“I’m tired.” She yawns.
“Then let’s go to sleep.” Reluctantly I move my hand off her stomach just as her eyes drift shut.
“Can I ask you a favor, Eli?” she says quietly.
“Anything,” I answer.
Her eyes open again and connect with mine. “I know we don’t do this, and it might be crossing the line, but after the past few days, I could really use the comfort.”
“What do you need?”
“Will you cuddle with me? Just once,” she says quickly. “And I won’t ask again. I just need to feel . . . protected.”
I don’t even hesitate. I’d do anything she asks of me, but I’m also so goddamn desperate to be near her. I haven’t been able to shake the feeling of her warm body pressed against mine since she hugged me before I left for our away trip.
So her request is an easy yes for me.
I scoot in close to her back, rest my head right next to hers, and then drape my arm over her waist. The moment I’m settled, she melts into my embrace, and it’s the best fucking feeling I’ve ever felt . . . well, besides the moment I sank into her. This is a close second.
She’s so goddamn warm, and soft, and feels like she fits perfectly against me. Like she was meant to be spooned by me all along. I move in so close that I share her pillow and bury my head in her hair.
“Are you comfortable?” I ask her, my palm splaying across her stomach.
“Very,” she whispers. “Thank you, Eli.”
No, thank you, Penny.
“You’re welcome,” I answer as my eyes drift shut and my breathing evens out. I hadn’t realized how much I love being able to hold a woman in an embrace like this. Perhaps it’s simply that I haven’t had this sort of . . . affection for the past sixteen years.Norbeen needed.
This bed, these sheets, this woman.She feels so right.And before I know it, I’m drifting off to sleep, my mind a complete haze as I soak in being next to Penny and holding her like I’d have hoped to.
ChapterTwenty-One
PENNY
“Mmm,” I mumble as a hand moves across my breast, fingers toying with my nipple. “Right there,” I whisper.
My entire body is lit up, pulsing, throbbing, as the fingers circle my nipple over and over again until . . . a pinch.
“Ohhh,” I moan and shift my pelvis, bumping right into a very stiff erection behind me. Yes, that’s exactly what I want.
That’s what I need.
Relief.
Desperately, I move against the erection behind me, the crack of my ass gliding up and down his ridge, searching for more.
“Yes, fu-uck.”
I pause.
That wasn’t me. That was a male voice.
A familiar male voice.
And the desperation in that one “fuck” encompasses exactly how I feel.
His hand cups my breast and squeezes, sending me into a tailspin of need. Who cares if the voice is familiar? Whatever he’s doing is working for me on so many levels. I arch my back into his touch and lean into the strong masculine chest behind me.
