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“So you just said that wasn’t how it was going to work?” I poke his solid chest with my index finger to bring him back to the conversation.
“Um? No, there will be no mad fucking. This six weeks is all about you, little one.”
I pout. “You mean you won’t…?”
He shakes his head. “No, you must be the one to make the decision about our relationship, my sweet mouse.”
“But only with your rules.”
He nods, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“Because you don’t really believe I know what I want?”
He nods again, this time his expression has turned to stone.
“What about kisses or hugs, or stuff like that?”
“You must initiate what you desire. But you will sleep naked in my arms every night. That much I require for my sanity. Or possibly my lack of it,” he muses quietly.
I suck in a deep breath. This will require a lot of bravery. “When does this start? Now?”
He chuckles and rubs a hand softly down my back. “In the morning. I think we both need to sleep on this. See if you have more questions or concerns. But the sleeping together starts tonight. So maybe you should go get ready for bed?” He arches an eyebrow at me like it’s a dare, probably waiting for me to cut and run from the whole thing. He’s got some surprises coming.
I trace a single finger down the line of Nick’s stern jaw, feeling his pulse jump. “You’re going down, Mr. Savage,” I say with glee as I hop off his lap. He groans, but his hands still cage me protectively until he sees me steady on my feet. I’m going to have to break through his overprotective streak, or we’ll never get anywhere. But I’m so relieved to have a possible path out of what seemed like a dead end, I feel nothing but determination fill my soul.
I head upstairs, not attempting to look seductive while I do it. I tried all that in New York and Nick was oblivious, or at least I thought so. It certainly didn’t have the desired effect. No, we’ll play this by his rules. Sort of. I know a few things I didn’t know two months ago and I need time to ponder that new knowledge and what it might mean.
Stripping out of my clothes, I brush my teeth quickly and slide under the thin white sheet on my bed. I showered before we went to dinner, so there’s not much left to my bedtime routine. It doesn’t usually involve waiting for a man to join me, though. Okay, never before tonight, but since he’s already told me we’re not doing anything, I’m clueless as to what preparations to make.
It’s warm enough not to need more than a sheet even in the air-conditioned coolness of the house, which since it’s a heat exchange, isn’t as cool up here as the sunken living room but still better than the yard. It’s getting dark outside but there’s still enough light to not bump into furniture, so as I slide over in the bed, leaving most of the space for Nick, I speculate on how long he’ll be.
The soft beep of the car alarm tells me he’s gone out to get his bags, so maybe not quite as long as I thought. He doesn’t say anything as he enters the room and heads to the en suite bathroom. The noise of the shower has my legs shifting restlessly, trying to imagine Nick naked. I mean, I guess I could get up and look, but that might use up the bravery I need for tomorrow. So instead I stare into the darkness, a little tense from the uncertainty of it all, and wait.
The sound of water stops abruptly, and I turn my head towards the bathroom door in the darkness. I don’t know if he’s being thoughtful or what, but Nick shut off the bathroom light before opening the door so I can’t see more than a hulking shadow that’s darker than the surrounding dark. Then the mattress dips precariously and I hold my breath.
“Breathe, little mouse. I’m not going to eat you tonight,” Nick states dryly. The sound of his deep voice in the stillness goes straight to my core.
“I don’t… I… it’s just that…” I mutter defensively.
He chuckles and I feel his large hands land unerringly on my body, turning and shifting me onto my side, facing away from him. “It’s strange and different? I can’t say as I’ve ever found myself in this position either.”
Somehow he’s arranged us so he has one hand on my sternum, carefully not touching my generous breasts although that’s not completely unavoidable and one on the backs of my thighs holding me away from his lower body. Darn it. I smirk into my pillow. Only I know that I’m a sprawler. I don’t know when or how, but somewhere in the night I’ll be dominating this bed. For now, I’m going to let him think he’s in charge.
“Tell me something I don’t already know about you,” I whisper into the dark.
“I have no idea what you do know, Candace. Clearly, I’ve been oblivious when it comes to you.” His thumb sweeps over the skin of my ribcage, not moving his hand but simply touching.
“Then tell me about your childhood.”
He snorts softly. “That’s not the stuff that makes for sweet dreams, little one. Did I tell you the story of how I landed in New York with only five words of English?”
“No. Tell me,” I order sweetly while wrapping my fingers around his hand and snuggling into my pillow. I let his voice wash over me, his accent thickening as he talks of wandering the streets looking for someone that spoke Russian or even Polish which he knew a little of. While sticking to the shadows because he knew he looked scary and didn’t want to attract the attention of either the police or the local mobs.He had nobody to give him a hug. How sad,I think to myself as his words begin to fade away.
6
I grin sleepily into Nick’s broad chest as I come awake. I’m slightly giddy with the realization that I’m sprawled naked over the man of my dreams. For real. Not just in my imagination this time. His skin is warm beneath my cheek and the soft rise and fall of his ribs is soothing. I take a second to just breathe it all in, to temper my excitement with a solid dose of stubborn man reality.
And I was right. I completely took over the bed. Nick’s now lying in the middle of the mattress on his back and I’m draped over him. My body is covering more of him than I should be able to reach, but somehow I stretch thin like a pancake when I’m sleeping. I always worried that some future lover would end up feeling trapped in a net. But from the way Nick’s hand is firmly cupping my butt, I think he can handle it.
