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“Oh, sorry. Did I fall asleep?” She yawned and rubbed her eyes as I set her on her feet.
“You need rest,” I replied.
She looked at my bed, then around the room, and frowned up at me. “I don’t want to kick you out of your bed. If you don’t have a guest room, I can sleep on the couch.”
“You’re not sleeping on the couch, gorgeous,” I grunted. “I’ll find you something to wear.”
I helped her onto the bed, then turned and strolled over to my dresser.
“I’m okay in this,” she said, then immediately yawned again. “I…”
She trailed off, and when I turned back around, T-shirt in hand, I chuckled. Annalise had fallen asleep midsentence.
I removed her shoes, then considered whether to leave it at that. But I told myself she needed to be comfortable, so I gently took off her pants and top. Doing my best not to disturb her too much, I lifted her just enough to unclasp her bra, then slipped my shirt over her head. Once I laid her back down, I reached under the fabric and drew her bra down her arms before pulling them through the sleeves of the shirt.
She was so small compared to me; my shirt practically swallowed her. It was cute…and fuck, I loved seeing her in my clothes. I admired my sleeping beauty for a few seconds more before tucking her under the blankets.
Strolling out to my living room, I quickly called Deacon and filled him in on the rest of the details. He assured me he’d find something, and we hung up. Before going back to the bedroom, I retrieved a bottle of pain relievers and a glass of water. I putthem down on the nightstand, then I set an alarm on my watch to check on her every few hours before removing my brace and getting as comfortable as I could on the chair next to the bed, with my feet propped on the edge of the mattress.
7
Annalise
Being in a strange bed after how awful my evening had gone—and with a pounding headache—I hadn’t expected sleep to come easily to me. But I didn’t remember much after my head hit the pillow, and when my eyes blinked open, sunlight already streamed through the sides of the shades covering the window I faced.
With the shadows under his eyes and wrinkled clothes, he looked as though he’d been there all night. “Did you get any sleep?”
“I managed to catch a few winks,” he answered, getting to his feet to stride over to the bed.
My gaze dropped to the brace on the floor near his leg. “Getting a good night’s sleep is important for the healing process.”
“Only getting a couple of hours this one time isn’t going to hurt anything when I’m four months past the injury,” he reassured me as he sat on the edge of the mattress and brushed my hair away from my forehead. “The same couldn’t be said for you last night. You’re probably hours past needing these.”
He reached over to grab a glass of water and a couple of pain relievers from the bedside table. I gratefully accepted them, draining the glass. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. How’re you feeling this morning?”
“Better than I expected. The brightness isn’t bothering my head, and the ache is down to just a dull throb that I barely notice.” I shifted on the mattress, tugging the sheet higher on my lap when the movement had it dropping down near my knees. “And the body aches are about the same as after a decent workout. Nothing a hot shower won’t fix.”
“We’ll get right on that then.” His hand clenched at his side, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because he had the same image in his head as I did mine…of us together in his shower. Naked. With nothing but the steam from hot water between us.
Shaking my head to dispel the fantasy, I blurted, “See how much good getting some rest can do for your body? I don’t think it took me long to fall asleep.”
“Yeah, one minute you were talking to me while I was grabbing you something to wear, and the next, you were out,” he confirmed with a nod.
I flashed him a shy smile. “What can I say? Your bed is really comfy, and I was exhausted.”
“Maybe I should’ve mentioned that when I was talking you into coming home with me last night,” he teased.
“It probably wouldn’t have hurt.” As I winked at him, I finally connected the fact that he’d been getting me something to change into when I passed out…and I was currently wearing it. “Um, how did I end up in your shirt if I was asleep?”
“I wanted you to be comfortable so you’d get all the rest you needed, so I changed you out of your stuff and into my T-shirt.” I had a feeling that was what he was going to say, but my eyes still widened, and he hurriedly added, “No inappropriate touching or looking, and your bra stayed on until my shirt was covering you.I’d never take advantage of you that way. I just wanted to take care of you.”
“I know. I trust you.” I was surprised to find that I wasn’t irritated by Kade’s attentiveness like I would’ve been if he were my brother or father. At least the guy hovering was hot instead of related to me….which reminded me. “I’m not imagining things, right? You told the paramedic that we’re engaged?”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, the guy wasn’t going to let me on the ambulance with you without a damn good reason, so I told him I was your fiancé.”
I lifted my left hand and wiggled my fingers. “He must not be that observant, or else he would’ve noticed I wasn’t wearing your ring.”
