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Resting his face against her curls, he took a deep breath and allowed his eyes to close. The next time he woke, he was alone in the bed, missing her body but surrounded by her soft scent. The pillow wall had been re-erected and he smirked, knowing full well she’d done that before she skipped out of bed.
She migrated in her sleep. Not that he had an issue with it—he’d enjoyed having her in his arms. Stretching, he yawned and burrowed back into the bed, pulling the blankets up to his neck. No rush in getting up, as they weren’t going anywhere. He snuggled up against the wall she’d made and inhaled, drawing in her scent with each slow breath he took.
The door cracked open and he held his breath as Hope poked her head in. Watching her through slitted eyes as she snuck into the room, he had this insane urge to smile like a fool. Even now, she was trying not to disturb him.
“Morning.”
She squealed and jumped, hand slamming against her full chest.
He slowly sat against the headboard and stared at her, eyebrows up. “You sure are jumpy this morning.”
Hand flexing against her chest, she shook her head. “You scared me.”
“I scared you?” Mitchell didn’t take his eyes off her for a second, just stared, wishing the fire burned a bit higher so he could see more of her facial expression.
She propped her hands on her full hips, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “That’s what I said. I don’t scare myself. I was minding my own business when you…” She waved a hand around.
He smirked. “Said ‘morning’?”
Hope gave him a sage nod. “Exactly.”
“I can see how that would’ve been scary,” he said drolly. “Opening my mouth to say one word to you.”
Hope narrowed her eyes at him. “I was trying not to interrupt you.” She cleared her throat. “Wake you.” A deep breath. “Whatever.”
He scratched his stomach through his shirt, not ignoring the way her gaze darted toward the movement. “Interrupt me? That’s intriguing. What exactly were you envisioning me doing in this bed, Hope?” He leaned forward, lips curling up in a full-fledged smile. “And if you were concerned, why not knock on the door? Did you want or hope to catch me doing something in this bed?”
“Sleeping.” Her voice was higher and he wasn’t positive but he felt like she was blushing.
“Oh,” he replied as he tossed the blankets back, sucking in a breath at the difference in temperature outside the bedding. “Sleeping, huh? You wanted to catch me doing what I was doing when you snuck out?” Disbelief smacked hard. And damn it, he enjoyed making her engage with him.
Her gaze drifted to his arms and he flexed one, loving how she nibbled on her lower lip without looking away from him. He’d heard Emma mention to Linc about how his arms were porn-worthy. Did Hope feel that way about his? Something definitely worth finding out, but he thought she did, considering how her eyes continued to drift to his forearms.
“Or whatever.” Heat filled her eyes and he loved that she didn’t drop her gaze.
“Hope,” he said, rising from the bed.
He watched and waited for her to stop staring at his arm.
“Yes?”
“You didn’t have to put the wall back up. I already know you travel when you sleep.” In basketball, traveling was a foul, but in bed, he was all for her doing it again. Tonight.
Her plump lower lip trembled before she firmed her mouth in a line. “Why are we having this discussion when nothing happened?”
This time he clucked his tongue as he moved across the small floor to where she remained rooted by the door. One hand braced on the wall, he dipped his head, allowing some of his hair to brush along her forehead.
“Or we could say not enough happened.” Mitchell dragged his knuckles along her soft cheek before he stepped into the bathroom. He had no logical explanation for why he was behaving the way he was. Hell, he’d just gotten out of a crazy relationship and should be heading for the hills after what that woman had put him through. Yet here he was, flirting with a woman he barely knew because seeing that smile of hers, well fuck, it was worth anything. After making sure the water pipes weren’t frozen, he took care of morning issues and stepped back out into the room.
Hope had disappeared.
He tugged on clothing, banked the fire, and walked out of the room, needing to find her. Nodding to a few others as he headed down, he didn’t care right now if they recognized him. This wasn’t a time for that. He had to do what he could to pitch in and also keep Hope close. There were a few of the guys here who looked at her in a way that set his hackles up. Especially that Alistair guy. Mitchell definitely needed him to keep his distance from Hope.
