Page 56 of One Last Encore

His hand found her back, warm and steady, rubbing slow, soothing circles. The gentleness of it was unnerving. Suspiciously nice. Like he had some kind of secret strategy.

She peeked up at him. "Are you trying to lull me into a false sense of security?"

"Absolutely," he said. "It’s all part of my master plan to turn you into a full-time cuddler."

"Diabolical."

"You have no idea."

Ingrid huffed a laugh despite herself. The steady motion of his hand on her back, melted something in her that she didn’t even realize had been clenched tight.

She let her body relax slightly, sinking deeper into his arms.

"Just get comfortable," Beck murmured, pressing a lazy, lingering kiss to the top of her head. "I'll take care of the rest."

"Am I getting the pillow princess treatment?" she teased, her lips curling into a smirk. "I just lay here, and you do all the work?"

"Obviously," Beck replied, his tone solemn. "Nothing less for my princess."

He punctuated the words with another kiss, this time on her forehead. Soft and barely there. It made her heart skip.

Before she could overthink it, Beck pulled her fully against him, pressing her into the warmth of his chest.

She let out a tiny, barely-audible sigh of contentment.So nice.

Beck immediately smirked. "Nice, huh?"

Ingrid’s eyes flew open. "Did I say that out loud?"

"No, but your adorable little sigh kind of implied it," he teased. "But I appreciate the verbal confirmation."

She groaned and buried her face against him. "You suck."

"I saw that blush," he said, smug.

"You're imagining things."

"Mm-hmm." He chuckled, the sound vibrating against her. His fingers found their way into her hair, threading through the strands before smoothing them down in slow, lazy strokes.

It shouldn’t have felt this good, definitely notthisgood.

Then he started humming, soft and low, the vibration of it sinking into her skin. The melody was familiar. It took her a second to place it, but when she did, she couldn’t help the smile that curved her lips.Uptown Girl. Billy Joel. Of course.

"You can relax," he murmured, his voice barely audible now. "I've got you."

And for the first time in what felt like forever, Ingrid let herself believe him.

She let her body soften completely, let the last of her tension fade. And as she drifted toward sleep, still wrapped in his arms, she thought that maybe cuddling wasn’t so bad after all.

CHAPTER 16

INGRID. THE DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN, FIVE YEARS AGO

She woke up trapped. Something warm and heavy was draped across her waist, and for one horrifying second, her sleep-fogged brain screamedkidnapper. Her pulse spiked, muscles tensing, every nerve on high alert until the scent of Beck hit her. That maddening mix of woodsy cologne, soap, and pure trouble.Oh. Right.

She cracked her eyes open. The morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a soft glow over the broad chest inches from her face. Beck’s white T-shirt was rumpled and stretched snug over firm muscle, the steady rise and fall of his breathing visible beneath the cotton.

His arm, inked and solid, was locked around her like a human seatbelt.

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