Page 103 of Off Limits

I scooted closer to him, stopping when my arm brushed his chest. How was I supposed to do this? I’d never cuddled with anyone and wasn’t feeling all that confident that I wasn’t going to somehow mess things up by doing the wrong thing.

“Do you want to get onto your side so we can spoon?” he whispered. “Or you can put your head on my chest.”

“Which do you like more?” I asked, not ready to make that call because they both sounded awesome.

He lay on his back and held one arm out. I took the hint and rolled into him, fitting my body against his. He curled his arm around me and tugged me closer. It took a bit of shifting, but Ifound a comfortable way to put my head on his chest and lay so my arm didn’t feel like it was about to fall asleep.

“Is this okay?” he asked softly.

“Yeah.”

“Are you ready to shatter my childhood?”

I chuckled and snuggled a bit closer to him. “So ready.”

Dex listened intently as I told him what I knew about the link between dinosaurs and birds and answered his questions as best I could.

I’d thought cuddling like this might be awkward or that he wouldn’t like it once we tried it, but the way he gently stroked my arm and kept pressing soft kisses against my hair told me he was enjoying it as much as I was.

“Do you want to stay like this?” he asked sleepily when there was a lull in the conversation. “Or do you want to try spooning?”

As much as I loved what we were doing, I didn’t think I’d be able to get comfortable enough to sleep pressed up to his side like this.

“Maybe try spooning.”

He let me go, and we shifted around until we were both on our sides. Dex wrapped his arm around my waist and moved closer so he could press right up against my back. His warm breath fanned over my neck, and I nearly swooned when he slipped one of his legs between mine to get even closer.

“Is this okay?” he murmured, his voice thick with sleep.

“Yeah,” I closed my eyes and smiled into the dark. “It’s perfect.”

“Yeah.” He pressed a sleepy kiss against my hair. “It is. Night.”

“Night,” I echoed.

A few moments later, his breathing evened out, and his body relaxed as he fell asleep.

I lay there, listening to him breathe and marveling at how empty my head was. I’d assumed I’d be up for hours obsessing over our conversation and thinking of all the ways I could fuck things up between us, but the only thought in my head was how much I loved having him behind me like this.

Still smiling into the dark room, I relaxed against Dex and let sleep slowly take over.

“Asa?” Dev, one of my bosses, called from across the shop. “Can you come into the office for a second?”

“Be right there,” I shouted back.

“No rush,” he assured me, then disappeared back into the office.

“Somebody’s in trouble,” Isaac sing-songed as I went to the sink to wash my hands.

I flipped him off but didn’t bother hiding my smile. Isaac’s antics were one of the only reasons I hadn’t gone crazy today. I had no idea if he could tell I was off or if he was just being his usual self, but I appreciated it either way.

“So what did you do this time?” Jesse asked from his station, which was next to mine. “Scare the customers with your resting bitch face again?”

“That was one time.” I shot him a flat look.

“What about putting a bitchy customer in their place and making them melt down because you actually talked back and didn’t just let them use you as a verbal punching bag?” Jesse asked.

“Sadly, no.” I shot him a grin.

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