HER HAIR WAS WILD, thrown across his pillow and arm like an escapee finally sensing freedom. Her clothes were a little more restrained. She was wearing jeans, a black tank top and sockswith rainbows printed on them. Darius only knew this because the side of her that wasn’t touching him was partially uncovered.
Eve was a kicker in her sleep.
But he only knew that from having seen her thrash around from a safe spot on his floor when they were kids.
He’d never experienced it in his bed.
With him in it.
Eve’s little movements turned into a big stretch and yawn. Darius, unsure of exactly what to do, waited until her eyelids slowly opened.
She blinked a few times before angling her head to the side to look up at him.
When the green met his dark, he reacted instinctually.
“What the hell, Eve!”
Like some shy teenage boy, he bolted upright. The sheet and blanket slid down his bare upper body. He clutched at them, pulling then back up. The memory of him silently trying to decide what top to wear after his shower the night before—and ultimately deciding not to wear anything at all—flashed through his mind.
Thank goodness he’d opted for bottoms, at the very least.
Eve also sat up but with way less effort and concern. She rubbed at her hair and then motioned to the closed bedroom door.
“What the hell right back at you, Darius,” she said. “I almost climbed into the wrong dang room with another whole man in it! Since when did you change rooms?”
Darius couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Since I bought the house after Dad moved to Montana—Wait. You tried to get into Theo’s room? Did he see you?”
Eve was fast with that. “No! Once I realized the window was locked, I finally really looked through the gap in the curtain and realized he was too young to be your grumpy butt. Who is he?”For the first time since waking up, she finally showed some form of panic. “Wait. Is heyour kid? You’re not married! I checked!”
Her voice had gone high. On reflex Darius slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Stop crowing so loud, woman,” he hissed. “And no, not married, and no, not my kid. He’s Sheriff Weaver’s boy.”
Darius had enough muscle memory in him to know that he better let go quick before she bit him, so he dropped his hand with a warning look thrown her way for good measure.
To her credit, she adjusted her volume.
“The sheriff’s son? Why are you living with the sheriff’s son? Is the sheriff the one who moved in next door?”
Darius held up his hand in aStopgesture.
“Theo just graduated college and is interning,” he explained. “He has a lot of young siblings at home and wanted a little more quiet when he came back to town. I offered my spare room until he could save a little more money for his own place. And no, the sheriff isn’t the one who bought the house next door.”
Eve flopped back in the bed like she owned it.
“Well, if there’s one thing you’re good at, it’s being quiet,” she said. “Playing hide-and-seek with you as kids was harder than any waitressing job I’ve had since.”
“That’s only because when it was your turn to hide, you couldn’t stop giggling,” he pointed out. “I didn’t need to be good at hide-and-seek. I just needed to wait for you to give up because you were bored.”
She tapped her feet together and didn’t disagree.
Then Darius came back to his senses.
He turned to face her completely. The top sheet and cover fell again at the movement. This time he didn’t bother with them.
“Eve,” he said, voice stern, “why are you here? In my house.In my bed?”
