Page 68 of Nothing to Fear

He yanked her even closer, holding her so tight her lungs could barely get air. “I prefer you as close as possible. I’ll have to dream of you.”

“Or you could stay right here.” His flash of surprise was funny. “Can you be a gentleman in bed?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Is this a test?”

“No,” she said. “An honest request. I don’t sleep well alone.” Though that might give him the wrong idea. “Not that I go around asking men to sleep with me. You shouldn’t think that I—I’m not like—”

“I’d be honored, Cherry.”

It helped that he was so supportive. A Breckenridge trait she may otherwise have assumed was in their genes.

She wriggled from his arms. “Can I borrow a shirt?”

“Take whatever you want.”

That was a loaded statement. “Wait here.”

He’d given her permission to enter the closet, but she still got a zip in her belly when she crossed the threshold. Shedding her dress and bra, she slipped into one of his shirts and fastened all the buttons save the top two.

This could be a crazy idea. Maybe they’d had too many drinks. Or maybe she was finally admitting to herself that she felt safe with this guy. And she needed that. Needed to feel safe and protected. Hadn’t she been searching for it her whole life? Ifher gut was right, this was the closest she’d ever been to finding it. Why couldn’t she let herself give into it all the way?

The pulse of adrenaline tingled all over when she went back to the bedroom. But climbing into that bed to kneel in the middle was the most natural thing in the world.

“Never seen a more inviting sight.”

“You’re the one dragging your heels,” she replied. “Turn off the light and get over here, Gentleman.”

He clapped twice and they were plunged into darkness.

Holy shit, such a classy house and…

Laughter burst out of her. “You have a clapper?”

“No, just a guy in a secret closet with his finger on a switch.”

In the darkness, his arms came around her and they dropped down to the mattress together.

“This doesn’t count as a relationship concession,” she said, rolling her head in his pillow to avoid his mouth. “It’s not intimacy, it’s safety in numbers.”

“Safety in numbers, right.” He kissed her carotid. “Your skin’s silk.”

“And you promised to be a gentleman,” she whispered. “I want to be safe with you.”

“Always.” He eased her one way and went the other, then pulled her back against him, spooning her body against his. “How’s this?”

The vibration of his words, his breath in her hair, closed her eyes. Safety captured them. Locked in that embrace, nothing could harm her.

TWENTY-TWO

WARM LIPS TOUCHED her ear, the cushion of her hair pressed against her as the kiss went lower.

With a whimper, she arched into the caress, the weight of a dream cascaded around her as her body softened to accept the rigidity of his.

“Darroch,” she whispered, moving with the hands that stroked her belly, her arm, that cupped her face to tip it higher. “Baby…”

“Sweet Cherry…”

Her eyes opened. It wasn’t a dream, she really was in his secure embrace.

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