“Listen to me giving all these lessons for free,” he commented before pulling from beneath me and dodging my attempt to pull him back.
“Rule three,” I tossed out. “You’re emotionally stunted.”
“I never said I was perfect,” he quipped. Then, “But slow your roll, Pip. I’m not going anywhere.”
To prove his point, he pushed me onto my side, facing away from him. I didn’t like it. The air was a lot colder without his body heat, and I already missed the feel of his sk—Oh.
His body curled around mine from behind, fitting me against him, surrounding me completely. His arm draped over my side, pulling me in snug as his breath ruffled my hair. One leg draped over mine, he scooted a little closer, fitting my ass right against his groin.
“The little spoon is safe with the big spoon wrapped around him,” his voice purred above my ear.
Without thinking, I reached for his hand, tangling myfingers with his. He adjusted until his fist completely wrapped around mine, protecting that part of me too.
My heart turned inside out, the most delicate parts exposed for all the world to see. But then I realized no one would actually see because he was shielding me.
And so I lay there flayed open, completely inside out, more vulnerable than ever but also safer than I’d ever been.
CHAPTER
TEN
Ghost
Ordinarily, the faint itch in the back of my throat was impossible to ignore. But as I lay there, the big spoon wrapped around the little one, I found that itch to be nothing more than a nuisance. An addiction trying to lure me away from something threatening it, something powerful enough to replace it.
It seemed blasphemous that one roll in the sheets with Pip was enough to replace a long-standing habit of nearly ten years. Yet here I was, forgoing the call of a cigarette so I wouldn’t have to peel myself away from him.
“You sure you never cuddled before?” I wondered, rubbing my chin in the unruly blond strands atop his head.
“Am I doing it wrong?” He worried, face coming around to peer at me over his shoulder.
The rumpled, well-fucked look drenching his expression and muddying his eyes shot me with a hit of dopamine that nicotine could never match.
“Wrong?” I scoffed. “This is some expert-level stuff. I feel like you hustled me.”
His head nestled back into the pillow at the same time his ass wiggled tighter against my groin. “Think that’s the first time anyone has ever said I’m good at something.”
“Lies.”
He didn’t deny it. But he also didn’t agree. I wasn’t sure which was worse.
A muffled shout broke through the quiet room, followed by pounding footsteps. Pip tensed, his entire frame going into survival mode, ready to run.
“Easy,” I murmured, pulling him back against me. “Just people being dumb outside.” I assured him and pointed to the shadows that rushed by the mostly covered window. Another shout was buffered by the glass, then followed by fading laughter.
Pip exhaled shakily, body melting into mine.
“You’re protected here,” I promised against his ear.
“I don’t even know where here is,” he murmured.
“It’s the same motel as last time.”
“Do you live here?” he asked.
“No.”
A beat of silence. “Are you homeless too?”
