Once we got back, I went to work on dinner. I planned to grill us a couple steaks and make us a salad. While I mixed up the marinade for the steak, he went back to work on the puzzle.
I’d called Wyatt earlier in the day and let him know what was going on. He’d offered to come back if I needed him to, but he knew I had all the Three Bears behind me. My guess was that he was just looking for an excuse to come for a visit, so when I looked up and saw Noah completely focused on finishing the puzzle, I snapped a quick pic on my camera and sent it to Wyatt with no words. Just so he could see that everything was fine, not because Noah looked so freaking adorable.
Wyatt:Looks like I’m not the only one who enjoys a good puzzle.
I didn’t respond, though.
Over dinner, Noah shared some stories with me about his mother, and I told him more stories about my grandfather. It was nice to talk to someone who understood how much it hurt to lose the people we loved, but how much it meant that we carried parts of them with us. Me, with my love of this cabin and the respect I’d learned for the land, and him, with his knowledge and love of flowers. Gifts from those who came before us that we could bring with us into the future.
After dinner, we watched another movie, and Noah managed to stay awake for that one. It was a comedy that I assumed everyone had seen, but he hadn’t. It was wonderful to see him laugh after such a rough couple of days.
It was getting late, and I could tell that he was tired, but I also saw the way he kept glancing over at the bed like it was his enemy.
“Noah,” I said softly.
“Yeah?”
“No one’s going to get you. I have a state-of-the-art security system on the cabin. You’re safe here.”
“I know. That isn’t what I’m worried about. It isn’t what’s out there”—he motioned around the cabin, then tapped the side of his head—“it’s what’s in here.”
“The dreams?” I asked gently.
“Yes.”
“Do you have them often?”
“Sometimes. I had them every night for a while, but now a little less often.” He shrugged.
A little less often? I wondered just exactly what that meant, and how much sleep he was actually getting on a regular basis.
I studied him for a minute and then nodded. “If you think it’ll help, we can share the bed again.”
Chapter seven
Crowe
I hadn’t actually planned on staying in bed with Noah all night. I figured I would stay until he’d fallen asleep and then move to the couch. But that hadn’t happened. He’d rolled over on his side and curled up and went right to sleep like he didn’t have a care in the world. If my presence was what gave him that feeling of security, I couldn’t bring myself to take it away, so I stayed.
Which led to my current predicament. I was laying on my side of the bed, flat on my back, with a very warm and soft Noah wrapped around me like an octopus. I wasn’t sure when it happened, which was odd for me, seeing how I was a light sleeper. He was on my right side with his head on my chest, one of his legs was twined with mine, and his arm was wrapped around my chest.
I knew I should move, but I wasn’t sure how to manage it. When he woke up and realized he sprawled all over me, he would be so embarrassed, but I didn’t see any way out of the bed without waking him.
“Noah,” I said softly, but he didn’t move. “Noah,” I repeated a little louder the second time.
“Hmm,” he murmured. He shifted slightly and then froze. He lifted his head slowly and looked up at me. “Jackson?” He blinked up at me, obviously not fully awake and a little bit confused.
Fuck he was so gorgeous like that. I’d spent two days with him in this cabin, and I’d been good. So good. But a man can only take so much laying here with his body pressed against mine while he looked up at me with those big hazel eyes, and it pushed me over the edge.
I wrapped my right arm around him and held him close. I ran my hand up and down his back. “Morning.”
“Morning,” he said, his eyes not leaving mine.
I lifted my head up and looked into his eyes. “You should move away if you don’t want me to kiss you.”
He bit his lower lip and then said, “Okay.”
I waited a second to see if he would move. He didn’t.
