Accepting my offer without missing a beat, she lingers close to my heel as I guide her toward my bedroom.
5
Emery
“The couch isn’t an option.”
While I shift my weight between my feet, I watch Callan prepare his bed for me. Insisting that I sleep here, because of my injury at the start, and now because of the comfort difference, he’s continuously putting up an argument.
“It isn’t right, though. I’ve gotten a look at that couch, and I think it’s too small for you to sleep on. But me? I wouldn’t have any issues curling up. Plus, I’d get to watch the fireplace pop through the night. I don’t get a view like that ever, not unless it’s on some YouTube video…” Circling the bed, I catch his gaze as he’s flattening a freshly unfolded sheet. “Callan.”
His mouth pinches shut, and his eyes fall away. “I don’t mind. Just do as I say so we can both sleep comfortably, alright?”
I get a little tingle in my stomach at his words. The fight I have to give isn’t close to being over. Not when the truth is settling nicely deep in my bones.
“Your bed is pretty big.” Grazing my finger against the sheet and purposely wrinkling it, I drag my way back toward him. “Big enough for two. I’d sleep much better knowing you’re comfortable, too.”
Me, sharing a bed with a man I barely know? Past Emery would never dare. Then again, she didn’t meet a man who lifted her into his arms and took her to his home.
I’m not saying I want to cuddle the guy, but if I woke up in his arms, I don’t think I’d mind as much.
Callan makes a choking sound at my suggestion, but he doesn’t shut it down as quickly as he had my idea of sleeping on the couch. Instead, his eyes flick back toward me, this time with a look both startled and hesitant.
“I don’t bite.” Giving him a smile, I brush his arm next and feel his arm flinch beneath my touch. Such a big guy couldn’t possibly be afraid of a little woman like me, right?
Turning to face me, the hesitation takes over the rest. “I don’t think that’s a good idea for more than one reason.”
Curious to know why, I grow a little braver. Instead of touching his arms, I lightly touch his chest. He’s radiating enough heat through his shirt to make that fireplace jealous. One little push, and he’s coming down like a fallen tree. Once he’s sitting on the edge, he’s more at my eye level.
“It doesn’t happen all the time, but sometimes, I wake up rough, Emery. In ways that scare people. I couldn’t live with myself if something like that happened. That’s the biggest reason, enough that the answer has to be no.” He grimaces, seeing what he can’t control as a flaw.
I wish I could do something to help him, especially after everything he’s done for me.
“Then… how about you stay with me until I pass out? After that, I can’t stop you from leaving because I’ll be in dreamland, right?”
Hoping my argument will be convincing enough, I notice him pause. I don’t want him to say no. Now that I’ve got the idea of him sharing the same space as me, I can’t get it out of my head.
Without thinking, I lift my hands to his face. Needing to touch him, I don’t miss the groan that stirs around in his chest as his beard tickles my hands. Instead of stopping me or pulling away, he tilts his head back.
“You are trouble, you know that?”
Stepping forward, right in the space between his plaid-covered thighs,I’mthe one to groan next when his hands find my hips.
We’re definitely on the same page here. Maybe we’re both a little crazy, too.
“You should probably stop me from doing something really troublesome, then…” Murmuring the words, I take in his facial appearance while I have the opportunity to see it up close.
His brown eyes have little flecks of green, making them look hazel-like. He’s got the start of crows’ feet at the corners of his eyes, most likely from squinting at anything that bothers him, meaning at everything, really. At his temples, he’s got a few gray hairs, too. Even his beard can’t hide them.
I’d think he wouldn’t want some young woman close to him like this, but from his grip alone, I can see that isn’t the case. He’s got me in a vice, and I’m sure neither of us wants me to budge.
Letting my gaze flicker to his mouth, my heart flutters again.
I’ve never kissed someone before. Never felt an urge to. But being this close to Callan? I want to see how it would feel. Would he let me?
“Emery…” There’s a warning behind his voice, but his voice lowers a notch, hitting a level that makes me sway toward him.
I kiss him. Just wanting to satisfy my curiosity, I get more than I bargain for when a growl rumbles against my lips. So distracted with the way my body is soaking up his heat, I don’t notice one of his hands leaving my hips until I feel the palm of his hand against my butt. Not against the shirt he’d loaned me, butbeneathit.
