Page 50 of Surly Sheriff
This time, she rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she huffed and pulled free from his grip. She stepped back and waved one arm between them. “I’ve … never slept beside a man. It was … weird. What with you holding me and all.”
Beau took a moment to process what she had said and tackled the one that disturbed him the most. “Rae.” He waited until she met his stare. “What made our snuggling weird?” he asked gently.
“Dunno,” was her immediate reply.
He kept looking at her.
“Beau,” she grumbled. “Urgh. You’re infuriating. I don’tknow.”
He placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently. “Think back, sweetheart. What feeling made you get out of bed?”
“You’re a shrink now?”
“No. But I really want to sleep beside you, so I need to know” — he tilted his head and lowered his voice further — “what triggered you to leave the bed?”
“I was trapped!” she cried out. And slapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes widening.
His heart almost broke at the misery pooling in her eyes.
“Your arms …” A tear leaked from the corner of her eye. “I … I couldn’t get free. Shit,” she muttered, shaking her head. “I’ve no idea where that came from.”
And he believed her. The bewilderment on her features spoke volumes.
He decided not to dig further.
Not tonight, at least.
“Instead of spooning, how about we try sleep next to each other without touching,” he said.
She stared at him for a long moment, holding his stare. “I’d like to try that.”
“Good. But, Rae, if you feel uneasy again, wake me. And we figure it out. Okay?”
“Okay.”
They climbed into bed from opposite sides and lay down facing each other, their heads on separate pillows. Rae tucked a hand beneath her cheek. He didn’t like the wary look she gave him.
“How do you feel about me doing some penetration testing of my own?” he asked, wiggling his brows.
A smile played on her lips and some of the worry left her eyes. “Weak, Stirling. Weak.”
“But it made you smile.”
“It did.” She reached out and placed her palm on his shoulder, tracking down his arm to his hand, and laced her fingers with his. And in a surprise move, she slipped over him, placing her legs on either side of his hips. The warmth of her settling on him brought his dick to life, and he swelled under her.
Rae captured his other hand and stretched her arms out, curling over his torso. “So,” she murmured, her lips hovering over his, “you think you can get past my firewalls?”
“Going to give it my best attempt.”
Which he did. And yes, the penetration testing was successful. He bore through her firewalls and slipped all the way in, reaching the very heart of her.
Later, bodies sated, heads back on separate pillows, Beau whispered. “I really like the fact that come morning, us waking together will be a first for you.”
“Possessive much?”
“Over you? Oh yeah, you’d better believe it.”
Rae laughed. “I kinda like that.” A big yawn stretched her jaw. She laughed again. “Guess Iamtired.”
