Page 29 of Hard Knock Hero

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve slept in worse places. I promise.”

But as I passed down the hallway toward the stairs, it didn’t feel right. After all Aiden had done for me, he’d earned something better than a cold, glass-strewn floor.

The day before, he’d been a stranger. I didn’t know what we were now. But strangers wasn’t it.

I turned around. “You can sleep on the couch in my apartment,” I said in a rush. Without waiting for his response, I climbed the stairs. Aiden’s footsteps followed a moment later.

CHAPTERNINE

Jessi

What am I doing?

I rinsed shampoo out of my hair as thoughts ping-ponged around my brain. Aiden was in my bedroom right now. Just beyond the thin bathroom door. Well, it was my studio apartment, but it was essentially one big bedroom.

What if he thought my invitation to sleep up here had meant more than it did?

Did Iwantit to mean more?

I’d practically run into the bathroom as soon as I’d made it up here. My heart was racing, but it was nothing like the terror that I’d felt after that brick sailed through my window. The sprint that my heart was currently on wasn’t necessarily unpleasant.

The bathroom lock was broken. It had been like that when I moved in, and I hadn’t seen any reason to fix it. I hadn’t planned to have anybody up here, except Scarlett a time or two. I’d never had a man in this apartment before. Ever. I had moved in here after everything happened with Jeremy.

But I was the one who’d invited Aiden up here, which meant I was in control, right? Except my impulsive streak was as wide as the county. And as for Aiden, I never could predict what he might do next.

I didn’t think he was going to grab me, shove me to my bed, and ravish me… Not unless I asked him to.

Oh, boy. Now I had those images in my head.

I dried off and put on the pajamas I’d brought in with me, wrapping the towel around my head. When I stepped out of the bathroom, Aiden was kneeling on the floor over his duffel, digging around inside.

“It’s all yours,” I said.

His eyes lifted to mine, his mouth curving. “Thanks.” He carried some clothes in the bathroom and shut the door. The sink turned on. Aiden probably wasn’t showering because he had done that just a few hours ago. Already, the scent of him had permeated the entire room. I’d noticed it before after he’d been in here, but now I couldn’t smell anything else. It was salty and fresh, a bit herbal, like an ocean breeze. Or at least, what I expected an ocean breeze would smell like, since I’d never been anywhere near a coast.

He had a tattoo of ocean waves cascading over his shoulder and along one side of his upper back. I had seen it earlier in the kitchen when he’d come downstairs with his shirt off.

And now I was imagining him in the bathroom, probably with his shirt off right now.

I pulled the towel from my hair and started combing it out, tugging roughly at the strands. I was being ridiculous. But my heart refused to slow down. Now that Aiden was in my space, I realized how much I wanted to have him here. Wanted…things I hadn’t desired for years. But I was scared of those things too.

In short, I was a mess.

I justwanted. Even though I knew how foolish it was and how I’d probably end up disappointed.

When Aiden emerged from the bathroom, I was laying out the spare blankets and pillows on the floor at the foot of my bed, which was the only open space where a man over six feet could fully lie down in here. Except formy bed, of course.

“I know I offered the couch,” I said without looking at him, “but I forgot it’s too small for even me to sleep on, so there’s no way you would fit.”

“Whatever is fine.”

I turned around. He was wearing a soft-looking T-shirt and a pair of boxers. My eyes snagged on the view of muscular, long legs.

“I didn’t pack any more pajamas than this.” Aiden sounded only a fraction as awkward as I did, which was still a contrast to his usual cool demeanor.

“No problem. It’s…great.”Great? Was I saying his boxers were great? I turned toward the window, grimacing at myself. Aiden sat on the couch. He took up more than half of it. I was facing the window, but I could see him in the reflection. I’d already switched off the main overhead light, leaving just the lamp by my bedside.

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