Page 30 of His Wild Mate

I blushed.

Having him watch me like that had been a huge turn on. I liked it, but I wasn't going to admit that to him.

He walked away and climbed into bed naked.

When he looked over and saw me watching him, he patted the bed next to him.

A part of me desperately wanted to join him, but I was still scared. It had been a long day, and I felt safe in the closet. I just wanted a good night's sleep. The fact that I didn't shut the door and lock myself inside there should have been a clue to how much I already trusted him.

We laid there in silence for a long time. I kept yawning but struggled to find sleep. I could tell by his breathing pattern and the way he kept tossing and turning that he was struggling as well.

“I can't sleep either,” I surprised myself by blurting out.

“You're safe here. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you still in the damn closet?”

So that was definitely something bothering him.

“It makes me feel safe. And I like your smell.”

“Oh,” he said, sounding surprised but not displeased by my answer.

There was a long but comfortable pause before he spoke again.

“I'm Emmett.”

“I know.”

“And you are . . .”

“Paige.”

“Paige?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I like it.”

I had no idea why that made me so damn happy.

“You’re safe here, Paige.”

“I know, but I've never been safe before so it's a little hard for me to trust it.”

“Well, you're welcome to sleep in the bed. There's also a guest room down the hall if you'd rather have your own space.”

“I can't sleep with you,” I blurted out.

“You have nothing to fear from me. I can't even touch you. Thomas put out an Alpha order and that sonofabitch didn't exclude me from it. No one in Collier Pack can touch you or harm even a hair on your head.”

“It's not that.”

“Then what?”

“Um, you sleep in your skin.”

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