He just somehow had to make it through this night without touching her, let alone what he truly wanted to do with her.
And then every night after that, until she decided she wanted him, or until she broke him.
The tension between them had been growing since they had said those vows in the blacksmith shop. He wasn’t sure what had caused it, but it was as though all of the fun and flirtation that had previously been between them had vanished, leaving in its wake a strange uncertainty.
Perhaps it was time to bring back what had been before.
He knocked softly on the door to see if she was ready for him to return. He knew the gentlemanly thing to do would likely be to sleep on the floor, but then, Tommy had never pretended to be a gentleman.
She was his wife, and he would sleep in the bed beside her.
“Minnie?” he called out softly as he eased the door open a crack. Hearing nothing, he peeked his head in, finding her tucked away in the middle of the bed.
He stepped quietly into the room, walking over toward her, bending low and brushing the hair back away from her face.
He had waited too long.
She was fast asleep.
And not just the fake sleep of a woman trying to avoid intimacy.
No, she was sleeping deeply already, her chest rising and falling, the slightest of snores emerging from her slightly open mouth.
He had no wish to wake her. He expected nothing of her, and she had clearly been exhausted after all she had been through to this point. He had seen the heaviness of her eyes in the tavern but had been too tempted by the empty stage to take her home until afterward.
He smiled to himself, feeling honored to be the man taking care of her. He tucked the blankets up around her chin and then pulled off his shirt and climbed into the bed next to her.
He tried to keep his distance, but his body betrayed him, angling toward her as though seeking her warmth across the space between them. He lifted a hand, rubbing it along the soft skin of one exposed arm, and she shivered in her sleep. Perhaps she was not so immune to his touch after all.
Despite all of his conflicting emotions, when he thought of the day, of the woman he could now call his wife, he smiled once more and then fell fast asleep along with her.
Tommy woke languidly, his back arching into the pleasure that awaited him. He must be in the middle of a dream. A very good dream. One in which the most beautiful woman in the world was tucked in next to him. Her head rested on his bicep, her hands trailed over his chest, stroked his back, were now heading lower to?—
His eyes flew open.
This was no dream. Minnie was very clearly in front of him, in bed with him.
Only she was the one who was still captured in slumber.
Her eyes were closed, murmurs coming off of her lips, but he had a feeling that if she woke and found herself in such a position, she would be mortified.
As much as it pained him to do so, Tommy tried to slowly slide away from her in bed, but her hand clasped his bare arm and held him close.
“Tommy,” she murmured, and he couldn’t help his chest puffing out in pride. At least she was dreamingof him and no one else.
He closed his eyes and allowed himself one moment to enjoy. Just a moment, as her fingers discovered his abdominal muscles, which he knew were sculpted from his work in the shop and all of the training Rhys made them do on the football field. She seemed to enjoy it as her fingers stroked his pecs, and he swallowed hard when they danced up over his neck and across the stubble on his chin. He closed his eyes, resting his head back down, and took a deep breath to steady himself.
Tommy sensed the moment Minnie woke up, for suddenly her explorations stilled and she stayed frozen in front of him. Not wanting to scare her away, he kept his eyes closed, pretending he was still sleeping. He didn’t know how convincing he was, but she finally retracted her hands and tucked them under her head. When he opened his own eyes, he saw her pretending to sleep once again.
It seemed two could play that game, although he wasn’t sure how well either of them had done it.
He stretched his arms overhead as though just waking, yawning as he did before he turned and looked at her. Her blue eyes were still cloudy with sleep, and a small smile played on her lips.
Tommy turned his hips so that she wouldn’t see the evidence of his desire from her early morning explorations. He had already been heightened just from spending time with her, being in bed next to her. She had taken him to another level, and one more touch below his waist would likely set him off.
But she didn’t need to know that.
Not yet.
