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Sean kissed her. Just a soft brush of his lips against hers. And then he paused there until she leaned in to ask for more. By the time they came up for air, she was straddling his lap and his hands were in her hair.
“I don’t think anyone has ever stood up for me like that before,” he said, his voice a deep rumble.
“Well, you can count on me to do it as much as you need from now on,” she said, making a promise that she didn’t fully understand the contours of. How could this sentiment feel so right and so wrong at the same time? She rested her forehead against his.
“I’m feeling kinda glad that truck hit me,” he said, “‘cause you wouldn’t be sitting here in my arms if it hadn’t.” For once, his tone was entirely serious, so this wasn’t him trying to deflect with humor.
She took his face in her hands. “Riddick, I will never feel grateful about you getting hurt, but I am grateful that something pushed us past all the frenemies B.S. so that I could be sitting here in your arms right now.”
This time when they kissed, it stayed soft and sweet. “I’m sorry I woke you up,” he said, kissing her again.
“I’m not.”
“Think you can get back to sleep again?”
“Yeah, probably,” she said.
They moved to get under the covers, but this time he held out an arm, inviting her to snuggle in. She accepted the invitation, fitting herself in against the side of his big body. When he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tighter, Dani could’ve cried at how good it felt—both because it’d been so long since she’d last been held this way, and because she imagined embracing like this wasn’t something Sean was used to doing.
So she lifted a knee atop his thigh and pressed her face into crook of his neck to give him the full snuggling experience. If you were going to do something, you might as well do it right.
“Mmm.” The appreciative sound came from deep in his throat. “Night, D.”
“Night, Sean.”
Now, Dani just had to decide, was this going to become an us thing, too?
Chapter Seventeen
Sean woke up with a smile, which was not a thing that usually happened. But it dropped back off his sleepy face the second he realized Daniela wasn’t still with him in his bed.
Fuck, had she left in the middle of the night? His gut was saying no way, but that old sabotaging part of his brain was saying she probably ran as fast as she fuckin’ could, sucka!
He shifted onto one elbow. “Daniela?”
“Sean.”
The voice was no more than a croak, and it was coming…from under his bed. “What the shit?” He peered over the edge—and found Daniela laying in a ball on the carpet wearing only her T-shirt and thong. “Why are you on the floor? How long have you been down there?” He was off the bed and kneeling next to her in an instant.
“Not long,” she said. “I’m sorry I had to wake you up again.”
Frowning, he brushed the hair back off her face. “Never apologize for needing me, Dani. Fuck, you’re burning up.” He cupped his hand against her forehead.
“Are you saying I’m hot?” she asked weakly, not quite managing a smile.
“You know that shit is true,” he said, not feeling up to joking around when her skin felt so scarily warm.
“I was making my way back from the bathroom when nausea and dizziness hit me so hard I wasn’t sure if I was going to throw up or pass out. And…uh, oh God,” she put her hand to her mouth.
Sean bolted to the bathroom, grabbed the trash can, and returned to her. “Here.”
Dani curled over it, and Sean felt so damn bad for her. He scooped her hair into one hand and held it back as she puked. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Don’t you worry about a thing, D. Whatever you need.”
She peered up at him, her face ashen. “I think it’s passed for now.”
“Think you could get into bed?” he asked.
“Maybe?”
“Come on.” He nearly lifted her himself when she proved a little shaky. She groaned and pressed a hand to her head. “Hurting?”
“Yeah,” she said, crawling into his spot. Laying on her side, she drew her knees up until she was in a tight ball.
“I have Tylenol and Aleve. Preference?”
“Better go with Tylenol with my belly feeling like this,” she said, her eyes glassy.
“Okay. You rest. Be right back.” He scooped up the trash can to clean out. Sean’s gut was a knot of concern as he did that then found the Tylenol and a thermometer in his bathroom medicine cabinet. He filled a cup with water, rushed back to her, and settled on the edge of the bed. “Here you go.”
