Pretty Sweet - Christina Lee Page 0,36

arm. I wished I wasn’t wearing a shirt.

I smiled into his skin. It felt more than nice, but I said only, “Yeah, it does.”

“You’re sure it’s okay?”

He couldn’t have asked anything more perfect. “Better than,” I replied, and drifted off into a nightmare-free sleep.

14

Jake

I woke up for the third time that night, unable to believe there was a man curled inside my arms. A sweet, adorable guy who’d had a bad enough dream that he was whimpering in his sleep like a wounded animal. No way could I resist going to him and trying to protect him from whatever was making him so afraid. I had seen that sort of distress before, had felt it myself throughout childhood, but I couldn’t make assumptions that Seth’s fears were even remotely similar. He could’ve been afraid of anything, and I wanted to be there for him. I wanted him to trust me enough to protect him, but that might’ve been asking too much, so for now I’d make him feel as safe as possible by holding him while he slept.

And he undeniably slept. He was even snoring a little, which was cute, and I tried to bite back a chuckle so I didn’t wake him.

Between that and my dick not cooperating, I was surprised he wasn’t uncomfortable. I’d been hard and aching practically all night, so I tried to stay as still as possible so he didn’t get the wrong idea or think I was trying to take advantage of him. The problem was, I’d never been this close to a man, let alone one I was attracted to—and those two things in the same thought were pretty heady. He felt so sleep-warm in my arms, and smelled good, and I was like some creeper as I kept sniffing his hair and brushing my scruff over the top of his head because it felt nice.

A couple of times he’d shivered and burrowed in closer to my chest, and it reminded me what Dane had said about Seth being a snuggler. He definitely was, and I liked it. A lot. Maybe too much.

I drifted in and out of sleep, and the next time I opened my eyes, Seth was yawning awake. Judging from the light shining through the window, it was probably midmorning.

I rubbed my hand over my eyes. “Morning.”

“Morning. I’m sorry about this.” He made a weak attempt of trying to break free of my arms, almost like he was embarrassed, and as soon as I applied the slightest pressure, he melted against me again.

“Don’t be sorry.” I was trying my best to read him, and for now, I somehow knew he still wanted to be held. “I’m not opposed to cuddling, and you’re pretty good at it.”

“You’re good at it too.” When he sighed into my neck, I held in a shiver.

“Feeling better now?”

“Yeah… I…” He burrowed his face into my shoulder and shook his head.

“No sweat. You’re not obligated to tell me anything.”

“It’s so stupid.” His voice was muffled, as if he couldn’t bear to look at me. “I shouldn’t be dreaming about something that wasn’t even…damn it…”

“Shh…” I pulled him closer. “Don’t you dare beat yourself up about whatever it is that’s bothering you.”

He stayed silent, but I could feel his soft breaths against my skin.

“You know,” I murmured, “when my mom and I got away from my dad, she had nightmares too.”

“Why did you leave?” he asked in a hesitant voice. “Sorry if it’s none of my business.”

“No, it’s okay.” I took a deep breath. It wasn’t as hard to talk about anymore. It’d been six years since I’d last laid eyes on that asshole, and if I never saw him again, it would be too soon. “My dad was abusive to my mom. I swore that when I turned legal, I would get us out of that house, and that’s exactly what I did. I owe a lot to Tucker and his family because I had money saved from working at the garage. As soon as I graduated high school, we took off and never looked back.” I could feel my pulse thrumming in my ears. Shit, maybe talking about it took more out of me than I’d admitted.

“Thank you for telling me.” He angled his head to look at me. “That must be why you’re so protective when it comes to Bonnie. You’re a good man.”

“I try to be.” I winced because I was no hero. I’d had my share of missteps in life. “And yeah,