Page 55 of Sadie's Guarded Harbor

He stilled, weighing his words so he didn’t say the wrong thing. “You sure? Earlier you wanted me to leave.” As much as he wanted to stay, he didn’t want her to regret anything. Even if it was only him crashing on her couch.

She wrinkled her nose. “Earlier my home hadn’t been violated.”

He smiled. “I’d be happy to stay. I don’t like the idea of you being alone until this is over. Do you have an extra pillow and blanket I can use?”

“You can’t share my blanket?” She bit into her lower lip. Vulnerability shone from her wide eyes.

Excitement stirred in his gut. He mentally stomped it down. “You want me to sleep with you in the same bed?”

“Would you mind?”

He belted out a laugh and pulled her close again. He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “You are unlike any woman I’ve ever met.”

She wrapped her arms around him. “Is that a good thing?”

“A great thing.”

She released her grip and took his hand, leading him to her room.

He stood in the doorway, taking in the no-frills room that matched the rest of her house. The sky-blue comforter lay rumpled on the bed. One frame with a picture of Sadie and Amelia sat on her nightstand. Nothing scattered on the floor or cluttered up the furniture.

Sadie removed her robe and hung it on a hook attached to the back of her door.

How in the hell could she look so damn sexy covered in baggy flannel?

She flipped off the light and sat on the edge of the bed, eyes trained on him.

His pulse raced. Hesitation over what to do next kept him frozen to the spot. He’d never spent the night with a woman he was falling this hard for. Not even Vanessa. Their love had been pure and still innocent when she was ripped away. The heat overtaking his body demanded he sweep across the room, gather her in his arms, and show her just how much he wanted to be with her.

But another part of him told him to take things slow. She’d been through hell today. Then there was the issue of how to sleep. At home, he stripped down to all his glory. But he couldn’t just take off his clothes and hop into bed with her.

“I can practically see the wheels in your head spinning,” Sadie said with a wicked grin.

He chuckled and squeezed the back of his neck. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable—don’t want to take things too far too fast.”

“I just invited you into my bed. Stop overthinking.”

Stepping further into the room, he shrugged out of his jacket and laid it on a chair in the corner. He peeled off his shirt, tossing it to join the coat. He rested his fingers on the button of his jeans. No way he’d be able to sleep with the stiff fabric covering his legs, but he could be crossing a line to slide in next to her with nothing on but boxers.

Sadie giggled. “Do you need me to turn away?”

“Shut up,” he said on a laugh. He unbuttoned the pants, glided them down his legs, and approached the bed. “You better get your fine ass under the covers before I do something that keeps us up both awake for a very long time.”

She stared up at him and circled her mouth with her tongue.

A low growl rumbled from deep in his throat. “Sadie.” He spoke her name as a warning.

“I don’t want to go to sleep right now,” she said, her voice low.

His chest tightened, his heart lodged in his throat. She was so damn beautiful, and he didn’t want to mess anything up. He wanted to do things right this time. “Are you sure?”

She nodded and rose to her knees. Hooking an arm around his neck, she pulled him close.

Her body molded to his, her skin so hot and tempting he almost melted. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear then lifted her chin so her eyes met his. He studied every line of her face, the long curve of her neck, and committed this moment to memory.

Then he kissed her.

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