Page 44 of When He Plays

Then…

Rustles. Faint rustles of sound. Her eyes strained to adjust to the darkness so that she could see what he was doing. Suspicion compelled her to ask, “Are you stripping right now?”

“Why sound so shocked? I’m pretty sure you know that I sleep in the nude. Didn’t you get a full show the other day?”

Yes, she had gotten quite the show. One that played on repeat in her mind. Charlotte just hadn’t anticipated he’d be hopping into the bed naked, with her in it. “Don’t!” A yelp. His voice had been all rumbly and sexy, while she came out sounding like Minnie Mouse. Fantastic. “Keep on your boxers, at least!”

Had the bed just shifted? Was she imagining that movement?

“I’m under the sheets,” he told her. “I’m on my side of the bed. Get that sweet ass in here with me, Charlotte. I’m exhausted, and I know you are, too.”

Nope. On the contrary, she felt weirdly wired.

Adrenaline.

Or…

No, no, she did not want to think about what else could be causing the twisting tension within her. She kicked off her shoes and climbed into bed. Her side of the bed. She practically clung to the edge.

“Did you take off your clothes?” Logan inquired in his deep, rumbling voice.

She grabbed one of the pillows—there were far too many pillows on that bed—and she plunked it down between them. “Do not cross this pillow.”

Laughter. Warm. Tempting. Seductive.

Stop it. Stop finding so much about the man to be sexy. She needed to focus on his faults. He had lots of those. He was wild. Undisciplined. He had criminals for friends. He took dangerous risks.

“I’m sorry,” Logan said, not sounding the least bit apologetic. “But that wasn’t really a yes or no response to my previous question. So, let me ask again, did you take off your clothes?”

“I took off my shoes.”

“Ah. Does that mean you always sleep fully clothed? If so, interesting point to know about you. Thanks for sharing.”

“I do not. Normally, I don’t sleep with all of my clothes on.” This was not a normal situation. “But I am now.”

“Why?” Low. “Because you don’t trust me?”

“I—”

“Or because you don’t trust yourself with me?”

Her heart could not beat faster. “Go to sleep, Logan.”

“Just so you know, if you get the urge to jump over that pillow and jump on me, I am more than willing. Totally up for anything you want to do with my body. Have at me.”

“Thanks for that.” In the dark, she rolled her eyes at him. And tried to ignore just how tempting that offer truly was. Oh, to jump on him…

“But I will not be crossing the pillow.” An oddly serious tone. For him. “You are safe with me, Charlotte.”

She…

Let go of the bed’s edge and turned toward him. She couldn’t see him, nothing but shadows, but Charlotte felt him. “Why do you try to be the bad guy?”

“Try? That’s insulting. I succeed.”

“No, you don’t. Because you save wannabe baseball players from horrible cage matches. You take care of your grandmother. You do everything you can to protect her while she is battling her dementia and you⁠—”

“Stop.” Hard. “I am not talking about my grandmother with you. The CIA has already used her more than enough. She is off-limits.”