No Escape From War (Trouble for Hire #1) - Cynthia Eden Page 0,17
bathroom with the towel knotted around his waist. He’d needed to get that stinking garbage smell off him, and War had crept inside the bedroom, then into the shower so he wouldn’t wake Rose. As he made his way to the chest of drawers in his bedroom, his gaze darted to the bed. She was curled on her side, facing him, and one of her delicate hands was perched under her chin. Her features were soft, relaxed. Absolutely beautiful.
One long, sexy leg was kicked out from beneath the covers. She always slept that way. She’d told him once it helped to cool her down. He’d told her that seeing her leg had made him extra hot and—
Get clothes. Get out.
With silent steps, War stalked for his chest of drawers. He yanked out a pair of sweatpants. Since Rose was sleeping, he just let the towel fall before he yanked up the pants and—
“War.” Soft. Husky.
He whirled around.
Her eyes were still closed. His breath whispered out. Time to go. Obviously, since he was starting to have damn auditory hallucinations about her calling his name. Wishful thinking. The couch was waiting. He took a step for the door.
“War?” More fretful. Worried.
Scared.
Not an auditory hallucination. Rose was calling for him. The hand that had been curled under her chin flew out and stretched in the air, as if she was searching for someone.
For me.
Slowly, he headed for the bed. He didn’t want to wake her, but if she was having a bad dream—and after what she’d been through that night, a bad dream would be normal—he couldn’t leave her that way. “It’s okay,” he heard himself rasp. “You’re safe.”
As she would always be, on his watch.
The furrow slid away from her forehead.
But for some reason, his treacherous fingers reached out and still smoothed that delicate area. A light caress over her—
She caught his wrist. Her eyes didn’t open. “Stay?”
Such a bad idea. Bad for a thousand different reasons. And yet, when he opened his mouth, what he said was, “Yes.”
Chapter Four
“War?”
She turned toward him in bed and snuggled closer. Every muscle in War’s body immediately tensed.
Her fingers trailed over his chest. A soft smile tugged at her lips, but her eyes didn’t open. She’d been sleeping soundly, and this was not the wake up that he’d expected.
“You smell good,” Rose murmured.
She smelled good enough to eat.
Her nose nuzzled against his throat. “Missed you,” she told him, voice all husky and soft. Then she licked him. A quick, sensual little lick.
He was already rock hard. He’d been battling his arousal for her—hell, he didn’t even know for how long. It was kind of just a perpetual state for him when Rose was near. But at that little lick, his body jolted. “Uh, Rose…” He should move. Get out of the bed. Not curl his arm around her and pull her even closer.
The woman was obviously still sleeping. She talked in her sleep sometimes. It was a cute trait. Except…
She said she missed me.
He cleared his throat. “Ah, Rose?” War tried again.
Her lips pressed to his throat.
His gaze snapped up to the ceiling. You do not get to pounce on her. You do not get to—
She suddenly stiffened. “What are you doing in my bed?” Rose demanded. No more soft and husky murmurs. The question was loud. Piercing. Probably designed to burst an ear drum.
She was apparently very awake right now.
Before he could respond, her head whipped up, and she narrowly avoided a sharp clip to his chin.
“War?” Her voice had gone up another octave.
“Technically…” He sat up. “It’s my bed.”
She sat up, too, and snatched the covers to her chest when she seemed to realize that she was only wearing a bra and panties. “You were supposed to take the couch!”
“I was going to do that. Absolutely. Very gentlemanly and all but then…you asked me to stay.”
Her eyes could not possibly get any wider. “I did not.”
“You did…so.” He didn’t pull the covers up. He had on his sweatpants, and they were stretched to the brink over a certain portion of his anatomy. The covers were currently pooled over that part of him, so he figured they could stay there instead of being needlessly yanked up to his chest.
Her gaze drifted down to his bare chest. She licked her lower lip. “I don’t remember doing that.”
“That’s because you were dead to the world. But you were fretful and kinda sweet and when you asked me to stay, I decided…what would it hurt?”