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He sat up, looking from me to Honey before he gave his head a little shake. “I suppose I did.” His voice was slightly hoarse, the edges of his words ragged.
I reached to straighten the covers and realized the sheets were damp with sweat. My heart tumbled in my chest, twisting with a sharp ache.
“Just come to my room,” I said before I could think better of it.
Jonah seemed dazed when I curled my hand around his. He swung his legs off the bed and followed me into my bedroom. Honey nudged his knee as we crossed the hallway, and he leaned down to stroke between her ears. She hopped on her bed, circling several times before laying down with a sigh as if she was satisfied everyone in her world was okay.
“Do you want to shower?” I heard myself asking, thinking his skin was cold and clammy.
He was wearing nothing but a pair of fitted boxer briefs. He looked at me for a moment and then nodded. I walked into the bathroom off my bedroom, reaching in to turn it on and testing the water. “It’s hot,” I said.
He shucked his boxers and stepped into the shower. I stood there for a minute, wondering what to do. Then I hurried across to the guest room, finding a clean pair of boxer briefs off the top of his opened backpack. I fetched a clean towel out of the closet in the hallway and returned to the bathroom. He was already stepping out of the shower, so I simply handed him the towel.
A sense of uncertainty slipped through me as I climbed into bed again. He was a grown man. It wasn’t like he needed to come to bed with me after a nightmare, but the sheets in the guest room were damp.
A moment later, he slipped under the covers, rolling over to look at me as he rested on one elbow. “Are you sure about this?”
We looked at each other quietly in the dim light from the hallway.
“It’s unpleasant to go back to damp sheets, and I only had one extra set,” I pointed out.
“Ah.” He paused, his gaze pensive. “Was I that loud?”
“It woke me up. And Honey.” He nodded. I waited for a beat. “Do you remember your dream?” I heard myself asking, immediately wishing I could take back the question.
He was quiet for a long moment before he rolled onto his back, resting his arm behind his head and cushioning it on the bend of his elbow.
“It’s the same nightmare every time. It’s just the beginning of the shooting. The sound of the gunshots and the commotion and confusion. I think I remember getting shot, but that wasn’t really the worst part.”
“No?” I rolled onto my side, resting my palm on his chest.
“No. It was seeing the blood and the four kids who were shot right in front of me.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
He rolled his head to look at me. “Obviously, it’s not your fault. I’m sorry too. We’re all sorry. Every time there’s a school shooting, we’re all so sorry. Did you know guns are the most frequent cause of death for children in our country?”
“I could’ve guessed.”
“We’re failing,” he said, his voice ragged on the edges as if the pain was tearing at his words.
“We are,” I agreed.
He shifted, uncurling his arm from where it was tucked and rolling to face me. He brushed my hair back from my cheek, catching a curl in his fingers and spinning it around.
I could hear the echoing beat of my heart and the rush of blood in my ears as his eyes skated over my face. I slept in a soft fitted cotton tank top because I hated when fabric twisted around my body when I slept. His fingers slipped out of the curl and traced along the edge of my tank top.
Goose bumps prickled over the surface of my skin. I could feel the heat rising inside me, the need sharp.
“I like you, Alice. More than I should,” he murmured. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“I like you too, Jonah. More than I should.” I could feel my lips curling at the corners. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
My voice was a raspy whisper as my pulse began to race. Butterflies took flight, tingling inside my belly and sending sparks scattering everywhere, lighting little bonfires.
Jonah’s hand slipped down, his touch grazed over my breast, and my nipple tightened, almost begging for more. His palm slid down over my belly and up under the hem of my tank top. His touch was warm and sure, the subtly calloused surface of his palm sending a hot shock to my system. My belly tightened, and I bit my lip as he shifted closer, his lips dusting over mine. He nipped my bottom lip, tugging lightly.
I couldn’t hold back the moan that escaped. He captured it with his mouth, instantly claiming mine in an overpowering, deep kiss. His thumb teased over my nipple before he cupped my breast fully. I arched into him, feeling my pussy clench. I gasped when his palm slipped down again, coasting over my belly and dipping between my thighs. He pressed his fingers over my clit through the thin fabric of my underwear, and my hips bucked into his touch.
