Oh. My. God. He’s even sexier without clothes.
My eyelids were opened in narrow slits, enough to watch Jake sneak out of the bed we’d shared in the most annoyingly platonic way. I should watch his face to see if he caught me ogling him, but my gaze was riveted on his gorgeous body.
Jake moved again, and the outline of his morning wood caused my mouth to go dry. His entire body was a series of delights I wanted to map, but his proud cock jutted out in front of him like the prow of a ship. I bit back a giggle at my delirious pirate-themed daydreams. But, damn, did I want to plunderthat booty.
He shut the door behind him, and I sagged into the bed. At some point in the night, Jake kicked the sleeping bag off, and I took advantage of the situation. This was my only chance to find out what it was like to sleep with him, really sleep.
It was hot. Literally and figuratively. Even though he was like a furnace, I had the best night’s sleep maybe ever.
Despite all his hard muscles and excessive warmth, he was amazingly cuddly. I don’t think I’ve ever slept that well before, and I was a champion sleeper once upon a time.
When I woke up the second time, I was horny as hell. I layered more and more of myself over him until we were tangled together, and all the stress in my body melted away. All my financial woes, worries about my parents, drama with Beau, it all disappeared into the perfection that was snuggling with Jake.
I was relaxed to the point of being boneless. Except the arousal coursing through my veins.
Before Jake came back to Sierra Rose Ridge, I hadn’t been aroused in months. It’d been longer since I masturbated. I wanted to, now. I wanted to do it while he watched me with his unfathomable eyes, that serious mouth, and his impressive erection. More, I wanted to watch him touch himself. I ached for it.
Would Jake be interested in more than friendship? The idea consumed me as I listened to his steady breathing.
The instant he woke up, horror stunned him, and his breath caught.
That answered that question. My heart cracked in my chest, but I feigned sleep while he crept out of his own bed.
Once he left, a few tears escape before I womaned up. Jake had never been interested in me or women like me. Everyone he dated were my polar opposites, so I shouldn’t have been surprised, but it still stung.
Thank God he thought I was asleep. We’d pretend this never happened, and it wouldn’t mess up our friendship. Maybe in another thirty or forty years, I’d get over it, but at least I wouldn’t have to suffer through pitying looks or awkward, letting-me-down-easy speeches. Besides, he still deserved better than my mess.
After he returned, I stirred and faked a sneeze as a pretext to wake up. When I opened my eyes, a stone-faced Jake hovered near the doorway, as far from me as possible and still in the same room.
Ugh, this sucks. I need to nip this in the bud asap.
“Oh, good. I didn’t give you a black eye while I slept,” I said with an embarrassed smile. “I tend to move around a lot when I sleep.”
His anxious look faded, replaced by confusion.
“What?”
“Mom calls me a sleep traveler because I sometimes wake up on the floor or at the end of the bed. I have ever since I was a little girl. When I’m super tired, I roll around, throw my pillows and blankets on the floor, or cuddle all the pillows at once and nest on them like a bird.”
All of that was true, but it wasn’t what happened last night. If it let us get back to normal, though, I’d say anything. His expression lightened for a moment, but then the furrow between his brows was back, damn it.
“You might have done that, but I’m responsible, too.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I shouldn’t have slept on the bed. I crossed a line, and I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. You were probably pushing me out of the bed becauseyou subconsciously knew I didn’t belong there. The whole point of you moving in here was so you’d be safe.”
“Jake, you idiot, I slept deeply because I was one hundred percent certain I was safe. I trust you more than anyone in the world except my parents.”
My exasperation was obvious, but he didn’t believe me.
“I swear to you,” he said solemnly, “I’ll never give you any cause to doubt my trust. You’re completely safe with me.”
My eyes stung at the earnest way he spoke, but it was unnecessary, not least of which because I put him in this untenable position.
“Jake. Haven’t you been listening?”
“I have, but I need you to know I won’t take advantage of this living situation. It would destroy me to abuse your family’s trust in me. You can trust that I won’t ever make a move.”
