Charity Case - The Complete Series - Piper Rayne Page 0,158

He starts moving again and we pass by a bedroom door before we walk through the door at the end of the hall.

A king-size bed sits in the middle of the room with a plain headboard. Everything inside is either gray, black or steel. Typical bachelor pad. He deposits me on my feet and heads toward what I assume is the bathroom.

My gaze sweeps over the surroundings, taking in more details. Another dull room with no life to it. Not even a clock next to the bed. Other than the view of the sun playing peek-a-boo between the surrounding high-rises, it feels cold and the complete opposite of how I usually feel when I’m with Dean.

The toilet flushes and a chill wraps around my body.

“Nap time.” He goes to what I assume is his side of the bed. We weren’t together long enough to each have a side of our own. It went from the two of us in the middle, to one of us on the couch.

“It’s like four o’clock,” I joke, starting to feel slightly exposed and more than a little vulnerable.

“Do you have somewhere to be?” he asks, laying the comforter and sheets out farther.

“No.”

“Then let’s take a nap and then we can order in food.”

“Dean, I have a life.”

He stares at me a moment, as though for the first time he’s at a loss for words. Then he breaks the distance, his hand already prepped in position to cup my cheek when he steps into me. My stomach flutters and my tough girl act crumbles.

“Tonight, let me be your life.” He presses his lips to my forehead, his hand gliding down my arm until my hand lands in his.

He doesn’t pull or yank me toward the bed, he takes one step at a time, leaving enough slack between us in case I don’t follow. Which means he knows we’re still not close to where we’ve been.

“Half an hour,” I say begrudgingly.

He eyes me, nods, though the smirk on his face says he doesn’t believe me. I wouldn’t believe me either.

Waiting at the edge of the bed, I crawl in first, suddenly exhausted from the hottest sex I’ve had in half a decade.

“Half hour and then I’ll replenish you.” He pulls me into him, his arms secure around me, his lips sprinkling kisses on my forehead and temple. Our legs are in a tangled mess, and my cheek is pressed against his muscled chest.

“Did you mean what you said?” His voice is soft and insecure, sounding nothing like the man who just withheld my orgasm until I told him what he wanted to hear.

I prop my chin on his chest, my own hand running along the small patch of hair on his chest.

“Well, you were holding my orgasm back with your delicate thrusting.”

I smile, he doesn’t.

Shit, where is the Dean Bennett I know? The one who would challenge me.

“And I’ll do it again.” His lips curve a bit, but he’s still holding back.

“Dean.” I direct his eyes back on me, sliding up a little so he has no choice but to focus on me. “Orgasms don’t make me lie. I’m in this. I can’t deny that I’m terrified, but you’ve done more than enough to prove to me that you’ve changed so far.”

“Do you ever think we still need to clear the air? Let it all out…talk about everything that happened?”

I slide back down, my head finding relief in the crook of his neck. The manly smell that’s his alone is like a security blanket to me. “Not today, okay?” I murmur.

“Okay, I’ll give you a pass.” He kisses the top of my head and before I can think about when and if we’ll have to have that conversation my eyes drift shut and I’m fast asleep.

It’s nighttime before I wake from the deepest slumber I’ve had in a while—at least when alcohol wasn’t involved. Although Dean’s blinds are open, the sky is ominous with tall dark buildings blocking the view of the moon. People are home from work and the windows are lit up like a game of connect the dots.

I scoot down and out of Dean’s arms, sliding off the bed setting my feet on the ground. Heading down the hall, I tiptoe as quietly as possible. Whatever happened to carpet? Why does no one have carpeting anymore? It makes it much easier to sneak around.

The sound of my phone vibrating is like a screeching alarm in the quiet place. My footsteps increase in speed