Page 65 of Forever Fascinating

“Deal!” she smiled wanly, feeling the exhaustion.

Picking up her bag, she disappeared into the narrow bathroom, quickly changing, brushing her teeth, and realizing that she was perfectly modest for this. Her Harry Potter pajama pants and Air Force T-shirt would cover her from neck to ankle with zero temptation… and she’d packed it because it was comfortable, never imagining that Matthew would actuallyseeit.

Yawning heavily, she exited the bathroom and immediately pulled back the sheets, seeing only a coverlet on the bed. Grabbing one of the bolsters, she put it directly down the center, and heard the door slightly open behind her, causing her to look over her shoulder.

“Are you decent?” he asked through a faint crack.

“Yep… and ready to collapse.”

As the door opened, Jana realized she might not tempt Matthew in her get-up… but whoa… she would be!

He was wearing a very similar Air Force T-shirt that nearly matched hers and a pair of running shorts that stopped mid-thigh. The man’s legs were extremely muscled from years of running and playing sports… and practically golden from the sun.

Yanking her eyes away, she cleared her throat.

“See?” she said hoarsely. “We can do this. Do you want the sheets or the coverlet?”

“I probably don’t need either if you want to take them.”

“Alrighty,” she replied, wishing it wasn’t so obvious how he affected her. The last time she’d seen him he’d been dressed in slacks with a polo shirt. Before that, he was wearing his dress uniform… but now? Now, he looked so casual, and it was supremely gorgeous.

Without another word, she laid down onto the left side of the bed, hearing the mattress groan audibly and very nearly patted it in understanding – because it took the words right out of her mouth!

She felt Matthew climb in on the other side and almost groaned herself.

There’s a bolster there… things are fine, Jana…she mused idly, laying her head down and yanking the sheet up to her collarbone.

“Goodnight,” she whispered, closing her eyes and unable to fight the exhaustion anymore. Her voice sounded so loud in the silence, and she could hear someone down the hall snoring, feeling supremely grateful that they didn’t have a room closer to whoever that was.

“Sweet dreams, Jana,” Matthew said softly, sounding exhausted, too.

She lay there, feeling herself drift off, before she heard him speak again, causing her to smile as she fell asleep.

“Those pajama pants are adorable.”

CHAPTER18

VAPOR

Matthew laythere in the darkness, listening to Jana’s breathing even out… and feeling like the biggest heel in the world.

Yeah, the hotel owner had given away the room with the double beds and it was the truth that the man had upgraded them to a suite… but there had been a second room available to rent.

He had declined it.

It would double their budget for the hotel and selfishly he wanted Jana close to him. He wanted to spend every moment he could in her presence, to see every aspect of her and who she was, and a part of him wanted to see how they handled things together, as a couple, head on.

He was crazy about her and trying so hard to take things slow, to make sure things were right, because he’d seen what a broken home looked like first-hand. He’d seen the fights, heard the yelling, and was so scared to have something fade or lose Jana as a friend.

No, he had to be sure.

And when he walked in the room, spotting her standing there in the Air Force T-shirt he’d sent her and those silly pajama pants she’d gotten for Christmas from her parents? It was hard not to grab her and kiss her senseless.

Yet, he’d fought the urge… somehow.

He lay there in the darkness, closing his eyes, and feeling supremely guilty for having taken away the option from Jana… and it was eating at him.

“Jana?” he whispered in the stillness. “Are you still awake?”

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