Her soft voice tickled the back of my neck. “Evan?”
Don’t answer. Pretend you’re asleep. “Yeah?” Damn it.
“Are you sure you can sleep down there?”
“I’m fine.”
“Because it’s not a big deal if you want to sleep up here. I’ll stay on my side of the bed so you have room.”
There was something soothing about her quiet voice. I was tired, and I didn’t particularly want her talking to me, but I didn’t feel the urge to snap at her either.
And the bed would be more comfortable than the floor.
“Okay.”
I climbed onto the bed and slid beneath the covers, keeping my back to her. It was the oddest thing: She didn’t move much, just shifted a little. But I could have sworn I felt her relax.
Stranger still, it made me relax.
I settled into the bed, my eyes heavy. In the back of my mind, I wondered why lying next to her made a difference.
It wasn’t her; it was just the bed.
That was a lie. It was her.
But I was too tired to worry about what that meant.
11
Fiona
Nestling into the warmth of the bed, I decided not to open my eyes. It was probably morning, but my alarm hadn’t gone off yet. I was so warm and comfortable, I didn’t want to move until I absolutely had to.
Except, why was my pillow breathing?
That thought woke me up more, and as my awareness grew, I realized that maybe—just maybe—my head wasn’t resting on my pillow. That it might be—
Oh god.
Keeping my eyes firmly closed for fear of what I’d discover if I opened them, I tried to make sense of what I felt. My cheek rested against something warm and firm, and I was lying at an angle that wasn’t exactly flat. I was still in the bed, but I didn’t feel the softness of a pillow or the mattress beneath me.
Risking a peek, I cracked one eye open and got a close-up view of a t-shirt stretched across a broad chest.
Evan took a deep breath, his lungs expanding beneath me. Oh my god, I was draped across his body, my face squished against his chest. Was the corner of my mouth wet?
Yep, I’d drooled on him.
This was how I was going to die, in a bed in a cheap motel with a guy I’d gone on the road with after knowing for ten minutes. Cause of death: abject humiliation.
I still hadn’t moved, but I was afraid if I did, I’d wake him up. And I really, really didn’t want Evan to wake up. Not like this.
Maybe there was a way I could slide off him and it would just feel like the covers moving. I could roll over and pretend I was still asleep.
It was the perfect plan.
Slowly, carefully, I lifted my head off his chest, trying to pretend there wasn’t a drool spot right on his nipple. Maybe he wouldn’t notice. Or it would dry before he woke up.
A girl could hope.
Still moving as slowly as I could, I started to roll to my side.
He moved, clamping his thick arm around me, and pulled me against him. My eyes squeezed shut and I froze, not even daring to breathe.
But his chest rose and fell in the same steady rhythm. He was still asleep.
Of course he was still asleep. He wouldn’t have been holding me like this if he were aware of what he was doing.
Okay, new plan. Get enormous heavy arm off me, then roll over and pretend to be sleeping.
I moved a little, trying to wiggle his arm down without waking him. It moved off my waist, his open palm sliding across my body.
Almost there.
He stopped with his huge hand right on my ass.
My eyes widened.
His hand squeezed.
Suddenly I really wanted to know what he was dreaming about.
He squeezed again, kneading into my flesh in a way that made it very easy to guess what was going on behind his closed eyes.
I didn’t know whether to be mortified or aroused. Truthfully, I was a lot of both.
The slow breath I took to calm my nerves didn’t help. Dear god, he smelled good. He’d showered before bed and the result was a clean, manly smell, something no cologne could ever replicate. The weight of his arm and his hand on my ass gave me just a hint of his strength, and it was all too easy to imagine him manhandling me on a bed. Or a couch. Or in the back seat of a muscle car.