She went quiet for a second before whispering, “I don’t usually sleep next to anyone.”
That pulled his attention immediately. “No?”
Dani shook her head slightly against him. “I leave before anyone has the chance to fall asleep.” Something sharp twisted in his chest because she had trained herself not to stay longenough to need anyone. Jonnas tipped her chin up gently until she looked at him.
“You don’t have to run from me.” Emotion flickered instantly across her face, even half asleep.
“I know,” she whispered. And the terrifying thing was that she sounded like she meant it.
Jonnas brushed his thumb slowly across her cheek while studying her quietly. “You know what I realized tonight?”
“What?” she asked.
“I’m gonna spoil the hell out of you,” he admitted.
A sleepy laugh escaped her. “That sounds like it could get expensive.”
“I can afford it,” he insisted.
“I don’t mean money.” His chest tightened because she understood exactly what he meant already. Jonnas leaned down and kissed her forehead softly.
“You know what I saw tonight?” he murmured.
“What?” she asked.
“A woman so starved for gentleness that being cared for makes her emotional.” Dani looked away immediately. Her instinctive embarrassment kicked in again, but Jonnas wasn’t having it.
“Hey,” he breathed. Her eyes came back to his instantly. “You don’t get to be ashamed of needing comfort.”
Her throat bobbed slightly. “I’m trying not to be.”
“No.” His voice softened. “You’re trying to deserve it, and I told you that my giving you comfort isn’t something that you have to earn.” The truth of it settled heavily between them. Dani’s eyes shimmered immediately. Every time she looked at him like that, something fierce and protective came alive inside him.
“I don’t know how to stop,” she admitted quietly.
Jonnas pulled her a little closer. “You don’t have to fix everything tonight, baby girl.” He felt the tiny shiver move through her body as her fingers curled lightly against his chest, and somehow, that small gesture hit him harder than anything else she had done that night.
“You know what I want?” she whispered after a long silence.
“What?” he asked.
“More of this.” The honesty in her voice nearly stopped his heart, because he wanted that too. He wanted more nights with her curled against him, more sleepy conversations, and more moments where she stopped carrying the weight of the world alone. Hell, he wanted all of it.
Jonnas tilted her face toward his carefully. “Then, that’s what you’ll have.”
Her breath caught softly. “You say things like that so easily.”
“Only because they’re true,” he admitted. Dani stared at him for a long moment like she still couldn’t fully understand why he meant the things he said to her. That uncertainty was becoming harder and harder for him to tolerate, not because he was frustrated with her, but because somebody should’ve loved her properly long before now.
“You should sleep,” he murmured finally.
“You first,” she challenged.
Jonnas huffed out a laugh. “Bossy.”
“You like it,” she breathed. Unfortunately, she wasn’t wrong. He kissed her softly once more before settling back against the pillows, keeping her tucked tightly against his chest the entire time. And sometime before sleep finally dragged him under, Jonnas realized something that should’ve terrified him. He couldn’t remember what his life felt like before Dani anymore.
Dani
