Page 25 of Dumbstruck
I pull in close to his chest again, glad for once that I’m not tall. I’m relaxing now—I’m pretty sure I overreacted—but I have no desire to leave this spot. I fit so perfectly. “I don’t know if you can call it paranoia. I think… I was asking questions about the things happening on set. I clearly asked the wrong thing at some point and made someone angry.”
Jonah tenses. “You were asking questions?”
“As if I’d let you solve the mystery on your own. I figured I would get a head start while I waited for your prison guard to ease up.” I sound braver than I feel right now.
Chuckling, Jonah returns his hand to my hair and runs his fingers through it. “I am both annoyed and impressed, June Harper. Rich, might as well run that plate. It could be a good place to start in the morning.”
“Got it.” Richie moves to the kitchen, already talking to someone.
Again, I think about calling the police, but I already know what the sheriff would tell me. He’s as against this movie as anyone, and he would tell me I’m being paranoid and to let him know if there are any actual crimes.
He would be right. Driving past my house isn’t doing anything wrong, no matter how much it freaked me out.
“You can go to bed,” Jonah tells me. “Richie and I will hang out in here.”
I look at my couch, which isn’t all that large. It’ll fit one of the guys, but barely. I hardly expect either of them to stay up all night, so where will the other one go? Besides, I doubt I’ll be able to sleep knowing someone out there is vindictive enough to stalk my house. My hold tightens around Jonah as I imagine someone trying to get through my bedroom window because the locks are old and flimsy. I’ve been meaning to replace them all, considering my house is older than me, but I’ve never felt unsafe in Laketown. Not until tonight.
“Or,” Jonah says softly, “I could sleep on the floor in the hallway, if that would make you more comfortable. Tell me what you want, and I’ll do it.”
I don’t know what I want outside of the fact that I do not want to be alone tonight. Taking a deep breath, I reluctantly pull myself out of Jonah’s hold and offer a sheepish smile as I run my hands over my hair. “Thank you. For coming over. I don’t usually get spooked like this, so I…” My words falter when I get a good look at the concern in his eyes. He’s so worried, and warmth spreads through me from my head to my toes. “Will you stay in my room?” I ask. I immediately regret being so bold and shake my head. “Forget that. I shouldn’t have…”
I trail off when Jonah’s fingers brush my cheek. His smile is so soft and gentle that I feel it everywhere. “Whatever you’d like, June. As long as it makes you feel safe.”
In all the times I talked about my ex over the last couple of days, I didn’t tell Jonah that my ex hit me. That the class ring he always wore left a small scar over my cheekbone, right where Jonah touches now. But he seems to know, and his quiet offer of protection leaves me feeling dizzy and overwhelmed.
Tears welling up in my eyes, I lean up on my toes and press a kiss to Jonah’s cheek. “Thank you,” I whisper and lead him to the back of my house.
Grabbing a spare blanket, I look around the small room and try not to think about the fact that my full bed might get awfully cozy.
But then Jonah takes the blanket out of my hand and lays it on the worn hardwood in front of the window seat that looks into my backyard. “Do you have an extra pillow?” he asks, like offering to sleep on a hard floor is a normal thing for a guy to do.
I furrow my brow. “I can’t ask you to sleep on the floor, Jonah.” And what happened to his flirty side? The one who less than half an hour ago was joking about making out with me? Not that I want to make out while I’m frazzled like this, but still.
As he sits on the blanket, legs stretched out in front of him, he looks up at me with a crooked smile and shakes his head. “If you’re suggesting I share the bed with you, then you have a much higher estimation of my self-control than you should.”
I can’t help but smile back at him, and my body relaxes even more. The tightness in my chest eases, letting me breathe fully. I overreacted, but I’m glad he’s here. “Are you saying I should be worried about your intentions, Jonah James?”
“I’m saying I haven’t seen you in three days and I’m still thinking about that kiss you gave me. But I’m not one to take advantage of a traumatic situation.” His eyes darken as they drop to my mouth. “No matter how much I want to.”
A shiver runs through me.
Before I can say anything, Richie lumbers down the hall and stops in the doorway. “We should have a name in the morning.” He raises an eyebrow at Jonah, but he doesn’t say anything to him. Instead, he looks at me and asks, “Is there anything you need tonight, Miss Harper? I’ll keep an eye out for any trouble, but you should be safe the rest of the night.”
I haven’t talked much to Jonah’s bodyguard before now, but I find myself tempted to wrap him up in a tight hug. Which is ridiculous because I’m not much of a hugger, except when it comes to Jonah, apparently. Richie doesn’t look like the type to appreciate a hug, but I’d be okay with giving Jonah another one as a proxy.
“Thank you, Richie,” I say after a longer pause than I’d like to admit; I was imagining Jonah’s arms around me again. “I think I’ll be okay in the morning, but I’m woman enough to admit I wouldn’t be okay if you weren’t here.” I look at Jonah. “Both of you.”
Jonah’s smile fills the room with light. “I’m not one to ignore the chance to be a knight in shining armor, June Harper. Even if my daring rescue is mostly me sleeping on the floor.”
As Richie heads back to the front room, I grab a pillow and hand it to Jonah. “You don’t snore, do you?” Not that I have any right to complain if he does.
Chuckling, he shakes his head and stretches out on the floor, one hand behind his head. In his t-shirt and sweats, he’s showing off all his trim lines and muscles. I need to change into pajamas and brush my teeth, but I spend a moment looking at him and trying to figure out how a movie star ended up happily sprawled on my floor.
“You are not anything like I expected, Jonah James,” I mutter and head for the bathroom. If I get any sleep tonight, it’ll be a miracle. And not because I’m scared.
Nope, I’m going to be dreaming about Jonah James all night.
Chapter Eight
