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Instead, he drops into the armchair, his hands relaxing on the arms as he keeps a stubborn look on me. When did he get this good at challenging me? He’d usually have given up by now.
“That is close enough. So, sleep in the fucking chair if that makes your wretched ass happy, but stay out of my bed.”
His head drops back onto the chair without a word directly to me, but there are a few mumbled curses under his breath. And I surprise myself because I don’t comment or challenge him to repeat it. I just want this discussion—or whatever the fuck this is—to be over. I flip the lights back off, then slide into bed. Thankful when my vision quickly adjusts, and I can make out his form still sitting in the chair and not trying a chump move to get in bed with me already.
Turning my back to him, I pull the comforter to my chin, close my eyes, and try to sleep. But I’m certain it’s at least another two hours or more before I finally drift off to sleep.
8
CADE
She’s driving me insane.
Nothing new there, but it’s exhausting. I really can’t do this the rest of my life. But more than anything, I couldn’t walk out of this room and leave her alone under the same roof as her bastard of a father. I know Ryder is keeping a watch on him while he’s home, but I want to make sure the son of a bitch doesn’t try anything.
It’s probably not the wisest decision, but I head downstairs to the kitchen partly because I am thirsty and partly just to settle my mind and ensure everything is good here. What am I expecting to find lurking around in the middle of the night in the King residence? I don’t know. And Morgan’s parents finding me roaming their house at such an hour probably wouldn’t go over very well.
Thankfully, I don’t see either of them as I take a bottle of water from the refrigerator and gulp it down while standing in the middle of their immaculate kitchen. The moment reiterates that from the outside, everything can look perfect, shiny, and new, but underneath the pretty packaging, it can be hell.
Just before I’m about to make my way back upstairs, a shadow catches my attention. Quickly I recognize Ryder quietly walking through the kitchen. When he notices me standing nearby, he jumps, his hand grasping his chest as he breathes.
“Damn it, Cade. You scared me.”
“You knew I was here. You let me into the house. Again,” I laugh.
He moves to the fridge and grabs a Dr. Pepper out. “Yeah. But I didn’t think you’d take up residence in the dark kitchen all hours of the night. Did she kick you out?”
That earns another laugh as I respond, “Yeah. She tried.”
We both head silently upstairs until I whisper, “I didn’t know you’d left.” And another good reason I didn’t allow her to kick me out and leave her alone thinking her brother was down the hallway.
“Yeah. I met Harrison for a few minutes. Just needed to get out and clear my head.”
“Understandable.”
“Night.” Ryder heads to his room, then I slip back into Morgan’s, quietly closing the door behind me before resuming my spot in the damn chair. Stretching out my legs, I try to get as comfortable as possible. But between my brain racing and the cramped sleeping arrangements, I haven’t slept a wink and doubt I will anytime soon.
Morgan, on the other hand, appears to be soundly snoozing, but soon I hear some muffled words, drawing my full attention to her. It’s now clear she’s not sleeping peacefully. And it’s not difficult to figure out what’s causing her unsettled rest.
I stay in place, watching her become more and more agitated. Once I hear a whimperednofrom her and her arms come up to cover her face, I can’t help but go to her. Moving onto the bed beside her, I place a hand on her arm, gently saying her name. She startles awake, a few seconds of confusion before her grumpy expression is in place.
“What the fuck, Cade? I’m trying to sleep.”
“Didn’t sound like you were sleeping very well.”
“Not at the moment with you waking me up.” Her voice is sleepy, exhausted. She moves away from me to the edge of the mattress, throwing an arm over her face as she lets out an exhale.
She hasn’t told me to get out of the bed, not that I’d actually listen this go-round. So, lying down beside her, I stare at the ceiling for a few seconds before I take my well-being into my own hands. I reach over, hook an arm between her legs to grab her thigh, and haul her to rest halfway on top of me.
There’s a mumbled curse from her as I keep a steady arm holding her to me, but she doesn’t fight to get off me. Instead, she nuzzles her face against my chest, her breath even and steady as she drifts off to sleep, and I’m snoozing not long afterwards. My only regret is not crawling in bed with her sooner.
For as much as she tells me to leave her alone, I know she wants me here. If she truly didn’t, she wouldn’t have allowed me to stay even in the chair across the room. Because Morgan doesn’t tolerate anything that she doesn’t want. So how long will it take me to finally get her to see she needs me? Whether she wants to admit it or not, she does. And I don’t think she even realizes it. That would be a sign of weakness or even forgiveness. And neither are in her vocabulary.
9
MORGAN
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I dreamed the entire night from Cade showing to him getting in bed with me. But his T-shirt on the floor lets me know it was real. And I really need to get some fucking space away from him. As much as it irritates me, I had slept great after I allowed him to crawl in bed with me and pull me on top of him. Thankfully, the chump left bright and early—before I even woke up—therefore I was able to get dressed in peace.
