Total pages in book: 198
Estimated words: 186242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 931(@200wpm)___ 745(@250wpm)___ 621(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 186242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 931(@200wpm)___ 745(@250wpm)___ 621(@300wpm)
I wasn’t sure if he could see my face or not, but I still raised my eyebrows and told him in a voice that was way too cheery for how tired—and turned on—I was, “Well, if you want to sleep naked, I’m okay with it.”
The burst of his laughter surprised the shit out of me, and I couldn’t help but laugh too.
This was so right, there was no reason to rush anything.
“No thanks,” he said once his laugh slowed.
I’d made a lot of people laugh in my life, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt this triumphant. “If you change your mind, go for it,” I told him, totally serious. “My body is too tired, but my eyeballs aren’t.”
He laughed some more, the sounds slow and subtle and raspy. If I could’ve bottled it up, I would have, because all I could do when I heard it was smile.
“I don’t sleep naked either, if you’re wondering,” I told him, wanting to lighten the mood.
He laughed again, but it was totally different. Husky. Loaded. Nice.
Take it easy. We were both tired, and we were going to sleep. Right.
I pulled the sheets up to my chin and rolled over, facing the door as Rhodes headed into the bathroom, flipping on the light but leaving the door open. The tap ran briefly; then I heard him brushing his teeth. The water ran again, there was some splashing, and just as I started to get sleepy once more, tucking the pillow in close under my neck, I made sure I wasn’t too far over in either direction.
The light flipped off, and I didn’t bother pretending like I was asleep, but I tried to steady my breathing, thinking of just how sexy my tank top and baggy pajama pants with reindeers on them were.
The bed dipped and there were more sounds of something heavy being set on the nightstand before the familiar beep of his phone being plugged in.
“’Night, Rhodes,” I said.
The bed dipped a little more as the covers were pulled taut at my back, and after a moment, I felt him settle in.
He stretched. He sighed so deeply, I felt bad for how tired he had to be. He’d been gone a lot longer than I’d bet he’d expected.
“Goodnight, Aurora,” I muttered to myself when he didn’t reply.
His chuckle made me smile right before he whispered right back, “Goodnight.”
I rolled over.
He was lying facing me. I strained to see his features. His eyes were already drooping, but there was the faintest little hint of a smile on his incredible mouth.
“Can I ask you something and you won’t get mad?”
His “yes” came a lot faster than I would have expected.
But I braced myself anyway. “It’s kind of personal.”
“Ask.”
“Why doesn’t anyone call you Tobias other than your dad?”
He let out a soft, soft breath. “My mom called me that.”
Could I have asked a worse question? I doubted it. “I’m sorry I brought it up. I was just curious. It’s a nice name.”
“It’s all right,” he replied softly.
I had to fix this. “Just so you know . . . I really like you. More than I probably should too.”
He said one thing and one thing only: “Good.”
I bit my lip again. “Hey, can I ask you one last thing?”
I was pretty sure I hadn’t ruined the night when I heard a lazy grunt. “Yes.”
“Were you being serious about there being a bat or . . . ?”
His sleepy chuckle made me smile. “’Night, angel face.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
I woke up warm.
Very, very warm.
Mostly because I was cuddled up against Rhodes’s back. My arms were crossed, my forehead was tucked between his shoulder blades, and my toes were hiding under his calves. Rhodes, thankfully, was oblivious.
The memory of our conversation last night had me eyeing the smooth skin in front of my eyes. The urge to stroke those sleek muscles was right there. But I kept my hands to myself. Because he was right. I wanted more time. For all my big talk last night, I didn’t want to rush into anything yet. I wasn’t going anywhere, and from what he had said, he wasn’t either.
Not that I wouldn’t mind seeing him naked. Because I would sign up for that in a heartbeat.
Carefully, so that I wouldn’t wake him, I scooted away slowly and exhaled. Then I rolled out of bed and peeked at the sleeping figure some more. On his side, that smooth skin of his peeked out from where the heavy comforter lay tucked right beneath his armpits. He was breathing deeply.
You know . . . I was pretty sure I was in love with him.
And I was pretty sure he might be a little in love with me too.
I opened the door as quietly as possible and snuck out of the room, closing it behind me with the softest click. Creeping down the stairs, I stopped right at the bottom.