Page 21 of The Monster’s Weakness

“Please.”

“Lie down with me. I just need you.”

He heard her exhale, but she climbed on the bed next to him. The bed was too damn small. There was barely enough room for the two of them. She tucked herself up to his good side. It was perfection.

“You might have a concussion,” she said softly.

“I don’t.”

“How do you know?”

Because he knew what a concussion felt like. He’d had three. But it was nice to have another person give a shit about him. It was something he wasn’t used to.

“You hear my heart beating?”

She was quiet, her head still against his chest.

“It’s strong,” she said.

“Good. That means I’m not going anywhere. Stay here with me.” That’s the last thing he remembered before slipping into sleep.

Chapter Eight

For the longest time, Gemma just laid there in his arms. He surprised her when he wrapped his arms around her and literally fell right to sleep. No man had ever sought comfort from her. He was the only man she’d ever been with.

She lay in his arms, and just took a moment, because she didn’t know what to do. He didn’t look good. He’d clearly been in a fight. She didn’t understand how a businessman could end up in a fight.

Caleb seemed so calm, so mild-mannered. He never showed an ounce of irritation or frustration with her. There always seemed to be an easy smile on his lips.

After a time, his grip seemed to loosen, so she wriggled away from him. Once she was off the bed, she grabbed a spare blanket and laid it over him. He was completely out of it and just snuggled up into bed. He looked so adorable. She couldn’t help but smile at him.

Then, she made her way through to her main apartment. It was late, and she couldn’t sleep, so she quickly got into the kitchen and started to prepare something for breakfast. She had leftover bread she’d placed in the freezer, and before it was completely frozen, she pulled it out, then found some butter and decided to make a breakfast casserole.

There were a few items in her pantry she needed to restock. Eggs were one of them. She’d go to the store tomorrow.

She cut up some bacon and sausage, and quickly browned them in the pan and got to assembling the casserole. Once it was in the baking dish and was nice and full, she made the juice that needed to soak into the bread. She covered it with plastic wrap and slid it into the fridge.

It was a good use of leftovers. Gemma made herself a hot chocolate and moved toward the chair in the living room to read her book.

She finished her hot chocolate, and she must have fallen asleep soon after, as suddenly, she jerked up in her chair and checked the time. It was just after five thirty in the morning. Gemma was so tired, but she needed to get up.

Then Caleb’s sudden appearance from last night quickly washed over her. She got to her feet to check her bedroom, and yes, he was still there, curled up in the blanket, and fast asleep. There was even some snoring.

She remembered the breakfast casserole, which she pulled out of the fridge, and pre-heated her oven. She stayed long enough for the oven to pre-heat, then slid the casserole inside.

It felt strange to be going through the motions, and that was exactly what she was feeling. She’d been so hurt by Caleb, believing he’d used her, taken her virginity, and then done the popular thing right now, of ghosting her. She didn’t know what to believe. She felt a little sick.

But she pushed all of that out of her head, as she had to take a shower. Caleb couldn’t have ghosted her, because he was now right here, in her bed, sleeping and snoring. To get to her shower, she had to go back into her bedroom to grab some clothes, and then into the bathroom. After turning on the shower, she stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the stall, letting out a little gasp as the cool water washed over her. It felt so good and she tilted her head back as it warmed up.

Suddenly, the shower stall opened and she gasped, turning toward the sound, to find Caleb stepping inside. He was completely naked, and her mouth fell open. He was ... well, she remembered exactly how good-looking he was, and right now, as he came toward her, his large, thick cock was standing to attention.

She also noticed he was covered in bruises, and there were some cuts on him, which made no sense. What kind of man got hurt like that? What was his line of business?

“You didn’t stay in the bed,” Caleb said, reaching for the bar of soap.

Every sensible part of her brain was telling her to force him out of the shower. That she needed space. That was the sensible part, only that didn’t seem to engage, especially as he lathered up the soap, and in the next breath, his hands were all over her body, and she struggled to comprehend what was going on. She wanted his touch. She’d missed his touch. This felt so good.

“I ... a breakfast casserole is in the oven.”