“Stupid pillow,” Haley muttered, trying to punch her once comfy pillow into submission.
Last night had been the worst night of sleep that she’d ever had. She’d spent the entire night tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable only to finally fall into a restless sleep around five this morning. Now it looked like she was in for a repeat performance.
She looked over at the alarm clock and groaned. It was nearly two in the morning. She buried her face into her pillow and screamed. This sucked! She was so tired. All day, she’d kept herself busy with grading tests and homework and even cleaned her house, thinking that by the time she went to bed that she’d be exhausted enough to fall asleep.
It looked like that plan was failing miserably.
“So tired…” she mumbled pathetically.
Damn Jason. Somehow, he’d wrecked sleep for her. She’d never slept in the same bed with a guy before. Sure, she’d cuddled with a few boyfriends in front of the television after a heavy make-out session, but it always felt awkward. With Jason, it felt so good. He was a thousand times more comfortable than her bed and down comforter.
How was she supposed to get comfortable on a pillow-top mattress after sleeping in his arms? She couldn’t. There was no way that she was going to be able to manage work tomorrow on less than two hours of sleep in forty-eight hours, but she couldn’t call in because they were preparing for finals.
“Move over,” Jason said, startling her.
She jumped up, clutching her chest and trying to catch her breath as she watched Jason push her window open and climb into her room. He closed the screen behind him and lay down on her bed.
Still gasping, she sucked in a breath and asked, “What the hell is wrong with you? You just scared the hell out of me!”
“Look, woman, I don’t know what you did, but I haven’t been able to sleep since we got back from New York. I’m tired and bitchy and all I want is some sleep, so cuddle your ass up with me or so help me, I will kill you!” Jason snapped.
“Wow, you are bitchy,” she mumbled.
“It’s your fault.”
“Whatever.”
“Let’s go,” he said, holding out his arms expectantly. When she hesitated, he wiggled his fingers. “You know you want to.”
“Just for tonight,” she clarified.
He nodded quickly. “Just for tonight. Come on, I’m cranky.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” she said dryly, but she did as she was asked. She was too exhausted to do anything else at the moment.
It didn’t take long for the beating of Jason’s heart to lull her into a deep and peaceful sleep.
The alarm went off, waking Haley from a deep sleep. Instead of feeling jumpy and attacking the alarm clock after only getting five hours of sleep, she felt oddly well-rested.
Jason yawned as he sat up and shut off the alarm. He rubbed his eyes and turned around to push the screen up.
“I’ll see you at work,” he mumbled around another yawn.
“This was a one-time deal,” Haley said, more to remind herself than him. She could quickly become addicted to his body and that wasn’t a good idea with a guy like Jason.
He gave her one of his lopsided smiles. “Of course.”
Chapter 9
Monday Night
10:35 P.M.
Haley rolled onto her side, facing the wall and wondering if she should just suck up her pride and go ask Jason to sleep with her. Did that make her a sleep slut? At this point, she was willing to beg for it. Just as she feared, she was addicted to Jason’s body. Thank God they’d never had sex. She’d hate to think how bad the addiction would be then.
She felt the bed dip behind her seconds before a large arm curled around her waist, pulling her back against a strong, warm body. Jason’s inviting scent enveloped her as strongly as his body did. Her bottom pressed back against him. He was hard again, but he didn’t make any move on her. It was just his body’s reaction to being pressed against a female. Just like her body was reacting to being held by a strong man. Neither cared enough to comment or act on it. In a matter of minutes, they were both fast asleep.
Tuesday Night
