I shook my head. “There’s no way I can sleep in my room with him in the house. I know he can’t get out with all the precautions we’ve taken, but I’d rather be out here where I’d hear him escaping… just in case.”
He sighed and stretched his arms up above him then out on the back of the couch. “Yeah, same.”
“Does that mean we’re both sleeping on the couch?”
Too bad I couldn’t get him to cuddle with me. It’d be awesome if I could snuggle up to his side. It was like he was asking me to with the way he’d positioned his arms. Damn. Too bad I wasn’t brave enough to just dive in there and hope for the best.
I grimaced at the thought. He’d freak out and push me away, I was sure, and I didn’t think my heart—or pride, really—could take the rejection.
“Yeah, I guess it does.” Rome hopped up from the couch and headed toward the hall that led to our bedrooms.
My brow furrowed. “Where are you going? Didn’t you literallyjustsay we were both sleeping out here?”
“Be right back!” he called over his shoulder.
I frowned, but then I decided to take advantage of him not being here for a second. So I scooted over onto the middle cushion. Now he wouldn’t be able to avoid sitting directly beside me.Ha!
Roman came back a minute later, carrying a huge armful of blankets. When he noticed where I was sitting, he paused mid-step, but only for a second, and kept on walking over. He passed me a few blankets that I took gratefully, and then he just stood there, looking unsure.
With a roll of my eyes, I patted the seat beside me. He stared at me for half a beat before he sat down and started covering himself with his own blankets before he finally settled.
After a few good minutes of awkward silence passed, I decided that I just needed to get over it and go for it. So I… very slowly lowered my head to rest against his upper arm. He was tense as all hell, but after a few minutes, he slowly began to relax.
I smiled to myself and closed my eyes. Maybe this wasn’t snuggling the way I truly wanted, but it was a step in the right direction, so I’d take it.
Chapter Five
Roman
The second Oakley was asleep, I gently moved my arm out from under them, wrapped it around their shoulders, and pulled them in until their head was resting on my chest. Then I leaned my head in, burying my nose against their very short, shaved hair, and breathed them in. Every tense muscle in mybody eased as I held my viramore in my arms, as I breathed in their unique scent of a campfire deep in the woods, as my dragon relaxed, knowing Oakley was safe in my arms.
Mine, my dragon growled out in my head, and I could only hold them tighter in agreement.
Mine. Oakley was mine, there was no doubt about it.
After several deep breaths, I couldn’t help but place a soft, lingering kiss to the top of their head before resting my nose there again and closing my eyes.
Oakley shifted, and I froze, afraid I was caught being a creeper because I guess I was kind of being creepy right now. But my dragon was demanding I pull them closer, and I couldn’t deny him anymore.
Luckily, all Oak did was nuzzle into my chest a little in their sleep, making my heart flip.
Maybe… maybe a part of them really did feel the pull. Maybe they weren’t aware of it yet, but their dragon was.
Or maybe they just liked snuggling into a warm body because it was comfortable.
I internally sighed at myself.
Maybe I should talk to Oakley and ask them if they… felt anything.
Grimacing, I dismissed that.
How horrible would it be if they told me no? How defeated would I feel?
And what if I really did come off as a creeper?
Imagine having your dad’s best friend, a very, very old dragon, tell you he had feelings for you?
How the hell did I expect them to react?
