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“Of course. I’ve got you, babe. Now get some rest.”
I peeked out the closet door to make sure the coast was clear and jumped into bed. Ryzen still hadn’t come up to the room.
Oh, God. Ryzen. He could not find out about this. I would just have to do my best to avoid Cian for the rest of the week. Didn’t want to trigger his memory. Which meant I would have to find a new bathroom to use. No way did I want to walk in on him again. Naked. Dripping wet in the shower. All muscular and cocky.
Nope. I pulled the blanket up to my chin and closed my eyes. Sleep. That was what I needed. I would have a clearer head in the morning.
The sun crept through the blinds hours later. My shirt clung to my back with sweat, which wasn’t the only thing clinging to me. It was like I was sleeping in an actual furnace. I lifted the covers and saw a very naked Ryzen had one arm around my waist and his legs over mine. He was wrapped around me like a snake about to eat his prey. As gently as I could, I lifted his arm from around my waist and slid my legs from underneath his. We hadn’t talked about the sleeping arrangements. I should have made a pillow barrier before passing out. I had to keep my head in the game, which meant not sleeping with Ryzen—something that was going to be hard to do if he kept going commando on me.
I shimmied my butt close to the edge of the bed and attempted to slide out gracefully. My foot caught in the sheets, and I dragged them down to the floor with me. Ryzen groaned, and I froze on the floor.
“Nova?” He yawned, and the mattress moved slightly.
I untangled the sheet from around my legs and peeked over the bed. He lay on his back, one arm thrown over his eyes. “Yes?” I gulped, trying to avert my eyes. Why did he have to look so sexy? The next few days were really going to test my willpower.
“It’s six a.m. Come back to bed.” He rubbed the mattress where I had been lying a moment ago.
Yes, Daddy.
No. Down, girl.
“Oh, I, uh, was going to shower, and take care of work emails while it’s early.” I jumped up from the floor and flung the sheet over the lower half of his body. We were going to need to have a talk about boundaries. Yes, I knew I’d been practically dry-humping him on the jet last night. That just reinforced that we needed boundaries. Otherwise, things could get messy, and quick.
I opened my luggage and pulled out one of the outfits Ryzen had bought, a black pencil skirt with a cream frilly blouse that had a bow at the collar. I was going to resemble Little Bo Peep, but if that was what he needed me to be, then I had to do it. Ryzen was leaning up on one elbow, watching me sift through the undergarments. I pulled out a pair of granny panties, stuffed them in with the rest of my clothes, and headed for our bedroom door.
“Dear, the bathroom is here.” He cocked his head toward the shared bathroom and I froze.
Crap.
“Oh, that’s a shared bathroom. It’s kind of weird. I was going to go find one down the hall.” I grinned and held my clothes tight against my chest.
He raised his eyebrow and shook his head. “Just use it, Nova.” He threw the sheet off his naked body and walked towards the shared bathroom. “Maybe I’ll join you.” He winked and tugged on the door.
It wouldn’t open.
“Hm. It’s locked from the other side.” He shrugged and walked towards me, as if it was a completely normal thing to be naked in front of each other. “I’ll ask the maid about it.”
“Uh, good idea.” He stood in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders. My pulse quickened, and not because he was standing naked right in front of me. “I’m going to go look for that shower now.” I opened the bedroom door and sped down the hall.
What. The. Hell.
Cian had locked the door. He’d lockedmeout. What did he think I was going to do? Sneak into his room and force myself on him? The audacity. If anyone should lock people out, it should be me.
I stopped halfway down the hall and turned back around. My initial plan of hiding from Cian all week had been thrown out the window. If Juliet were here, she would yell at me to let it go. Use the bathroom down the hall and just forget about it. That was the smart thing to do. Good thing she wasn’t here, though.
I stopped in front of Cian’s door and raised my hand to bang on it. I hesitated for a moment. What if Ryzen heard and came out, or one of his security walked up just then? I tapped lightly with the tip of my nail, imagining it was his forehead I was banging against. He was going to get a piece of my mind. I would do it quietly, but boy, he was going to get a piece. I heard shuffling on the other side of the door and stood with one hand on my hip, waiting for him to open it.
After a few seconds and nobody opening the door, I tapped again.
No answer.
OK, so that was how he wanted to play it. I turned to walk back down to the other bathroom when the door opened. I caught a glimpse of Cian as he reached out and wrapped his arm around my waist, tugging me into the room before shutting the door.
I yelped, the clothes that were in my arms falling to the floor. My back was pressed against his chest. He was warm and firm. God, was he firm. It was pitch black in the room, the only light coming from the shared bathroom.
We stayed like that for a moment, neither of us moving or saying a word. The only sound in the room was of my ragged breath as I forced myself to breathe.
“What are you doing here?” His voice was raspy, as if I had woken him up. Good. I hoped I’d ruined his morning.
