Page 37 of Securing Jane

Jane smiled at him. “Thanks.”

He squeezed her hand once more, then let go to finish eating. They talked about nothing important until they were done and continued talking as they sat on the couch afterward. In fact, Jane couldn’t remember ever talking this much about nothing with someone else and not feeling awkward or having any long pauses between topics.

It wasn’t until he yawned that she looked at her watch and realized it was almost ten o’clock. They’d been chatting away for hours. “Holy crap,” she exclaimed. “It’s late.”

Storm chuckled. “So it is. You ready to head up?”

He made it sound so normal. This was only the third time they’d spent the night together, and already it felt as if they’d done it a hundred times. “Yeah,” she told him.

“I’ll just make sure everything’s tidied up and locked down here. You go on up. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

She appreciated him giving her some time to get situated. She felt comfortable with him, but not quite comfortable enough yet to change in front of him as if she’d done it every day of her life.

She nodded and stood, but Storm grabbed her hand before she could walk off.

“Jane?”

“Yeah?”

“I like this. A lot. You have an open invitation to stay over here as much as you want. Feel free to leave some of your things too, to make it easier. Shampoo, nightgown…whatever.”

Jane stared at Storm for a heartbeat. “Are you sure?” she asked quietly. “I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”

Storm stood and ran his finger down her cheek. “I’m more than sure. I feel more relaxed and content with you here.”

Now that was an awesome compliment.

He brushed his thumb over her lips then stood back. “Go on. I’ll be there in a bit.”

Nodding, Jane grabbed her bag and headed up the stairs. Upon entering his room, she took a deep breath, loving how it smelled like him. She quickly changed into the boy shorts and T-shirt she liked to wear to bed and got ready in the bathroom. By the time Storm came upstairs, she was sitting in his bed with her iPad, reading.

He saw her and smiled hugely. “Fuck, I love seeing you there,” he muttered then headed for the bathroom. He came back out a few minutes later wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. He turned off the overhead light and climbed in next to her.

“Will it bother you if I read?” she asked.

“No,” Storm said immediately. “Does it bother you that I left the bathroom light on? I’m not a fan of pitch-dark rooms. Spent some time in captivity once and ever since, haven’t liked the dark.”

“Of course not,” she told him, feeling her heart break for him. If he wanted to leave all the lights on in the room, she wouldn’t complain. How could she after what he’d been though?

“Thanks.” Then he plumped his pillow, scooted closer, lay on his side, and draped his arm across her lower stomach.

Jane sat next to him pretending to read for several minutes before she thought he’d fallen asleep. She glanced over at him. His eyes were closed, his mouth was partly open, and he was breathing deeply. She could see the hair on his naked chest and the way his arm muscles bulged even when he was completely relaxed. In short, Storm was absolutely beautiful, and it was hard for Jane to come to terms with the fact that she was in his bed. That he had his arm around her, holding her to him as if he was afraid she’d sneak away when he was sleeping.

Jane loved reading, fell asleep reading most nights. But tonight she didn’t need to lose herself in the words of her favorite authors. She was living her own beautiful romance, and she had no idea how she’d gotten there.

Storm wanted her to stay over more? Wanted her to leave some of her things at his place? Hell yes. She was one hundred percent on board with that.

Reaching over, she put her iPad on the table next to her and scooted down on the bed.

“Everything okay?” Storm mumbled, and Jane’s heart melted even more. Even half asleep he was worrying about her.

“I’m good. Go back to sleep,” she told him gently.

Storm turned onto his back but pulled her toward him. Jane rested her head on his shoulder, and his arm went around her. She snuggled into him and was rewarded with his contented sigh. Her arm rested on his belly, and his free hand lay hot and heavy on top of her forearm.

They were plastered together—and she’d never been more comfortable.

“Hopefully you won’t have nightmares sleeping in my arms, but if you do, I’m here,” he told her quietly, then turned and kissed her forehead. Jane swore he was snoring seconds later, but it didn’t matter if he’d been cognizant of what he’d said or not. She’d treasure his caring words and actions forever.