Page 64 of Bewitched By the Djinn
I groan, smacking his arm. “Oh my God, don’t say that. Now I’m going to be paranoid all night.”
He stifles his laugh. “I could always stand watch.”
“You’re not funny.” I tug the blanket higher like that’ll protect me from potential creepy-crawlies.
The rumble of his laughter brushes against my senses like a soft feather.
And damn it, I laugh too.
Chapter
Seventeen
Banging drags me out of a deep sleep. I haven’t slept a full night like that inyears. With the exception of the night before last. I’m going to pretend like Bennet didn’t have anything to do with either of those amazing slumbers even though he is the only common denominator.
I shift to stretch, but I’m held back. I’m wrapped up in cozy heat. I settle back down. Stretching can happen later.
Warmth tickles my nose along with spice and sugar.
I open my eyes and am confronted with the strong column of Bennet’s throat.
I’m half on top of him, my face wedged into his neck. His arm is wrapped around me, holding me in place, our legs entwined.
The room is gray with hints of dawn creeping through the windows.
Dawn. The portal. We have to get out of here before the portal shuts.
Wait. What woke me? Was there knocking?
I stir, attempting to untangle my limbs from Bennet’s.
Before I progress more than an inch, he rolls in my direction, holding me tighter, flipping our positions so now his head is in the crook of my neck. He breathes in deeply, contented noisesrumbling in his chest. The bristles of his jaw brush against the delicate skin of my neck and collar. He’s rubbing his face on me like a cat.
A wave of jumbled emotions crashes over me: satisfaction, possessiveness, and arousal. Are his shields down? Are mine? I search inside for the bond between us, lifting my shields a crack. Words filter through the emotions, rising into my awareness like buoys in the water.Mine.Comfy.Mmmm. He breathes deeply.Delicious.
I guess he thinks I smell okay. Good to know. But how is it that I can hear his thoughts? Is the bond getting stronger, even though we’ve clamped down our mental defenses? Are his clamped down at all?
Whenever I lift my shields in his presence, the bond is there, his emotions are there, flaring brighter than the sun... Has he even bothered to lock his mind away from mine?
The knocking returns, a staccato of thumps.
Bennet snuffles and wakes. I rebuild my defenses, locking out his thoughts as he rises to consciousness and blinks his eyes open.
He gazes at me sleepily, a smile lifting his lips. “Good morning.”
An awake and alert Bennet is handsome. A sleepy, rumpled Bennet with messy hair is devastating.
I don’t have time to contemplate any of it. Whoever is at the door is about to break it down.
Bennet’s eyes snap to awareness. “Stay here.” In one smooth movement, he rolls away from me and slips under the net, stalking on quiet feet to the door.
I sit up.
Dammit, his protectiveness is way too hot.
The hammering at the door abruptly ceases.
He lifts the curtain to peer through the narrow front window, then frowns and swings the door wide open, sticking his head out. “No one is here.” He turns to face me.
