From Sanctum with Love (Masters and Mercenaries #10) - Lexi Blake Page 0,61

You would have women from all over the planet showing up with wreaths and teddy bears, laying them out as a shrine to your brother’s hot bod.”

Kai made a gagging sound. “Don’t forget the gay guys. I was told Jared doesn’t discriminate against any gender that wants to worship him. I don’t want to go home.”

Something about the slump of his shoulders made her heart nearly break. This was Kai. He was always strong, always resilient. He was the one everyone came to for advice or help and he gave it immediately, even to people she knew he didn’t like. “Where would you go?”

“This couch looks comfy,” he said quietly.

“That couch is more of a love seat, and there’s zero chance of your six-foot-two-inch body fitting onto it.” He would have to bend that body in half to fit on it or most of his legs would be hanging off. Either way, she couldn’t imagine he would be comfortable.

He still didn’t turn, as though he wasn’t ready to face her. “Okay. I can sleep on the floor. I’ve slept in worse places.”

“You want to avoid your brother that much?” It wasn’t like she didn’t understand. Her sister had shown up in Dallas a few months before, wreaking havoc on Kori’s existence. She’d been high and angry, and who had Kori turned to when her sister got to be too much to deal with? Yeah, Kai had gotten Shawna into a rehab center. Kai was the one who traveled with Kori on family visitation days. Kai was the one who was going to help Shawna transition when she completed the course. Kai was the one who helped Kori finance it all.

“Just for tonight.” There was a weary tone to his voice. “I have to deal with him eventually, but I don’t want to do it tonight. All I need is a pillow.”

“I think Mia’s had too much to drink. She’s staying here tonight. I don’t know how comfortable she’ll feel sharing the living room.”

“Oh.” He nodded. “All right. I’ll see you in the morning.”

She stopped him before he made it to the door. Somehow her hand found its way into his. “Or you can stay with me. I have a queen-sized bed so there’s plenty of room. I think I snore though.”

It was a horrible mistake, but she couldn’t let him walk out that door. She couldn’t. After everything they’d meant to one another, she couldn’t be the one who shipped him back to somewhere he didn’t want to be. He would never do that to her.

“I can handle a little snoring,” he said, his eyes warm. “The way I feel I’ll sleep like a log.”

Something about the way his fingers curled around hers made her mushy. She hated feeling mushy and weepy and like something was happening that was way more important than it should be. “This doesn’t change anything between us.”

He nodded his head solemnly. “It only adds.”

“Kai, I’m not sleeping with you tonight.”

He frowned. “You’re taking the couch?”

He could be so obtuse at times for a man with a genius level IQ. “No. I was talking about sex. I’m not going to sleep on the couch. It’s lumpy and horrible. I’m not having sex with you tonight.”

“I promise to keep my hands to myself.”

That sounded terrible. “Come on. We have a long day tomorrow.”

She would set an alarm and maybe if she hustled him out of the door early enough tomorrow morning she could convince Sarah and Mia that nothing happened. Which was true because absolutely nothing was going to happen except some serious sleeping. That was totally going to happen.

She led him back to her bedroom. They’d been friends for a long time, worked together most of the time she’d been here in Dallas. He’d never been in her bedroom. She’d been in his a hundred times before, mostly since he worked and lived in the same building. First at Sanctum and then in their own place after the explosion. At least twice a year she would come into work and find him a ball of snot and sadness curled up in the middle of his futon. Yes, he was a grown man who slept on a futon. He claimed it helped his back or something but mostly she thought he couldn’t afford much else. She would have to spend days bringing him chicken soup and babying him.

Her bedroom was a bit plain, but it had some windows into her soul.

“Who is this?” Kai’s eyes almost immediately