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Christ.
He needed to relax.
He also needed to show her that it was okay to break the rules. It didn’t make her a nuisance or less of a good girl. It just meant she was punished and they they’d move on—all forgiven.
Was that a noise? He sat up just as the door to his room opened.
“Ladybug? You all right?”
“I . . . I can’t sleep.” She sounded so young. So unsure that he immediately found himself on his feet and moving toward her. “I’m sorry to wake you.”
“You didn’t wake me, baby. Come here.” He led her over to the bed and sat, drawing her into his lap. She hugged him tight, burrowing into him. “What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”
“I think so. I don’t really remember. I just woke up with my heart racing. I was scared and I couldn’t go back to sleep.”
“My poor baby. It’s so late now and you need your sleep. Would you feel better sleeping in here with me?”
Because he was pretty sure that he wasn’t getting any sleep otherwise.
“You don’t want me to sleep with you,” she muttered. “I’ll probably have a bad dream and wake you up.”
He shook his head. “All right, let me reword that. You’re sleeping with me.”
“What?” She pulled back to look up at him. “No.”
“You need your sleep, baby. I can sleep on a chair if you want me to, but I want you to sleep with me tonight.”
Relief filled her face. Maybe she had been wanting him to take charge. Or she couldn’t let herself give in and ask for what she needed. To take what he offered unless he ordered her to.
“I don’t want you to sleep on a chair,” she told him. “I trust you and you need your sleep.”
“You don’t know how much your trust means to me.”
He set her on her feet, then drew back the covers on the other side of the bed, patting it.
She didn’t move.
Push or pull back?
Fuck it. He was going to go with his instincts. If he fucked this up, well, he’d let Sav take a few shots without fighting back.
“Come here, Greer.”
“Are you sure?” she whispered. But she took a step toward him. He breathed out a sigh of relief.
She climbed into bed and he tucked her in before moving back around to his side of the bed and getting in. He had to be careful with ordering her around, though. She liked to make people happy. That could be dangerous with the wrong person.
They could use her, could run her dry without taking care of her in return.
He opened up his arms. “Come here, baby.”
She snuggled in.
“That’s it. You’re back where you belong. In my arms.”
“Are you sure you’ll sleep like this?” she asked.
“Truth is, you’re doing me a huge favor. I don’t know how I would have gotten any sleep otherwise.”
