AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Guilty.”
I need to get out of here. Go to my room and pretend to sleep. And not think he’s out here. The upside of Ryder-induced insomnia is time to work.
“The kitchen is through there—” I point to the left and then the right “and the bathroom’s there.”
“You know, it’s not too late.”
My heart starts to thump wildly. “Too late for what?”
“Getting the fuck out of here and going to my place. You can babysit me just as easily there.”
“I’m not babysitting you.”
“Whatever you want to call it. I’m just saying my place is bigger.”
“And I don’t care. Goodnight, Ryder.”
I hurry to my room and try to sleep. When that doesn’t work, I try some work. But it’s hard to concentrate, knowing Ryder Sinclair is outside my door. On my sofa.
In the end, I turn the TV on that I rarely use that’s in my room, mounted to the wall. I turn the sound on low. There’s a Golden Girls rerun on and I let Rose, Blanche, Dorothy and Sophia’s antics wash over me, the darkness only broken by the images on the screen.
I’m almost asleep when the bed shifts and someone slides in next to me.
Ryder.
“What the hell,” I say as I turn, suddenly wide awake, “do you think you’re doing?”
Chapter Eleven
Ryder
“Sleeping here.”
She’s glaring at me and suddenly this great idea doesn’t seem that great. In the light of the Golden Girls, it seems a little iffy.
“Your sofa’s too small. It’s pretty and I’m sure it’s comfortable to sit on, but not to sleep. I’m six two. I’m not made for sofa sleeping. And this bed is big.”
“If you say just right, Goldilocks,” she says, grumpiness infusing her words and sending a bright spark of warmth through my blood, “I’ll bite you.”
“Do your fangs come out after midnight? I haven’t fed you.”
“That’s Gremlins, not vampires, idiot. Go back to the sofa. This is not for you.”
I know that. I’m not an idiot. She might sometimes look at me like I’m a delicious dessert she wants to devour, but she doesn’t actually want me. And I don’t want her, no matter how fascinating she is. No matter how good she tasted.
Elliot would probably cause bodily harm if I made a move, and I sort of find that refreshing. She’s like no one or nothing I’ve known. And falling asleep with her has the markings of a different kind of pleasure.
“I know that,” I say, trying to reassure her of my noble intentions, “as if I’d make a move on you.”
Elliot kicks me and makes a snorting sound. “I know that. I get it.”
There’s something about the way she says it that rouses curiosity. “Why do you say that?”
“You said that.”
“I meant…” I sigh. “I meant I’m not going to maul you or seduce you. That’s not my style.”
“Yes, it is. The latter, anyway. I haven’t heard anything about unwanted maulings.”
