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Chapter 18 - Samantha
I woke up slowly, with a cool draft from the air conditioning blowing across my arm; at the same time, a sunbeam from the window warmed the top of my head. It was the best night’s sleep I’d had in a long time, and I didn’t want to open my eyes and let it end. I didn’t even remember getting in bed.
The bed was more comfortable than I remembered, and the pillows had a slightly spicy, familiar scent that wasn’t the same lavender as I had grown used to. Was I even in my bed?
My eyes flew open to see Leo fast asleep beside me, his arm slung over the top of my pillow as if he was protecting me even in his sleep. When I stretched out my legs, my foot hit a solid lump, and I looked down to see the dog stretched out at our feet, belly up and tongue lolling. At least he didn’t have a care in the world.
It took me a few seconds to piece everything together, and embarrassment flooded me when I recalled how thoroughly I’d gone to pieces yesterday when I saw that Burya was alive and well after the attack.
Of course, no matter what Leo said, there was nothing ordinary about getting shot at from a fast-moving truck. Anyone would have been worried about their dog in that situation. Not that Burya was my dog. I prodded him gently with my toe, and he barely stirred. The lazy bum didn’t seem traumatized in the least.
I rested my hands on my stomach, pleased I didn’t feel the need to throw up first thing for once. In fact, physically, I felt great. Perfectly refreshed after the night of dead sleep. If only I could be as easy in my mind as Burya was after the harrowing incident the day before. It had all happened so fast, and at the same time, it seemed like things took place in slow motion in my memory.
The terror I felt for the baby when the guard threw me to the ground was like a heavy weighted blanket that kept me from moving fast enough. Every grass chunk that flew into the air only inches away from us was a bullet that could have ended the baby’s life before it got a chance to live it. That gripping fear started to flood back, and my palms pressed into my stomach. I had never been so scared in my life, unable to envision a future where such a thing took place.
No. I had to push those kinds of thoughts aside. Bordering on hysteria at the thought of losing the baby wasn’t right. It was normal to be concerned because I had a job to do, and that was to deliver a healthy baby. That was the only reason I was so scared. I wanted to do my best at every job I took on.
What I was not going to do was get attached to a baby I wasn’t keeping. That would kill me faster than any crazed gunman.
To put me in a better mood, I carefully rolled over to watch Leo sleep before I dragged myself out of this heavenly soft bed. He looked so peaceful, and my hand itched to rub over his head. I really should have left before he woke up. I was the one who kept insisting we were making mistakes when we ended up in situations like this.
He was being his usual caring self when he put me in this bed, not wanting to leave me alone when I might fall to pieces again. His understanding made me feel warm enough that I had to push aside the sheets to get air on my overheated skin. Or maybe it was the fact his muscular pecs were just inches from running my fingers down.
Those two times we ended up like this were mistakes, but we seemed to recover from them quickly enough. No bitterness or awkwardness. My brow furrowed, wondering if that was due to his easygoing nature or the fact he didn’t care enough about me to be bothered that this would never evolve into a real relationship. And it certainly couldn’t now. I had to stifle a giggle at the thought of trying to date a man after I’d had his baby.
Except it wasn’t actually funny. It made me a little bit sad, though I didn’t know why. Personality-wise, Leo was grade-A husband material. But his job and lifestyle? Could I manage to grow used to fleeing to safe rooms on a regular basis?
His eyes flew open, looking both shocked to see me and to have fallen asleep at all. He sat up and looked at the sunlight streaming in through the window at a high angle and groaned. He looked down at me, and a smile curled his lips.
“Ah, to hell with it,” he said, his voice scratchy and sexy from sleep. Flopping back onto the pillows, he curled toward me and touched my stomach. “Feeling okay this morning?”
“Better than okay,” I said, my whole body reacting to the simple touch of his palm through my tank top. Now would be a good time to get out of bed, but I didn’t make a move, and neither did he. Well, it was his bed. He was entitled to lay around in it as long as he wanted. “Listen,” I said, dropping my eyes to his chest. Bad idea when his pecs were so enticing, but I was still too ashamed to make eye contact for this. “I’m sorry I freaked out yesterday.”
He tipped my chin up and gave me a stern look. A sexy, stern look. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. You were a trooper yesterday. And the fact you didn’t want to leave one of our own was impressive. And brave.”
Leo rubbed his hand up and down my stomach, stopping just under my breasts. I wished he’d keep moving. Or stop.Nowwas the time for me to get out of bed.
“You’re being kind,” I said, not getting out of bed.
He did a one-shoulder shrug. “You’re fishing for compliments now.”
I repeated his shrug, rolling to my side to face him. His hand moved to my back, stroking low over my hip. “Never. I don’t need compliments.”
“Then I won’t tell you how pretty you are when you first wake up. I especially like the little drool trail by your chin.”
With a gasp, I reached to wipe my face, but he grabbed my hand with a laugh. His other hand kept moving up and down my side, lowering each time to trail his fingertips down my thigh.
“Maybe you better stop touching me like that,” I said, forcing a frown. Maybe I should get out of the damn bed. But neither one of us did what we should.
His hand stilled, hovering above my ass. “Do you feel like you might throw up?”
“I feel like I might do something,” I said, not rolling away and leaving but snuggling closer to his chest.
Leo’s smile grew wider as he sensed my mischievous mood, and he rested his hand firmly on my backside, curling his fingers under the edge of my shorts. There might have been time to resist before he did that, but now I was lost.
“What do you have in mind?” he asked.
Our lips were so close now they were almost touching. Leo tightened his grip on me until our bodies were pressed together, and he dropped his chin to trail a kiss along my jaw.
