Page 96 of A Wild Darkness

I run a weary hand through my hair. “I don’t know if it’s jealousy fueling me or what, but the stakes are high, and if I let a moment of desire ruin the job we’re here to do, things could get bad quickly.”

Stevie avoids making eye contact with me.

“I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t want to.” I reach out to touch her face, but she moves away. “I have to protect us both. We need to operate with clear heads.”

“Oh, okay,” she says. “Of course. Maybe it was the wine.” She had nothing to drink tonight.

I agree anyway. “Yeah.”

“Well, I guess we should get some sleep.” She rests her hands on her knees, then pauses for a beat before standing. “Um, good night, Sebastian.”

Fuck. What am I doing? She’s upset now, or maybe even embarrassed. I want her so unbelievably badly. The urge to take her into my arms and sink my dick into her is crazy, but the need to protect her is stronger.

“Good night.”

The bedroom door slams shut behind me.

Fuck.

I should apologize again, but if I go into the bedroom, I know I won’t come back out. And there’s no way I could sleep next to her. It’s becoming more difficult not to give in to temptation.

The blankets and pillows lie haphazardly on the couch. With one arm, I scoop them up and place them on the floor in front of Stevie’s bedroom door. If anyone is coming in or out of this room, I’ll know about it.

Making a small bed from the thick blankets, I kick off my shoes and climb in. I can shower in the morning, and hopefully, she’ll be in better spirits by then.

As my body relaxes, my eyelids slowly close and I drift off to sleep. The low hum of the air conditioner rumbles inside the dark room. In what feels like no time, I hear the quiet latch of the door above my head. Lifting my eyes upward, I catch a dark figure standing at my side.

“What are you doing down there?” Stevie asks.

I smile. “Sleeping.”

“I can see that. But why are you on the floor?”

She’s wearing a matching black pajama set and has tied her hair into a loose bun on top of her head. My chest tightens. Stevie is sexy dressed in heels and a form-fitting dress, but the way she looks with no makeup on and her hair up is breathtaking.

“It’s more comfortable than the couch?” I offer unconvincingly.

She cocks her hips to the side. “That can’t be true. Tell me, Sebastian.”

I cross my arms over my chest and stare up at her. “I can’t sleep in that bed with you again because I’m afraid I’ll lose all self-control.”

Stevie’s lungs rise with a sharp breath. “Oh?”

“And the couch is too far away.”

“I can’t let you sleep on the floor,” she says.

“You don’t have a choice.”

Stevie turns and storms back into the bedroom.

When I think she’s given up and gone to bed, she emerges carrying a fluffy white pillow in her arms.

“Then I guess we’re both sleeping on the floor.” She tosses the pillow to the side of mine.

I push myself up onto my elbows to get a closer look at her. “You don’t need to do that. I’m fine, I promise.”

“You have two choices,” she begins. “You either sleep in the bed with me, or I’m staying on the floor with you.”