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He’d learned this trick years ago when he’d first left home. If he focused solely on the length of each inhale and exhale, he’d be sound asleep within minutes.
Not tonight.
Tonight, after an indeterminate amount of time, his eyes popped open, and he found himself staring into the dark room.
What the hell? The room was almost too quiet. The soundless air filled his nose, ears, and lungs, practically choking him. It didn’t make sense. Moose loved the quiet. He thrived on it, craved it, and required it to function. Nothing made him happier than long hours on the road alone, followed by peaceful, undisturbed nights. He’d often spend hours reading, which surprised everyone he met. No one ever expected an antisocial biker to be well-read.
But he wasn’t alone tonight.
Tension hung thick in the air, as palpable as if it were a third person in the motel room.
He strained to make out the sounds of Daisy’s breathing. Had it evened out into the rhythmic pattern of slumber? Or did sleep elude her as it did for him?
“This is ridiculous,” Daisy whispered sometime later.
Guess she hadn’t fared any better than him in the sleep department.
“Hmm?”
“I’m never going to fall asleep. I feel too guilty with you down on the floor.”
“Not switching.”
A huff floated down from the bed, making his lips twitch.
“You can’t possibly be comfortable.”
He grunted.
He wasn’t. But aside from a few sore knuckles, he wasn’t injured either. What kind of man would he be if he snuggled on the bed while making Daisy sleep on the rock-hard floor?
“Look, um… this bed is really big…”
He froze. Where was she going with that?
Her face appeared over the side of the bed again, shadowed by the darkness. “You could, uh… sleep up here. There’s plenty of room.”
She wanted him to sleep in the bed with her? Was she insane?
“That’s not smart.”
She made another of those huffs of annoyance. “I figure if you were going to attack me or try to hurt me or something, you’d have done so by now. Pretty sure you can still get to me from down there. So, um… it’s stupid for you to sleep on the floor.”
Jesus. No, he wasn’t going to attack her. He wasn’t a goddamn animal. But he would end up with a boner the second he settled beside her. Had she thought about that during her little speech? Did she realize she’d be sleeping next to a giant man with a hard-on for her all night? And did she understand the hell she’d be condemning him to? Trying to fall asleep with a needy cock was nearly impossible.
Then again, so did the floor.
“Fine.”
He sighed and then crunched up to a sitting position. Standing, he grabbed the pillow from the floor and tossed it on the bed. Daisy scooted over, leaving him way more than half the bed. She was such a slight thing and barely took up any space. There would have been plenty of space for a dog if they’d been a married couple.
What the fuck?
Those were insane thoughts of the sleep-deprived.
The bed shifted as he stretched out on his back over the covers. Daisy huddled beneath them, but he was too damn warm for blankets tonight. The silence returned, but he didn’t mind it as much as before. Daisy lay curled on her side, facing away from him, a small lump under the blankets.
He remained on his back, hands folded on his chest. How many times had he been teased for sleeping like a corpse? Too many to count.
Eventually, his eyelids grew heavy, and his dick simmered down enough for him to relax into near sleep.
“Moose?”
He opened his eyes with a sigh. The woman was determined to keep him up all night. Too bad this wasn’t as fun as his nocturnal fantasies. “Hmm?”
“What’s the plan for tomorrow? I can’t stay here forever. I have a job and a home.”
“We’ll go to your house in the morning.”
“We?”
He nodded even though she wasn’t looking. “Yeah. Don’t want you going alone if they’re staking out the place.”
She sucked in a breath and then rolled over, facing him. “Do you think they might be?”
“I would.”
“Yeah, I guess that would be smart if they want to get to me.”
“While we’re there, you can pack some of your shit. Enough to stay here for a few days. Then I’ll take care of your problem.”
He kept it vague on purpose. Partly because he didn’t have a plan to fix her situation yet and partly because he didn’t want to tell her he’d have no problem killing Buster and Pete to keep her safe.
“Why?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you doing this? Helping me.”
He wasn’t prepared to answer that question beyond telling her he wanted to fuck her. Probably not the answer she was looking for. And though he did want to fuck her, it wasn’t why he decided to extend his stay and get involved in her business. The reason was far more complicated. So complex it seemed much safer to avoid analyzing it.
