Page 109 of The Heiress's First Date

“Get in the bed.”

“You’re kinda hot when you’re bossy.” I stride around to the opposite side and peel off my shirt.

“You think so?” He shoves his pants down, then tosses them at the chair. In nothing but a pair of dark boxer briefs, he slides beneath the crisp white linens. Grabbing the remote, he clicks on the TV on the opposite wall and scrolls through endless streaming options.

“Is that what you’re so worried about? That Katherine won’t like you bossing her around in the bedroom?”

Stripping down to my boxers, I climb in next to him. There’s plenty of space between us in the king-sized bed.

“For the record, I don’t think she’d care. And it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I know.” After a moment, he asks, “What looks good?”

I settle against the pillows, and a bit of my anxiety slips away. “Anything.”

“Rom-com it is.”

I grunt, and he laughs. Rolling toward him, I reach for the remote. “Give me that.”

He snatches it out of reach, still laughing. “What? You said anything. This is anything.”

He waves a hand at the screen, where Richard Gere flashes his trademark smile.

“A classic. But too...”

“Sexy?” King fills in.

“Yeah.” That’s the last thing we need right now.

“Less sexy. Got it.” He flips the channel, and we settle onYou’ve Got Mail.

I slide down, trying to convince my body that we at least know how to do this. Fall into slumber. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and hold for a count of four.

“Gabe—”

A strong hand rocks me awake, and my body comes online. It’s still dark out, quiet. But my heartbeat rages in my ears.

“You had a nightmare,” King whispers, hand running up and down my arm.

His touch soothes me and I relax against the bed, the tension easing slowly.

“Want to talk about it?” he asks.

“Can’t remember it.” At least not this one. But it’s probably not different from all the others. Unable to escape. Trapped. Normal people probably don’t dream of farm equipment trying to murder them.

He slides closer, his front to my back, and drapes an arm over my chest. The weight and warmth are so comforting.

“Is this okay?”

I nod.

“Words, Gabe.”

“It’s great.” Which is the understatement of the century.

40

KATHERINE

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