The towel rides up dangerously high on her thighs. Water droplets still cling to her shoulders, catching in the low lamplight and looking like tiny diamonds on her smooth brown skin. She’s fresh off her own shower, her locs piled on top of her head.
“I’m sorry! I was just… I need something to wear.” Both hands clutch at the towel to keep it in place, but in turn they make the fabric slip a little lower on her chest, emphasizing the swell of her breasts.
I ignore these details I’ve noticed and rasp out, “There wasn’t anything in Tabby’s closet? You two should be about the same size.”
“I checked. It was all jeans and school stuff. Nothing to sleep in. And, um, Jack’s room had clothes, but he’s ten so they were way too small.”
“Right,” I say, giving a nod. “It’s fine. I’ll get you something.”
I start toward her, heat prickling the back of my neck at the fact that we’re technically both half naked—I’m shirtless in sweatpants and she’s got nothing more than a towel covering her up. All while my bed’s just a few feet away.
Something tells me these details aren’t lost on her either. She takes half a step back as I move past her, still clutching the towel tightly like it’s her lifeline.
I catch a whiff of scent that’s uniquely hers, even after using my soap, and draw the bottom dresser drawer open to pull out some bottoms for her.
“Sweats okay?”
“Um… sure. It’s cold this time of year.”
When I turn to hand over a pair of sweatpants and one of my old t-shirts, suddenly it seems we’re too close.
The damn room might as well have shrunk because we’re only a couple feet apart. Her pulse flutters in her throat and her lips part, pink tongue slipping out to wet them.
My eyes track the subtle movement with more heat warming my blood. But I manage to hand over the items and ignore how even a moment as simple as this feels so damn charged.
Still doesn’t change the fact that my heart’s pounding so hard my chest might crack open.
Solana blinks first, looking away. “I’ll go change.”
She practically runs from the room, bare feet soft on the carpet. I’m left standing here more on edge than I’ve been all night.
Except it’s not a shootout with a drug cartel or the dead body I’ve buried that’s made me this way.
It’s the irresistible twenty-year-old I want more than anything in this life. I shake my head and urge myself to get a fucking grip.
A man’s allowed to fantasize. But it’s allowing these desires to slip into the real world that’s the problem.
Solana is off-limits. End of story.
Tomorrow I’ll deal with Kel’s phone, creating digital footprints showing he got scared and left town. I’ll cover any last loose threads and make sure to protect her from any investigation. I’ll burn the clothes, destroy evidence, and handle assholes like Spencer.
But tonight I need to survive having her under my roof without crossing lines that can’t be uncrossed.
I make my rounds through the house, checking locks and turning off lights. The usual routine that feels anything but normal. My body’s still thrumming with want, skin hot to the touch.
I’ve only just made it back to my room when there’s a hesitant tap at the door.
I already know what she needs. Already sense where this is going. Yet against all willpower and logic in my brain, I go to answer anyway. I’m ready to give her what she needs despite vowing only minutes ago I’d keep boundaries intact.
“Can I...” she murmurs before trailing off. “I mean… I can’t…”
I draw a deep breath, then give a nod, stepping aside.
She enters my room like she belongs here, and I can’t deny that it feels right as much as it is wrong.
I’ve dimmed every light except one. She steps to the opposite side of the bed that I’m on, and I pull back the covers.
We hold each other’s gaze for a long moment as if silently confirming what we’re about to do. She crawls in first, snuggling against the pillow with visible relief.
