any aggression toward me, but I couldn’t shut off the fear. Logan was huge and terrifying.
Easton whistled and scanned. After a minute of no response, he shrugged. “It’s too backward for him. Daytime, not nighttime. The horses are out, and the trail rides are going on. He’s probably busy. Never mind.”
We headed inside, and I followed Easton up the narrow stairwell to the second floor. Because his instability made me nervous, I kept one hand at the small of his back. I took in my surroundings. It was a lot homier than my penthouse. There were pictures on the walls, and the warm color tone and atmosphere gave it a lived-in feel. It was far from new. Rundown would be a more appropriate adjective.
The stark white walls and leather furniture of my place back in Edmonton was sterile and uninviting in comparison. Everything here was more rustic, like the man in front of me.
Easton guided me into a large bedroom with a big bed and a huge window that overlooked one of the pastures in the distance. He turned a circle and blinked heavy eyes.
“Are you good?” I asked.
“Deciding if I have the energy to shower.”
“How about you wait until you wake up. Maybe you’ll be more steady on your feet.”
“I’m fine. The haziness is passing. Just need a good sleep.”
“I’d rather not have to pick your naked ass up off the bathroom floor.”
He smirked and nodded then proceeded to strip out of his clothes, his gaze not leaving my face. The action foiled my plans to retreat and head back to the lodge. My feet rooted in place, and my breath caught as miles of tanned and toned skin came into view. Fuck, he was gorgeous. Without pants, his thighs were even more impressive. Solid trunks of muscle, dusted with blond hair. His boxer briefs didn’t hide the generous swell underneath.
My mouth dried as I looked him over.
“You don’t strike me as the type who sleeps in your clothes, Lachlan.”
I flinched and dragged my gaze from Easton’s firm abdomen to his face. “I don’t. Why?”
He stalked over and started unbuttoning my shirt, determination replacing all that exhaustion he’d carried with him from the hospital.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping you undress. My bed is big enough for both of us. I thought maybe you’d want to share it with me.”
“You want me to stay?”
He peeled my shirt off my arms and made a rumbling noise in the back of his throat as his gaze skipped all over my bare chest. His fingers followed his eyes as he mapped my abdomen, raising goose bumps.
“More than anything.”
He unbuttoned my jeans and slid his hands inside and around to grip my ass. Yanking me against him, he tipped his forehead to mine. “You have an amazing ass in these fancy jeans. I’ve been dyin’ to get my hands on it.”
“What about your rules?”
“I don’t have rules about sleepin’ beside gorgeous men.”
I laughed as he shoved my pants down and attacked my neck with a hot wet mouth. It started off as nibbles but turned into a nuzzling kiss that sent shivers up my spine and over my scalp. I groaned. “You might have self-restraint, but I don’t. Have you looked in a mirror? This is not going to end well, cowboy.”
I kicked my pants off, and Easton turned me around and guided me to his bed. I fell with him on top of me. “I think it’s gonna end real well.” The look in his eyes burned with fiery lust, but I didn’t miss the trickle of concern he tried to hide.
I understood the root of that look. He feared I’d leave him with a mountain of regret, and that bothered me. Since when did I care so much about another’s feelings?
When he hesitated, fighting with something in his head, I took his face between my palms. “What do you want, Easton? Tell me.”
“You. So badly. But…”
“But you want a promise?”
“No. I know you can’t give me one. I get it. I just … Tell me this means somethin’. Tell me I’m not just a number to you.”
Another stab to my heart. “You’re not just a number. I swear it.” Two days ago, he was. Oh how fast things had changed. “I… I don’t know what I can promise long term, but I promise I won’t be gone in the morning.”
“It is mornin’?”
“Don’t be a smartass.”
Easton chuckled and grabbed my face. He kissed me then. The man wore his heart on his sleeve, and