Page 12 of Tell Me You Need Me

“You’ve done enough already. Thank you.” I want to tell him thank you too, but I hold it back. It feels like a rare treat getting this much conversation out of him.

“Join me in the den? You can take your drink there,” I ask while I warm it up for him. “My reality TV often makes Willa crash. It could help.”

“I don’t watch much TV, if any.” Disappointment fills me. “But I could try it. Willing to try anything for one good night of sleep.” My disappointment vanishes.

“Awesome.” As soon as the word leaves my mouth, I feel like a dork.Awesome?Really, Teddy? It makes me sound young, which I am, but I don’t want him seeing me that way.

“Are you going to have one with me?”

“Sure.” I grab another cup, still shocked that he’s going to watch TV with me. When I finish filling both mugs, West takes them and follows me into the den. There is a movie room, but we never use it. It’s super fancy with these recliner chairs. It feels impersonal, so we always used this room to watch movies together when Karl wasn’t here. It’s more homey with big, soft, comfortable chairs and throw blankets.

“Shall I?” West nods to the fireplace, setting our mugs down.

“Yes, please. I love a fire.” It’s still warm out now, with fall moving in, but at night, the island is always cool. It doesn’t matter what time of the year it is. I grab the remote to find one of my shows to put on. I decide onTraitors, thinking that might lure him in more thanHousewives.

I take a seat on one of the couches, watching West get the firing going, the whole time wondering where he'll sit. I hope he decides to sit next to me, but I don’t want to be obvious about it. Nor do I want to be disappointed if he doesn’t. I have no clue why this man has such an effect on me, but he does.

“All done.” His eyes come to me when he turns around. I can feel them, but I keep mine trained on the TV getting it set up and not showing my anticipation of where he will choose to sit. Then the couch dips beside me. Excitement fills me with his choice. “It's my first time watching trash TV, so go easy on me.”

“It’s good trash.” I nudge him playfully with my shoulder. “I’ll ease you into it.” I swing my gaze toward him. The blush that had already started to form on my cheeks blooms more whenI see the way he’s looking at me. “Traitors,” I blurt out for no logical reason other than I panicked.

“Traitors?” He lifts a brow.

“It’s good. You’ll be addicted in no time.” His eyes drop to my mouth.

“I’m sure I will be.”Holy shit.Is he thinking about kissing me? No way. He turns his head, breaking the spell. “Here.” He leans forward to pick up one of the mugs, then hands it to me.

“Thanks.” I hit play before I take it from him. He grabs his own. I settle in next to him as we watch the episode. I can only half pay attention with how close he is to me. This is not how I thought tonight would go when we came back from the diner.

We both finish our drinks, but neither of us moves, allowing one episode to flow seamlessly into the next. I find myself growing sleepy, but I fight it. I don’t want this to be over.

“Maybe we should lie down. It might help me get tired.”

“Okay,” I say, turning to lie on my side facing the TV. To my utter shock, West sinks in behind me, pulling a blanket over us. His arm comes to rest around me.

“This okay?” he whispers next to my ear. For the first time in my life, I find myself at a loss for words, so I simply nod. West lets his arm drape more around me, and I let myself relax into him. It’s not long before sleep takes me, and I’m pretty sure West takes a part of my heart too.

Chapter Nine

WEST

Iswear I’m dreaming when I start to wake. A familiar smell that I’ve branded in my mind as sugary sweetness surrounds me. I’d know that smell anywhere. It belongs to Teddy. I let my eyes slowly open, not moving, to see her head resting on my chest. All of her dark chocolate hair is all around us. It's as soft as her. I notice light peeking in from under the curtains. The fire has long gone out.

Fuck, I slept through the night. For the first time since I found out that my brother was dead, I’m rested.

"Hmm." Teddy lets out a small moan, shifting her leg higher to throw it over me, her thigh pressing into my very hard cock. She runs her hand up my chest.

I remain still, allowing her to continue to explore, even though my hands itch to touch her, and my cock is begging me to do a lot more than that. I close my eyes, enjoying every damn second of the way her fingertips feel against me. With each stroke, she pulls me further under whatever spell she’s woven over me. I never want it to end.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” A familiar voice echoes through the room, causing me to open my eyes andTeddy to jolt awake. I wrap my arm around her to keep her from falling off the couch.

I spot Rich standing in the open doorway to the den, glaring at me. Shit, I can't even deny that I didn't intend to fall asleep. I knew what I was suggesting when I asked Teddy to lie down. It surprised me how quickly she had agreed to it.

“Crap.” Teddy’s eyes are blinking quickly, trying to get the sleep out of them. She tries to sit up, but I keep my hold on her for a fraction of a second before I release her so she can.

Even half-asleep and her hair a wild mess, she is breathtaking. I can picture her appearing the same in my bed, but her lips swollen because I hadn’t been able to stop kissing and tasting her. I know she’ll be the sweetest thing to ever touch my lips.

“What is going on?” Now Willa is there. “Oh shit,” she whispers, putting her hand over her mouth.

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