That did something to his chest he wasn’t prepared to examine too closely.
She slept completely opposite to how she lived when she was awake: dramatically and unapologetically. It was almost a thing of beauty to see her this unguarded.
He just hadn’t known how it would feel to wake up with her tangled in his bed.
Didn’t know how it would feel to know the weight of her in his arms or the warmth of her skin in the dark. The way she said his name when she stopped overthinking and just felt. He’d always thought of her as sunshine. Steady and sweet. His favorite distraction.
But now?
Now she was like…sexy sunshine.
Ugh…that didn’t sound right, and yet it fit.
She was still sweet, still stubborn, and still the woman who drank too much coffee and pretended she wasn’t soft.
But now he knew so much more about her: the breathy sighs, the soft skin, the glorious curves, the secret places he could touch that made her wild, and the way his sweet, practical girl was one hell of a tigress in bed.
He reached out before he could stop himself, brushing a stray piece of hair off her cheek. She made a quiet sound and burrowed deeper into his pillow, stealing even more of it.
He huffed softly. “Unbelievable,” he murmured under his breath.
They’d agreed that they could only have the one night. That they could keep it simple. That it would stay contained.
Watching her sprawled across his bed like she belonged there, he had the uneasy feeling he’d just made a very complicated mistake.
And the worst part?
Hell, he wasn’t even sure he could agree with it only being one night. How was he supposed to watch her leave his cabin and then see her later on and not want her? It wasn’t possible. He had an excellent memory, and he knew every time he saw her from this moment on, he was going to remember the way she looked sprawled out naked on his bed. Or the way she gripped his hair in both hands while he did all kinds of wicked things to her with his tongue. Or the way she panted his name and begged for more.
How was he supposed to just tuck all of that away and be okay with never experiencing it again?
Beside him, Evie shifted and then stretched, which would’ve been harmless… if she hadn’t rolled over and stretched directly into him.
Onto him.
Her leg slid over his hip. Her hand dragged across his chest. Her forehead bumped against his collarbone.
Slater went very still as she made a soft, sleepy sound and burrowed closer. “Evie,” he said quietly, and then held his breath.
“…mmm?”
“You’re stealing the bed.”
For a moment, she didn’t utter a sound, but then she snuggled closer again.
“I don’t believe that,” she mumbled.
He gave a quiet laugh. “You’re diagonal.”
“I like options,” she said, still half asleep.
Her fingers flexed against him. Then stilled.
Everything stilled.
Her breathing changed first, not sleepy anymore, but definitely aware. Very slowly, she lifted her head. Her hair was a mess. There was a faint crease on her cheek from the pillow. Her eyes blinked open—soft and unfocused—and then widened when she registered exactly where she was.
“Oh.”
