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“The power’s out.”
He sat up, a vaguely darker shape in the overall gloom of the room and she headed toward him.
“It’s okay.” He sounded hoarse. “No need to panic.”
She grabbed hold of his hand like a lifeline.
“Hey, you’re shaking.”
His night vision was obviously much better than hers because the next minute he’d picked her up, tucked her in beside him, and put his arm around her shoulders.
She leaned in against his warm bare skin. “I hate the dark.”
“Yeah?” He hugged her even closer. “The backup generator should kick in any moment now.”
She shivered and placed a tentative hand on his chest. “It should’ve happened immediately. There must be something wrong.”
“I’ll take a look at it in a minute.”
“I don’t want you risking your life out there,” Lucy warned him.
His low chuckle resonated in his chest. “I’m not that stupid. I’m happy to wait it out until morning.” He paused. “Seeing as there’s no heating, why don’t you stay here with me?”
“In your bed?”
“You’re already in it,” Caleb reminded her as he smoothed her hair like she was a cat. “It’s way easier to stay here than leave and get cold and afraid again.”
“I don’t want to be by myself,” Lucy confessed. “I get really . . . panicky when it’s dark and I feel like I’m trapped.”
Caleb’s hand stilled in her hair. “Wait—this doesn’t have anything to do with me, does it?”
“No, this one was all Dan. He locked me in the closet under the stairs, went outside to play, and forgot about me for hours.”
“Shit.” Caleb dropped a kiss on her head. “That’s terrible.”
“To be fair he was really upset when he realized what he’d done, but I’ve never stopped getting stressed about small, dark spaces,” Lucy admitted.
“I’m not surprised.”
Lucy rubbed her cheek against Caleb’s chest hair and wondered how his beard would feel against her skin. She’d only just realized he was completely naked under the covers whereas she was covered neck to toe in a flannel nightdress.
“How about we lie down again?” Caleb suggested. “It’s still dark. We can sleep through till it’s light, and then get up, and assess the damage.”
“Okay.”
He eased them both lower on the pillows, keeping his arm around her. She fitted perfectly against his side, her slightly bent knee close to the jut of his hip, and her hand palm down on his chest over his steadily beating heart.
“Is this all right, or do you want me to let you go?”
“No!” She instinctively dug her fingers into his skin, and he winced. “Sorry!”
“Not a problem.” He sounded even more hoarse. “I forget that even sweet little kittens have claws.”
She smiled against his skin and breathed in a whole lungful of essence of Caleb Erickson, which made her feel quite giddy. Between her fear of the dark and her fascination with Caleb she wasn’t sure how she was expected to sleep. The man of her dreams didn’t appear to have the same problem. He gradually relaxed beside her, his breathing slowing, his grip on her shoulder easing as he fell asleep again.
Lucy sighed and closed her eyes. She’d imagined being this close to Caleb many times. She hadn’t anticipated he’d be so unaware of her that she’d bore him back to sleep. Maybe it was time to admit that he felt nothing for her except friendship and stop her foolish obsession with him.
* * *
