Page 37 of Shift Change

“Yes. I haven’t slept as well as I did yesterday for a long time, so let’s do it again.”

My heart thrummed, but I couldn’t tell if it was because of nerves or excitement. “Okay.”

He crawled under the covers and scooted to the far side of the bed. When I didn’t move, he patted the mattress beside him. “Come on. I won’t bite.”

I snorted. “Sure about that? Your nameisDog.”

“Yeah, yeah. Get in here.”

I was afraid of pushing my luck, but I couldn’t sleep with clothes on. “Mind if I take my shirt off?”

“Take off anything you want.” When I didn’t move, he said, “Do it already. If I’m considering having sex with a guy, I deserve a little eye candy.”

The devil was loose, so I raised an eyebrow. “What if I’m going commando?”

He snorted. “That’s bullshit. If you were hanging loose, I’d already know. Those gym shorts don’t hide anything.”

I laughed and started dancing around, giving him an exaggerated striptease. Between sultry looks, I played with my shirt, pulling it up and then lowering it again, finally slow-rolling it off. Before I eased out of my shorts, I sucked my finger and blew him a kiss.

He hooted and howled like we were at a damn club, and when I slid under the covers, he gave me a snarky smile. “Still need to teach you how to dance. You were worse today than before.”

“Fuck off. You loved it.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

I turned on my side, facing him, and our eyes locked. After a long moment, he gave me a look. “Want to cuddle?”

I barked out a laugh. “Man, that sounds so fucking weird coming from somebody with a deep voice and two-day scruff.”

“No weirder than it feels saying it to someone with hairy legs and angles everywhere I’m used to seeing curves.”

That cracked me up, and I launched myself at him. We laughed as we rolled around in the most halfhearted wrestling match I’d ever been part of. Eventually, I was on top of him and had his hands pinned beside his head. Everything went quiet. I couldn’t keep my eyes away from his mouth, and when he licked his lips, I wanted to kiss him so much I could already feel the ghost of it.

But not yet. I let his hands go, rolled off to the side, and threw an arm over his pillow.

He snuggled close and laid his head on my shoulder. “This feels good.”

I couldn’t help thinking this was how we’d end up after we fucked.Ifwe ever fucked, and I was a long way from being ready for that. I draped my free arm across his abs and pulled him as close as I could. “Sure as hell does. I like holding you.”

Fuck. Is this a conversation you have if you’re going to wait?

His warm breath stirred against my neck as he said, “You’re forgetting something, though.”

“What?”

“Your leg on mine, like yesterday.”

I hesitated for a beat, then slid my leg over his. The contact was simple—hair brushing hair, skin pressing skin—but the effect hit like a live wire. A slow spark lit in my gut and pulsed outward, chasing through my chest and up my spine. I stiffened in more ways than one as blood rushed south. My throat tightened because the feelings were overwhelming. There was heat, sure, but also a weightless ache, like I was floating too close to something I wasn’t supposed to want but couldn’t stop reaching for.

“I think I can sleep now,” he said.

“Me too.”

I watched him as his breathing slowed. My heart thudded under his cheek, and when I was drifting away, one last thought clamored for my attention.

We are in trouble.

13

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