He exhaled heavily, sensing I wanted to move on, and flopped back down on the bed.
‘Yes I have.’
Propping myself up on my elbow, I raised my eyebrows. ‘Not liking chocolate isn’t a secret. It’s an unfortunate character flaw, one that I’m not sure I’ll get past. But it’s not a secret.’
He rolled onto his back, lifting one arm around the back of his head as he stared up at the ceiling. It took him a few moments where I could see him work through something in his mind.
Finally, he spoke in a low voice. ‘I have to sell Cora’s.’
I sat bolt upright, not caring about my nakedness in the slightest, and tucked my messy hair behind my ear. ‘You can’t sell. That’s your dream.’
George’s eyes dipped to my bare chest and for a second I saw the flare of heat behind them before he shut them and shook his head. ‘I don’t have a choice. I’m in so much debt. There’s no climbing out of this hole.’ His voice cracked. And my heart nearly split in two at the agony I saw on his face.
I placed a hand on his chest. ‘I know you don’t want to do it, but why not ask?—’
His eyes popped open, fixing me with a hard stare. ‘No. I’m not asking my brother.’
‘But he could help,’ I started.
‘Rosie,’he said my name softly—a desperate plea. ‘I don’t want to talk about this right now. And especially not when your tits are staring me in the face.’
I glanced down at my chest and back to him. ‘You saying they’re offending you?’
A small smile crept up his face. ‘Not in the slightest. But if you continue to sit there, I’m going to have to see if earlier was a one-time thing or not.’
My entire body shivered at the promise in those words.
‘But I think we could both do with some sleep.’
I eyed the bed, feeling my shoulders tense. ‘Oh, you’re gonna sleep in here?’
He hesitated. ‘Did you want me to leave?’
No.
‘Rosie?’
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. Not looking at him. ‘I’ve never slept in the same bed as anyone before. Apart from Fallon,’ I added. ‘But she doesn’t really count.’
‘Ever?’ The note of surprise in his voice had an uncharacteristic wave of self-consciousness crash over me.
I shook my head. ‘My point is…’ Half way through that sentence I realised I had no idea where I was going. My bottom lip pulled into my mouth.
‘Sweetheart?’
‘Yeah?’
‘Come here.’
He lifted the duvet and rolled onto his side. ‘Don’t think too hard about it,’ he whispered when I didn’t move straight away.
‘That’s like asking a china doll not to be creepy,’ I grumbled, sinking back down to the mattress. George chuckled.
He didn’t give me a chance to worry about configuring my body. The second my head hit the pillow, he turned me over so my back was plastered to his chest, his arm cinched tightly around my waist. He pressed a soft kiss to my neck. ‘Relax.’
‘Uh, huh.’ My body obviously wasn’t getting the message because it remained wound tight as a spring. I’d never cuddled with a guy before. Never let them hold me like this as we drifted off to sleep. And a tiny part of my head—that was loopy with the sex hormones—started cheering. Lord, this was comfortable.
His heat warmed every inch of my body. The soft, fresh laundry scent that I was realising was justhim,filled my nostrils and slowed my erratic heart beat.
