Page 35 of Because You Loved Me

“Okay.” Noa blew out a breath and moved to shut the door. “Goodnight.”

Asher stood, frozen in place for a few minutes after she’d disappeared behind the bedroom door. He rubbed a hand roughly over his face and finally exhaled.

More than once, he questioned himself and his decision not to follow her to bed. There had never before been a time, or more specifically, awomanwho had him questioning himself the way Noa did.

And that was the most troubling thing.

ChapterEight

To her surprise,the stress of the day caught up with her, and Noa fell into a fast and hard sleep. She woke at some point in the night and it took her a moment to remember where she was. As soon as she did, she rolled over, half expecting that Asher would have joined her in the bed after all.

His nobility…stubbornness…or whatever the hell it had been the night before, when he’d walked away from her instead of taking her to bed and finishing what they’d started…had been beyond frustrating. Truthfully, if she considered it from his point of view, the whole runaway bride thing might be a little off-putting. And he didn’t know that she didn’t have that kind of relationship with Ryan. Hell, he was probably feeling relieved that they didn’t go through with it, too.

She squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to block out thoughts of Ryan or her family. At least for a few more hours.

A groan, followed by a thud, came from the living room, so Noa threw back the blankets and went to investigate.

The fire had burned down to only a soft glow. Noa could make out the sofa with the cushions in disarray, but Asher was nowhere to be seen.

Another groan alerted her to his presence. Her eyes adjusted in the dim light and she saw his legs sticking out from the front of the sofa.

Noa stifled a giggle and walked closer until she found him, stretched out on the floor, his head awkwardly beneath the coffee table.

“Asher?”

He sat up with a start and slammed his head on the table. “Shit.”

“Oh.” Noa crouched next to him and slid the table over to free him. “What are you?—”

“The couch was too short.” He rubbed his head and sat up. “Flannel.” He turned away.

Noa looked down and remembered she’d taken the bulky jacket off when she went to sleep. She was still wearing only her wedding night lingerie.

“Enough of this.” She ignored his comment. “You can’t sleep on the floor.”

“I can’t sleep with you.” He rolled over and faced the fire.

“Suit yourself.” She was way too tired to argue with him. Besides, he was a grown man. If he would rather sleep on the cold, dirty floor than next to her, she’d try not to be offended and leave him to his choices.

She was almost back to sleep when she felt the mattress sink with the weight of him climbing into the bed next to her.

Her body tensed in anticipation of his touch, but he turned so his back was pointed toward her; a moment later, she heard the rhythmic sound of his breathing when he fell asleep.

* * *

The lace was rough under his skin, but she was soft in all the right places as Asher let his hand travel over her curves. He had only a vague memory of waking in the night to see her sexy shape outlined by the glow of the fire, but that one look fueled his dreams.

He’d had enough of being thegood guy. It was definitely not all it was cracked up to be.

His hand slipped lower until it was cupping the smooth skin of her bare ass.

A groan slipped from her lips, and she wiggled backward into him, encouraging his touch.

“Good morning.” Asher brushed the hair from her shoulder and whispered into her ear.

Noa turned her head to face him. “I see you got tired of the floor.”

He pressed a kiss on her lips instead of answering the obvious.

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