Page 54 of Sweet Pea

“No.”

“Do you expect me to sleep alone?”

“Fuck!” he hissed. “We should go.”

“It’s three o’clock in the morning.” He dragged his hands through his hair, and I closed the distance between us. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“We can’t sleep here. I don’t sleep here.”

I frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“Goddammit, Callie, you’re turning my world upside down. I can’t do this.”

“Do what? Have sex then fall asleep?”

“I don’t sleep here. This place is not for sleep. It’s for sex. I’m not supposed to feel comfortable here. You’re not supposed to feel comfortable here.”

“You don’t sleep here?” I asked, his words beginning to register. “Ever?”

He shook his head.

“So, you sleep at your girlfriends’ place then?”

He shook his head.

“Honey, I really need you to start using words. Neanderthal wasn’t my best subject in college, so I’m a little rusty on my grunts.”

“I have never slept, as in, fallen asleep with a woman before.”

I blinked up at him. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Somehow, this fact made my heart soar. “So, I popped your spooning cherry?”

His hand reached out and hooked around my neck, tugging me forward. “Why the fuck do you have to be funny and gorgeous?”

“Just cursed, I guess,” I retorted.

He dropped his forehead to mine. “You make me feel safe, Callie, and that freaks me the fuck out.”

“You are safe with me,” I said, wrapping my arms around him. “I might not be able to fight off a gang of hardened criminals, but I’ll protect your heart. Always.”

He kissed me, tugging the sheet away from me and lifting me so I could wrap my legs around his waist, and then he carried me back to bed where we fell asleep in each other’s arms.

* * *

“I’m gonna need youto keep those shoes on,” Sweet Pea informed me.

I grinned. I was wearing my favorite four-inch heeled, silver glitter Jimmy Choo sandals, and I had to admit, I knew they’d drive him wild. He’d just brought me home after dinner, and I had secretly hoped he’d take me back to his lair, but that didn’t happen, so for now, I’d take what I could get.

“Oh yeah?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

I let us into my condo and he kicked the door closed behind us.

“What do you plan to do, big man?” I asked.

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