Page 16 of The Deadbeat Next Door

I really wasn’t seeing the downside to this deal. I didn’t want to spend more time with Cody, but it might be worth it to get a decent dinner every night. “And if you win?”

“That would mean you lose, so you’d have to spend every day with me, which would be my prize. If I lose, I have to cook you dinner every night, but I’ll leave it on your doorstep so you won’t have to see me.”

“You’re going down,” I said. He was an idiot for not trying to get something from me if he won, but I wasn’t about to point that out to him, especially since I was going to win. I ignored the flood of warmth in my chest at his suggestion that spending time with me would be something he’d enjoy. I told myself it was just part of his teasing.

“Looking forward to it,” he said with a wink that I also chose to ignore. “We start now.”

An hour and a half later, my cheeks hurt from laughing so much and I was pretty sure I’d lost, and I didn’t care. “How do you know the movie so well?” I asked.

He looked up from the paper where he’d been keeping track of our points. “I’m from a big family and movie night was a huge deal. This was one we watched a lot.”

“What’s the final verdict?” I’d been keeping track of the score on my own sheet of paper, but I wanted to hear what he’d come up with.

“I won by ten points,” he said. “That what you have?”

“Yeah. I guess I’ll be joining you for dinner tomorrow night, you better cook something good.”

“Always.” He pushed to his feet and stretched. “Thank you for a lovely evening, but I’d best get home before it gets too late. I’ve got an early morning.”

“Doing what?” As far as I’d been able to tell he didn’t go to a job every day and just sat around at home all the time.

“Maybe I’ll tell you over dinner.” He headed for the front door.

“You can’t leave,” I said. “I need to check on you during the night, make sure you’re okay.” I got up and followed him to the door, but he spun right before he reached it and faced me, so close that my breasts brushed his chest and a zing of heat rushed to my happy spots. I took a step back like I’d been burned and he smirked like he knew exactly what I was feeling. What the hell was I feeling? What the hell was wrong with me?

“Are you asking me to spend the night with you?” he asked in a husky voice. My whole face heated along with the rest of me and I figured I must look like an idiot blushing like that.

“I’m asking you to stay the night on the couch so I can check on you every hour and make sure you’re still alive.” I took another step back from him, but he followed, crowding me and making it hard for me to breathe.

“No,” he said. “I’m fine and I’m not going to sleep on the couch when I have a perfectly good bed at home.”

“So take my bed.” I dropped my eyes to his chest to avoid his intense gaze, but the sight of his t-shirt stretched over those tight pecs made me a dizzy. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“I won’t chase you out of your own bed when I’m perfectly fine. The only way I’ll stay is if we share the bed.”

Oh, why had I turned the second bedroom into an office and given away Harrison’s bed? Why was I a complete idiot who didn’t foresee the need to have a man I’d nearly killed sleep over? I was sure he was right and he was fine, but what if he wasn’t? What if I’d hit him harder than either of us realized and he died in his sleep. I’d be a murderer, and I wouldn’t do well in prison. I didn’t like small spaces or aggressive, angry people. “We can share a bed as long as there’s no touching or nudity.”

“Who said I wanted to touch you or get naked?” he asked, taking two steps away from me and frowning like he hadn’t been all up in my space and making sexy eyes at me a moment before. “I just want to sleep in a bed. Where is it? This way?”

He headed down my narrow hallway without waiting for an answer and found my room with no trouble at all. I followed him into my bedroom and stared, speechless, as he pulled off his shirt and turned to face me, all those muscles and ripples and hardness on full display. I didn’t like too many muscles on a man I reminded myself as my pulse picked up speed and my body lit up like it was ready to play. I was not going to play with Cody Reynolds. He was a guy who clearly spent too much time in the gym and didn’t have his priorities in any sort of mature order. I needed a man who was ready to settle down and have a family. A responsible man. A man with…My thoughts trailed off as Cody unbuttoned his jeans and slid the zipper down. Was he swaying as he moved? He did a little spin and put his hands on his hips and my eyes darted back up to his face, a face that was laughing at me. “Enjoying the show?” he asked.

Gah, the man was impossible. “You know what?” I said. “I’m not tired. I’m just going to go back to the couch and read for a bit.”

“Suit yourself.”

I fled before he could take off any more clothes.

---