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Doctor Pierce put his hands to his hips. “Why not? If you’re worried I’ll behave inappropriately—”
“I’m not,” she assured him. He could be bossy, but she couldn’t fathom him touching her in a way that wasn’t welcome or not stopping if she told him he was making her uncomfortable.
“Then what’s the issue?”
“I can’t take your bed.”
“You’re not taking it. You’re sleeping in it. I will be too.”
Cricket glared at him. He could be very annoying.
“I snore.”
“Okay,” he said with a light shrug. Like snoring wasn’t something people complained about all the time. “I wake up obnoxiously early because I’m a morning person. It’s disgusting.”
He grinned at her, and goodness was he handsome. She wanted to be angry at him for making her like him so much, for being so kind and hot and attentive. It was unfair to show her all these things and then not let her have them. Like smacking away a kid’s hand when they reached for candy you held out. Doctor Pierce really ought to understand his effect on people.
“All the more reason I shouldn’t share your bed!” she said, wishing her voice came out as less of a squeak. “You’re not going to get any sleep!”
“Did you know that being in med school and doing a residency is kind of like being in the military? But mostly without all the getting shot at? I had to learn to sleep whenever and wherever I could, so now I can rest under almost any conditions. I can wake up like that if I need to,” he told her, snapping his fingers. “But I can also sleep through damn near anything.”
Now she was green with envy over his ability to wake up. The sleeping she had down no problem, although she suspected Doctor Pierce had never fallen asleep on a patient before so that was different. Lucky jerk face.
“I’m also very good at dealing with difficult patients,” he told her, one of his dark brows kicking up. “I guarantee you can’t out-stubborn me, Miss Evelyn. Especially not when you’re so exhausted. I’d suggest you not waste what precious little energy you have on arguing with me since I’m going to win anyhow.”
Doctor Pierce took a few steps toward her until they were toe to toe and she had to look up to see his face. He wrapped an arm around her waist and the strength and the warmth of it made her want to slump against him. But he probably wouldn’t appreciate her collapsing against his chest. Although given how tolerant he’d been so far, maybe he wouldn’t mind if she went limp like a piece of kelp out of water.
“Be a good girl and get in bed, Evelyn.”
Then he did some combination of ballroom dance and martial arts that had her spinning one second, and sitting on the mattress the next. How did he do that? But also, this was a really nice mattress. Just the right amount of squishy and it felt like it held her. Cricket wanted it to hold her whole self and not just her butt.
“Are you”—yawn—“sure?” she forced herself to ask one more time, even as she felt her eyelids start to sink and her muscles slacken.
“Positive,” he told her, and lifted the covers up before hooking his arm under her knees and swinging her feet onto the bed.
The motion made her tumble backward onto the waiting pillow which felt like a cloud made just for her head. She was so tired she was obviously delusional. But it felt really good to be lying down, and even better to have Bandit snuggled against her chest where he belonged.
Her eyelids fluttered as Doctor Pierce pulled the covers up to her chin and tucked them firmly under the mattress. She was so warm and comfy, and so, so tired.
“Goodnight, Evelyn,” he said, and brushed her hair off her forehead.
For a second she thought he was going to kiss her forehead. She tried to not be too disappointed when he didn’t. And there was no way she was going to ask for it. He’d already given her more than she’d ever hoped for. But there was one thing she could give him, and possibly get something in return.
“Cricket,” she murmured, her eyelids so heavy she could barely keep them open.
“Hmm? Did you say something, sweetheart?”
A smile tugged at her lips and she did her best to blink her eyes open so she could see Doctor Pierce’s face.
“Cricket. That’s my name. C. Evelyn Baker? Cricket.”
An expression she couldn’t quite read made its way over his face, and then he smiled at her, warm and bright. It made her feel like whipped cream had been swirled on top of her hot chocolate insides.
“Well then,” he said, his voice smooth and sweet and gentle. “Goodnight, Cricket.”
And this time when he brushed her hair back, he did kiss her forehead. But Cricket barely had a second to enjoy it before exhaustion pulled her under.
* * *
