Page 8 of Trip

JJ squeezed her eyes shut so tight she was getting a migraine. Trying to shut everything out was impossible. Trip not only invaded her room, but he was also invading her body. The soft snores and slow steady breathing told her he did not suffer the same affliction she did.

Careful not to disturb him, JJ shifted and turned until she could see him. Propped up on her elbow, she studied the man she never stopped loving. He was so different, but the same. A deep inhale told her he smelled the same. A spicy, musky scent that instantly wet her underwear.

His face was relaxed, but he was still just as devastatingly handsome. She’d missed it earlier, the sneer of disdain he wore masked the old Cris. But with his guard down, she could see hints of him.

This wasn’t the first time she’d stared at him until she fell asleep. A smile came across her mouth when she remembered when he’d busted her watching him one time. He didn’t even open his eyes, just spoke low and sexy. If you keep looking at me like that, I may just have to marry you. He immediately had her under him and kissed her senseless.

God, what I wouldn’t give to go back there, to that time. Before everything changed. Ignorance really was bliss.

She dropped her gaze to his shoulder. It seemed to bruise a bit since she’d helped him pop it back in. They didn’t mention that part on TV.

The last man to hold her as she’d fallen asleep had been Cris. Even her ex did no such thing, not that he hadn’t wanted to, it was just… JJ shook that thought right out of her head. What didn’t shake loose was the heavy weight of every man since Cris. She was the worst girlfriend, and she had no delusions otherwise. Her relationships failed because of her, plain and simple.

The man she was studying in his sleep was the reason. He still owned her heart and was the only man she would ever allow herself to actually fall asleep with.

Fuck it. She was going to have a good night’s sleep for the first time in a decade, even if she paid the ultimate price. She didn’t have her heart to lose, but the man in her bed could pulverize it if he chose to do so.

Careful not to wake him, JJ burrowed deeper into the covers and laid her head on his chest. Thank goodness his injury was on the other side, because no sooner did she let out a relieved sigh than Cris wrapped that strong arm around her.

Holding her breath, she prayed he was asleep and wouldn’t realize it was her. She needed this more than she realized.

When he dropped a kiss on the crown of her head and murmured her old name, she knew the first moment’s peace in ten long years.

Sleep came swiftly after that, and JJ was grateful for her meddling friend.

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