“Eyes,” I mumble, still stuck in my twisted reality. Mr. Wright’s empty eyes. No. My gray ones. With a garbled gasp, I sit straight up. Connor’s here with me.Connor.I hear a soft click, and then the room is bathed in a warm glow that contrasts with the coolness emanating from the window.Like a little girl, I throw myself into his arms, barely pausing to untangle my feet from the sheets.
He drops sweet kisses over my hair as he pets it. “Bad dream?”
The worst. Heart galloping in my chest, I cling tightly to him. “I saw him.”
“Who, baby?”
“Mr. Wright. He was sitting on the couch and he had worms coming from his face and his neck twisted all the way around and Silas—”
Arms squeeze me tighter, chasing away the rest of the nightmare. “You didn’t see him, baby, I didn’t let you see him. Just a bad dream, but I’ve got you now. And no more Silas. I promise.” He holds me for long minutes, calming the racing of my heart and clearing away the remnants of my imagination.
“You okay now?” His scratchy voice tickles the top of my head.
I give a tiny nod. “What time is it?”
A rustle of fabric and then, “Two-thirty.”
Still a few more hours before I have to get ready for wor—no. Not anymore. I heave a sigh into his chest. “Oh, Connor. What am I going to do?”
His heartbeat thumps so hard, so suddenly, that I can feel it against my face. “Look at me,” he whispers roughly, waiting for my gaze. “Move in with me.”
“What?” Fully awake now, I push back against him but don’t get very far. “What did you say?”
Intensity coats his words as he traps me even closer. “Move in with me when your lease ends. No...tomorrow. Today, I mean.”
I wait for him to pop out with a laugh and to tell me he’s just joking. That doesn’t happen, though. He’s absolutely serious. “Connor, I can’t just pack up all my things and move into your house!”
“Why not?” he counters with a hot gleam in his eyes. “I’ve basically lived here the past three days. Now you can turn the tables. Stay with me and let me take care of you there. Toto loves you, and I know Baggy will, too.”
The man is crazy. Absolutely certifiable. But so am I for letting him get elbow-deep into my problems. I search his eyes that almost seem black in the dim light. Black like Mr. Wri—stop it!“I have to have a job. I’ve had one ever since I was sixteen and realized how liberating it was to have money of my own. Being a freeloader just doesn’t sit right with me.”
“I wouldn’t call it freeloading. Not when I’m giving it to you because I want to. But I see your point, so I’ll tell you what—you can work for me. Problem solved.”
“Work for you?” Incredulous, I narrow my eyes. Something smells fishy here. “Do you suddenly have an opening somewhere for an office manager?”
“Of sorts.” He yawns and turns the lamp off before tucking my head against him. “I’ll tell you more about it when you’re at my place. We’ll start packing first thing after breakfast. Do you think you can go back to sleep? You need a little more rest.”
That’s an excellent question. Fresh sadness over everything gently tugs at me, but I brush it away. “I’ll try to.” I snuggle closer and press my hands under my cheek, warming them on his chest and choosing to listen to his steady breathing instead of the bickering of some people out in the parking lot.
Long minutes drag endlessly in the darkness as my mind runs in circles around Connor’s offer, analyzing every angle. This could be the fresh start that I didn’t get with Silas, a chance to break away from everything holding me down. The promise of a better future for me and my babies is almost too much to resist, and it would be foolish of me to turn down something that could help us.
Wouldn’t it?
“Quit overthinking things,” Connor rumbles.
“I can’t help it. My mind won’t shut off,” I whisper back.
“No?” His whispered reply tickles my ear. “How about we do something about that?”
Oooh, boy. My brain helpfully pulls up the memories of the first time we met.Come,he’d said gruffly.My thighs clench involuntarily, and he sucks in a breath. He probably felt that.“What do you mean?”
A heavy hand slides up my back to play with my hair. “Seems you need something to take your mind off of everything.”
I shiver with sudden need. That sounds amazing. Why am I thinking about my problems when there’s a sexy man in bed with me?
“And I know just the solution,” he growls out.
Suddenly, the covers fall away and I find myself flat on my back with a dark shape hovering over me. A small whimper of desire crawls its way up my throat and silently exits. Being manhandled the right way by the right man is something I didn’t know I needed until now.
