Page 109 of Even if It Hurts

“So tired,” she whispered against my chest. “These last few days have been long.”

An acknowledging grunt left me as I pulled her away from the room, shutting the door most of the way as I did.

And even though we’d been talking on the couch when Kaia woke, I started leading Lainey toward the room just down the hall. A small smile tugged at my mouth when a grateful sound rose in her throat.

As if already eagerly anticipating going to sleep, she reached for the tie in her hair and let her wild curls fall to her waist.

“You could’ve told me you wanted to go to bed a long time ago.”

She lifted her head to look at me, her eyes narrowed in what I was sure was meant to be a rebuking glare even though she was clearly struggling to keep her eyes open. “And miss this time with you?”

I didn’t answer because I wasn’t sure I knew how.

That didn’t mean I didn’t feel the same.

Once she moved into Chloe’s, and I took Kaia back to my apartment until I could decide if Huntley was the best place for me—for us—I knew I wouldn’t get time like this with Lainey again. Not for a long time.

With a pass of my lips across her forehead, I pointedly glanced at the room I’d just stopped in front of. “Get ready for bed.”

Shock and hurt flared through her exhaustion when I stepped back, but she just anxiously whispered, “Good night?”

Reclaiming the step I’d just taken, I wove my hand through her hair and pulled her close so my forehead was nearly pressed to hers. “I’ll be back.”

I didn’t wait to see her reaction before stealing down the thin, carpeted hall to where I’d been keeping my bag. I didn’t let myself think about how bad of an idea this was as I got ready because this wassucha bad idea.

That girl was dangerous; I’d known it from the first moment I’d told her to go with it and kissed her.

But I’d do anything to have this night and the next last a little longer.

By the time I slipped into the room she was staying in, she was standing just outside the attached bathroom. Dressed in shorts so short I was sure I wouldn’t have seen them if she hadn’t been nervously gripping the bottom of the baggy shirt she was wearing.

“We’re sleeping,” I told her firmly, even though everything inside me was raging against the notion.

Her head bobbed in a quick, subtle nod.

“I’m serious, Lainey. I can’t—I won’t do that to you, and I can’t risk that.”

Realization lit in her eyes as she started closing the distance between us. “If you think I’d try to trap you or something?—”

“Your dad would kill me,” I informed her. “He already thought we were sleeping together and that I’d lied to you about Kaia—he was sure she was mine. But more than that, Wyatt only married Kaia’s mom because she got pregnant. I can still remember my parents arguing about how my mom forced my dad into marrying her when she got pregnant with me before he finally disappeared before Peyton was ever born, and I refuse to be like them. So, until you’re mine, we’re just sleeping.”

Admiration and understanding and even a whisper of relief settled over her features as she stopped just in front of me. “I am yours,” she whispered.

Even though the words were a gentle reminder and in no way said like she was trying to change my mind, I still moved my head in faint shakes as I cradled her face in my hands. “Until you’re mine,” I repeated slowly, meaningfully, “we’re just sleeping.”

“Then let’s go to sleep,” she said as if it were the most natural thing in the world and took one of my hands from her face to lead me toward the bed.

And with Lainey, it kind of felt like it.

Then again, everything that had always felt so unnatural to me felt natural with her.

But once I had the light off and was slipping into the bed behind her, I wished I’d stayed in the living room. Because this also felt natural with her...the way her slender body fit perfectly against mine...the way my heart tripped up when a contented sigh fell from her lips as she settled deeper against my chest...

And I wanted more.

But protecting Lainey would always be my priority, and not turning into my family was just as much a protection for her as it was for me.

“Thank you,” she breathed as she reached behind her to lightly trail the tips of her fingers through my beard. “This is everything.”

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