What’s he doing out there? Why isn’t he asleep?
The kettle whistles and without thinking twice, I pour water into two mugs, add the teabags, and step outside.
His head snaps up, hearing me entering the solarium through the ajar door.
I rock back on the balls of my feet for a second, sheepishly. “Hi.”
He watches me silently like a hawk, eyes burning.
Thane’s sitting sideways on a black leather chaise longue, his legs manspread and his body hunched forward, his joined hands hanging between his legs. He’s only in black boxers, his upper torso bare and a silver chain around his neck.
God, I want that chain dangling in my face.
My cheeks heat up as the thought fires into my brain.
“Hey,” he rasps, swallowing.
Before I entered, his eyes were on the moon. Now I’m the recipient of all his attention. It’s a heady sensation.
“I couldn’t sleep and made myself some tea.” I point one of the mugs towards the kitchen. “I spotted you from there so I…”
Came to see you since you have a gravitational pull on me.
“Am I intruding?” I finally ask, hoping he doesn’t say yes.
He shakes his head before tipping his chin at the two mugs I’m holding. “You going to drink those two, Marlow?”
I shift on my feet. “No. I made one for you.”
Thane’s face gentles and he jerks his head at the other chaise longue in front of him. “Sit.”
Tingles shoot down my spine. In the span of twenty-four hours, I’ve come to learn that not only do I enjoy hearing his deep voice, but I love being commanded in it. I picture what it would be like if we were to have sex and if he’d talk me through it, boss me around, praise me for being a good listener.
Biting my lip, I sink into the chaise longue opposite him. Our bare knees and toes almost touch. Thane widens his manspread and now my legs are in-between his.
I hand him the mug with the lavender tea. His fingers brush mine. I shiver.
The air in the solarium is warm. But my nipples still pebble. Of course, it has everything to do with being in the presence of the hottest man to ever exist. The fabric of my pink babydoll is thin. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to hide my desire for him, but another one that incites me to lean forward and cross a leg over the other, folding myself in and letting my blonde hair fall over my breasts, granting me a shield of sorts.
Except now my cleavage is more prominent and the hemline of my babydoll has ridden higher, exposing the tops of my thighs.
Thane’s nostrils flare and his eyes darken. He looks feral. Like a predator getting ready to pounce on a prey.
My pulse beats fast, sheer animal magnetism brewing in the space between us.
“Why are you up?” he asks, words razor-sharp.
I jolt a little and bring my tea to my lips, blowing on it softly so I don’t burn my tongue on the first sip. Thane watches the movement like he wants to be on the other end of it. Dirty man. I barely hide my smirk. “Couldn’t sleep. You?”
“Couldn’t sleep either.” His fist tightens around the mug. For a moment, I think it’ll snap in half and the hot liquid will spill all over him. “Had a nightmare.”
Oh. I frown. “Do you have those often?”
Thane debates whether he should say anything before relenting. “I dreamed of my parents. The last time I saw them before their car crash.”
Before he became a legal guardian to Michaela.
I almost choke on my sip.
