Page 20 of Ridge

Could he really let Ridge sleep on the floor again? Part of him wanted to, but another part of him thought it wasn’t right. Ridge’s place was in the bed with him, even though Kael had no idea if he wanted that yet.

Would Ridge try something if Kael offered him a spot in the bed? Kael didn’t think so, but he couldn’t be sure until he asked. He had a choice to make, and he only had a few seconds to make it. Once Ridge fell asleep, Kael would be left alone in the bed, and while that didn’t sound like a bad thing exactly, it also didn’t sound fair.

Ridge didn’t have a say in who his mate was. He’d already given Kael a lot of grace, and maybe Kael could give him some in return. If anything, he would save Ridge from another backache, which wasn’t a bad thing.

“You should sleep on the bed tonight,” he said.

Ridge turned to look at him. For a second, he didn’t say anything, but Kael could see that he wanted to. Maybe he was going to ask if Kael was sure. Kael wasn’t, and he didn’t know how he would’ve answered that question.

Ridge didn’t ask. He nodded and picked the pillow back up, putting it onto the mattress where it belonged.

Kael swallowed. It looked like they were going to spend the night together in the same bed.

He had no idea how he felt about that.

* * * *

RIDGE KNEW EXACTLY where he was when he woke up. He’d been trained to, and while that skill didn’t exactly apply here, he might have been confused for a moment if he hadn’t been trained—because there was someone in his arms.

There wasn’t supposed to be.

He looked down. It seemed that during the night, he and Kael had drifted together. They hadn’t done it on purpose since they’d been sleeping, but the result was that Kael was snuggled against Ridge’s side, sleeping peacefully like he belonged there. Ridge quite liked that. He wanted Kael to feel like he belonged, and maybe in some part of himself, he did—but it wasn’t his conscious part. When he was awake, he made sure to stay away from Ridge, and Ridge didn’t want to push.

He didn’t know how Kael would react when he woke up, so he decided to try to sneak out of bed. He was a very light sleeper, but he expected Kael to sleep more deeply, considering how he’d slept yesterday morning.

But when Ridge tried to pull his arm from under Kael’s head, Kael snapped up into a sitting position, looking around frantically. Ridge blinked, not having expected that reaction. He wasn’t sure what to do, so he stayed still, letting Kael calm down instead of possibly freaking him out even more.

Kael turned and blinked at Ridge. It was obvious from where he was sitting that he’d been snuggled there, and Ridge wasn’t sure how he would take that. He didn’t say anything, just watched.

Kael blinked again, then, to Ridge’s surprise, stretched back out on the bed. He snuggled right back in, and Ridge felt something that was very much like relief.

Ridge didn’t know what was happening. This wasn’t like Kael, or at least, like the Kael he’d come to know.

He stayed tense, and he didn’t move. Neither did Kael. He stayed where he was, slowly tilting his head up to look at Ridge.

“It’s morning,” he said.

Ridge told himself not to laugh. “It is. It’s early, so you don’t have to worry about being late to the meeting.”

“You’re awake.”

“I very much am, yes. So are you.”

“I would say I didn’t mean to wake up in your arms, but I moved there on purpose last night after you fell asleep.”

Ridge hadn’t expected that, either, and he didn’t know how to answer. He wasn’t surprised because the bond would have a certain draw, even for Kael, but he hadn’t expected Kael to admit something like that. “It’s fine.”

“I know you said yesterday that you would give me time, and I want that time, but I also kind of don’t. Does that make sense?”

“It does. You feel the pull. It’s the bond, and while I understand it’s not easy to ignore, you can do it if you want to.”

“But should I? I know it’s not as easy for you, yet you make it look like you have everything figured out.”

It was funny because Ridge was anything but figured out. He had no idea what he was doing when it came to his mate. He was guarded, though. He needed to be for his job. Maybe he should let Kael see a little more of him, though.

He shifted until he managed to get them face-to-face. Kael’s eyes were wide, but he didn’t move away. They weren’t quite pressed together, but they were closer than they’d ever been, and Ridge’s cat started purring.

Unfortunately for Ridge, it was a sound that could be heard even in his human form, even when he didn’t mean for it to happen. He was lucky because it had never happened on the job, and he doubted it ever would, considering the kind of work he did, but he’d barely ever purred before. The only reason he was now was that his mate was right there.