he reached her balcony door.
There was a small tree in a ceramic pot, maybe four feet tall, and every time the wind blew, its branches scratched against the glass.
That’s what she’d heard. Even though it was nothing to worry about, he wasn’t surprised she’d been scared, not after the events of the night before.
After tidying the kitchen, including the milk on the floor, he found her phone in her bedroom and her apartment key on the hall table, using the latter to lock up before heading back to his apartment.
He expected to find Bonnie still in his bathroom when he got back. She wasn’t. She sat on his couch, hair wet, legs tucked beneath her.
His throat fucking dried at the sight of her in his shirt. It was just a plain white shirt, and it drowned her. But for some goddamn reason it made his hands itch to touch her. And some deep, primal part of him felt like he’d just claimed her.
She rose from the couch, her gaze going to the pistol in his hand before lifting back to him. “Did you find anything?” Her voice was small and vulnerable.
It made him want to fight every asshole who’d threatened her. “Your place is empty. The culprit of the balcony noise was your tree.”
“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry! I freaked myself out. Of course it was Evergreen. She’s a dwarf but still tall.” She shook her head. “I feel dumb. I should go.”
She started to leave, but he touched her arm. “Bonnie…stay here tonight.”
The flare of her eyes hinted that she wanted to. But then her brows wrinkled. “Are you sure?”
“I only have one bed, but—”
“I can sleep on the couch.”
He almost laughed. “No. You take the bed. I’ll take the couch.”
“It’s a two-person couch. It would basically fit your legs.”
“I’ll survive.”
She shook her head. “Absolutely not. Either I take the couch or I’m not staying.”
But even as she said the last part, he heard the tremor in her voice. She didn’t want to go any more than he wanted her to. “Fine. We’ll share my bed. It’s plenty big enough.”
Her mouth opened in anO, and yeah, it was a dangerous idea. But he didn’t want her alone. And now that she was here, he didn’t want her out of his sight.
“Are you sure—”
“Yes,” he interrupted.
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “Okay.”
He set a hand on the small of her back, letting the heat unravel anything cool beneath his skin, and led her into the bedroom. “Get comfortable. I’ll be back in ten.”
She stepped into the room. “Zane…”
He turned, getting damn lost in the dark specks in her hazel eyes. “Yeah, Bon?”
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
One small smile and she headed to the bed. He turned and went back down the hall to the kitchen, where he took out a shot glass and a bottle of whiskey. He shot it back, the alcohol burning his throat, then his gut.
It wasn’t enough. But then, would anything be? Would anything help him get through the torture that would be sharing a bed with Bonnie when he wasn’t allowed to touch her?
Bonnie slippedbetween the silk sheets. God, the bed smelled like Zane. Earthy and masculine and a bit like pine. Somehow the bed was also warm.
