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Auctioned to the Outlaw

Page 24

by Aria Cole

Dane’s bedroom.

Dane’s bed.

And Dane.

I turn my head. He’s beside me. Shirtless.

My brain stops functioning. “Why are you naked?”

His eyes stay closed. “Not naked.”

“You’re half naked.”

“Usually sleep more naked.”

I choke.

One gray eye opens. “You asked.”

“I absolutely did not ask that.”

“You complained about the current amount of naked.”

His chest is ridiculous. Broad. Hard. Dark hair disappearing beneath the blanket. Tattoos cover one shoulder and run down his arm. I realize I’ve been looking too long.

“You’re staring.”

“I am not.”

“You are.”

“I’m making sure you’re asleep.”

He opens both eyes. “With your eyes?”

My face heats.

His mouth twitches. “Go to sleep, wife.”

There it is again.

Wife.

The word rolls through me in his rough voice and lands somewhere it has no business landing.

I turn onto my side away from him. “Good night, husband.”

I smile into the pillow.

Thirty seconds pass.

Then the mattress shifts.

A heavy arm slides around my waist.

Dane pulls me backward until my spine meets the solid heat of his chest. His breath touches the back of my neck. “Warmer?”

I should tell him to move.