"You never what?" hegrumbledout the words.
Lord. I dug a finger into his rib cage, looking up at his tense face. "I've never slept in the same bed with a guy, Charlie. Besides you that other time."
He did one of the last things I could have expected. Dex stared at me for a moment before dropping his head back and huffing at the ceiling. "You're killin' me, babe. You are fuckin' killin' me here."
Dex tugged at my hand as he lowered his chin to look me in the eye. His free hand came up to grasp my chin. His expression was clear and serious. "We won't do anythin' you don't want. Promise. Just sleep."
Oh man. I nodded at him loosely, trusting him implicitly. "Okay." My breathing hitched a little.“I don’t do this with all my friends, you know?”
It was thesugarysmile he gave me next thathadme crawling into bed with him, even with my nerves all over the place. I mean, you only live once. And this washim. Someone who caredabout me as much as I cared about him. I trusted him.
And in that moment I wasn't scared or worried as I followed him to bed. But as we laid down, with all the anxious nerves in the universe pooling in my belly, he touched my forehead with his fingertips in the dark andmurmured,“You gotta get it straight, babe. This ain’t just friendship to me.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
There was something most definitely on my ass.
And my back.
And my neck.
It was definitely the thing on my ass that had woken me up. I usually wasn’t much of a dreamer when I slept, so when I felt that unfamiliar warmth kneading my bare ass cheek, I knew it wasn’t a dream.
One thing I was sure of: I was on Dex’s bed and the sheets were down to my waist.
I'd fallen asleep on top of them. I knew that without a doubt. Blinking away what felt like a coma, I looked over my shoulder to see what the hell was on me.
I shouldn’t have been surprised.
The lump under the sheet was connected to a ropey forearm, which then connected to a wide bicep with an impressive amount of definition even when it wasn’t being flexed.
Dex’s friggin’ hand was underneath my panties, palming my bare butt cheek.
Just sleep, he said?
I tried to roll over but that something on my back was heavy and solid, telling me that it was Dex’s chest, crushing me. So whatever was on my neck had to be part of Dex’s anatomy.
Holy moly.
What in the hell had I been thinking agreeing to sleep with him?
You were thinking that you liked him. That you trusted him.
If he wasn't a Widow I probably wouldn't be so scared, right? My gut knew the answer was a loud yes. Was that all really that held me back from him? It wasn't his temper, I could deal with that unless he yelled at me. Dex—Charlie—was so much more than his appearance gave him credit for. He was like aloe vera, rough and prickly on the outside, but the inside held all the gooey goodness.
He'd probably roll his eyes if I ever said that aloud—but it was true.
Which was why I was trying to be cool about his long fingers cupping my butt. And his breath on my neck.
When I tried to slide out from underneath him, the hand on my butt swept over to my side to hold me down. “Where you goin’?” Dex asked through sleep strained vocal chords.
I froze, whispering, “Bathroom.”
He yawned, his fingers flexing. “Liar. Go back to sleep,” he mumbled, already nuzzling back into that sweet spot of flesh between my hairline and shoulder. More awake now than before, I could clearly feel the warmth of his mouth millimeters away from me.
“Dex,” I whispered.
His hand moved across my back to slide completely under the cotton of my panties again, his thumb rubbing a lazy circle on the skin beneath it.
