“I don’t want to scare you.”
“Too late. Talk to me.”
He was quiet for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “There’s something about you, Cami. I felt it that first night at your house. This pull that I can’t explain or deny.” He paused. “Majesty feels it too. We talked about it after you fell asleep on your couch.”
My heart was racing again, but for entirely different reasons now. “What kind of pull?”
“The dangerous kind.” His dark eyes held mine. “The kind that makes me want things I shouldn’t want. Not this fast.”
“What do you want?” The question came out barely above a whisper.
“More than just two weeks with you at this Ranch.” He reached out and tucked a strand of damp hair behind my ear. “We have time to figure that out, but I didn’t know if you were open to more, if it was right or not.
I thought for a second and immediately knew the answer. It had only been three days, but the amount of gentleness and kindness that these two men had shown me spoke of theircharacter. I wasn’t signing up to go all in, but I was curious about something more than the training.
“I am open to more,” I admitted.
He nodded in acceptance. “For now, I just want to make sure you’re okay. That I didn’t push too hard tonight.”
“I’m okay,” I said, and realized I meant it. “More than okay. I feel... I don’t know how to explain it.”
“You don’t have to. Not yet.” He stood and collected the empty dishes. “Get some sleep. I’ll be back to check on you after I put these away.”
“Lex?” I called as he reached the door.
He turned back.
“Will you stay? Just until I fall asleep?”
Something softened in his expression. “You’ll be asleep before I sit down.”
“Then stay anyway.”
He set the dishes on my dresser, removed his shoes, and climbed onto the bed beside me, pulling me carefully into his arms. The instant his warmth surrounded me, that restless, empty feeling I’d been carrying since he’d stopped touching me disappeared.
“That’s so much better,” I admitted, my eyes already closing.
“Sleep, little one.” His voice was gentle, his hand stroking my hair. “I’ve got you.”
I wanted to stay awake, to savor this moment, to ask him more questions about what he’d said. But exhaustion pulled me under, and the last thing I registered was feeling completely, utterly safe.
I woke to the soft morning light and the realization that I wasn’t alone.
Lex was still there, his arm around me, his breathing even and deep. He’d fallen asleep too. I carefully turned to look at him. In sleep, his face lost that intense, controlled expression. He looked younger, more peaceful. My movement must have disturbed him because his eyes opened slowly, immediately finding mine.
“Morning,” he said, his voice rough with sleep.
“You stayed all night.”
“I did.” He didn’t sound apologetic. “You needed it.”
“Did I?” I think he needed it too.
“Yes.” He brushed his thumb across my cheek. “How do you feel?”
I did a mental inventory. Sore, yes. But also settled and grounded. “Really good, actually, Sir.”
“Good.” He sat up slowly, running a hand through his hair. “We should talk about last night. About boundaries and what happened.”
