Delaney grabbed my arm at the same time she flopped on the bed, almost yanking me off my feet.
“Stay with me,” she pleaded, her eyes sparkling with tears. “I hate being alone.”
How could I say no to her? I couldn’t.
Between the two of us, we got her shoes and mine off and I tucked her under the covers.
“I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep,” I told her. It wasn’t going to take long.
She yawned so hard her jaw cracked as she nuzzled into her pillow.
“Stay with me,” she muttered again, reaching out to me. I took her hand, cradling it gently with mine. We’d done more touching tonight than we ever had before, and it was messing with my head.
Here I was, laying in Delaney’s bed and holding her hand. This was beyond my wildest dreams. Sure, I was wearing jeans and I was on top of the blankets while she was under them, but I was still in her bed, surrounded by her scent and feeling her warmth beside me.
Glancing over, I saw that she was out. Her fingers loosened from mine. I turned on my side so I could make sure she was okay. Also so I could stare at her a little bit, obviously. Not in a creepy way. In a concerned way.
She had plenty of pillows, so I made myself comfortable. Just for a few minutes. Just a few more…
Chapter Nineteen
Delaney
My head was poundingwhen I woke up. That was the first thing I realized. The second was that I wasn’t alone in my bed.
Carefully, I cracked one eye open to figure out what the hell had happened. The lights were still on, but the sky was still dark-ish outside my window.
Oh, and James St. Clair was sleeping next to me, her head cradled on one of her arms.
The night rushed back at me and I remembered going to Sapph. Drinking (that explained the headache) and dancing. James was there. I’d tried to get her to dance with me. What happened after that was kind of fuzzy, but I could put the pieces together.
Huh. I should be a lot more upset that James was in my bed than I was. It was kind of sweet that she had come in and stayed with me. She must have been tired herself.
Her face was smooth in sleep, some of her hair falling in her face. So carefully, I reached out with a few fingers and moved the strands out of her face. She scrunched up her nose in an adorable way but didn’t wake up.
One small issue: I really had to pee. Like, in a “if I don’t go soon, I’m risking kidney damage” way. And I had to get past James to get to the bathroom.
There was nothing else to do but wake her.
“James,” I said, touching her shoulder. “James?”
Her eyes fluttered open and she looked surprised before she smiled sleepily at me and my heart did a lazy little somersault. Huh.
“I’m sorry. I have to pee so bad.”
“Yeah,” she said, her voice rough.
I climbed out of bed and went to relieve myself. I took a while washing my hands before going back into my bedroom. James was still in my bed, but she was sitting up and reading the back cover of one of my books.
“Is this any good?” she asked, showing me the cover.
I leaned against the door, taking in this very strange sight. “Yeah, it is. Wanna borrow it?” I was only half-kidding. James didn’t need to know that I never, ever lent my books out. I didn’t trust anyone to take care of them. Books were precious and I didn’t want anything to happen to mine.
“Are you sure?” she asked, turning the book around in her hands.
Now was my time to retract my offer. But she’d brought me home safe and tucked me into bed. “I’m sure.”
James smiled and got to her feet. “Sorry about falling asleep and everything. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”