Page 61 of Broken Skulls

“You can’t force me to sleep,” she says angrily, but then she curls up into a little ball, her bravado fading. “But I wish you could.”

“I absolutely could.”

Her big brown eyes blink at me in disbelief. “Seeing him again brought everything to the forefront of my mind,” she admits quietly.

I walk over and place two sandwiches on the table before sitting down beside her. “I can help you fall asleep,” I tell her again.

Her chest begins to rise and fall fast as she realizes I’m not joking. “How?” she asks in barely a whisper.

Whether she realizes it or not, she scoots closer to me.

“When was the last time you let yourself have a pleasurable release?”

It’s interesting how badly she wants to look away but can’t. Her cheeks turn bright pink against her pale skin. She begins to stutter, “Y – you want to be intimate with me?”

I let her squirm for a few minutes as I let my gaze roam over her from head to toe and back again. Oh, her cheeks are in full blossom now. “I think you know the answer to that question.”

She drops her head quickly, letting her hair fall in front of her face, but I catch the shy smile.

I stare at the top of her head. I’m struck by the way she responds to me. I’ve never had a woman so receptive to my voice, my movements. But then again, I’ve never been so bold or confident with someone.

My fingers brush lightly over her hair. “As much as I want to be with you, tonight will be for your enjoyment only. Not that I won’t enjoy giving it to you.”

Her shiver makes me feel invincible.

“Eat,” I tell her.

She mindlessly brings the sandwich to her lips. Her mind is reeling. Good. At least she’s in the present, and she’s eating.

I keep quiet, not wanting to disrupt her thoughts. It feels good knowing they’re on me. The thought makes me chuckle.

Her chewing pauses, and she looks at me. She covers her mouth. “What?”

“Just wondering how the hell I got so lucky.”

“I’m not …”

“You are … you’re everything I’ve prayed for.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Elizabeth

He’s everything I’ve prayed for too, but there’s no way he prayed for me.

I wait for him at the table as he shuts things down for the night. He checks the lock on the door not once, not twice, but three times. Is this his normal routine?

When he pauses at the window, staring out into the darkness, I finally approach him, setting my hand on his shoulder. “Is everything okay?”

He laughs lightly. “Everything’s good.” He leans down and kisses the top of my head before taking my hand in his and leading us to the bedroom.

I don’t push him. Maybe seeing what I went through is making him extra cautious. Whatever it is, I appreciate it. I feel safe here.

It’s when Jacob closes the bedroom door that I remember our conversation. “I really think I’d have better luck sleeping downstairs.”

“I guess we could sleep down there. But then I wouldn’t have those.” He points to the bed, smiling at me innocently.

My gaze follows his finger. Two red silk scarves hang from the chrome bars of his headboard.

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