Page 26 of Prayers for the Prickly

No comments about me overdoing it. No suggestions that I take more breaks or dial back a little. Those were the types of comments I’d heard from the few men I’d dated, who’d rapidly became exes when they grew more insistent about it and started outright complaining about my hours.

Instead, he held me close as I wiggled in his arms and fished the key from the pocket of my jeans. He held me while I locked up, another huge point for him when others would have tried to take my keys from me and do it themselves

“I walked,” he declared. “Are you good with me driving your vehicle, or would you like me to place you in the driver’s seat?”

Wait, what?

I had to take a moment just to make sure I’d heard what I’d thought I’d heard.

He was asking me.

He wasn’t declaring that I was too tired or unfit to drive.

He wasn’t demanding my keys.

He wasn’t taking over.

This big, snarly badass of a wolverine, who could have wrested the keys away from me in an instant and tossed me across my own back seat before driving me wherever he wanted to take me, was asking whatIwanted.Andgiving me the opportunity to make my own assessment of how I was feeling.

Exhausted.

The little hedgehog inside of me longed to curl up on the passenger’s seat on the short drive home. Had he demanded I let him drive, I’d have seen the need to refuse and insisted upon getting behind the wheel. Him giving me the choice made it easy to choose what I really wanted.

“I’ve got no problem at all with you driving my SUV,” I told him, and hit the button on the key fob to unlock the doors.

Not only did he carefully place me in the passenger’s seat without banging my head on the way in, but he also buckled me in and kissed the tip of my nose before going around to the other side and getting in. The next thing I remembered was being lifted again. Holy shit, I hadn’t even heard the engine of the car turn on, yet somehow, we were already here.

I curled against his chest as he carried me in, but I expected to be put down inside for the long walk up those winding stairs. Instead, he shifted me to his hip, bouncing me a little in the process.

“Wrap your legs around me,” he murmured, gently caressing my back to encourage me.

Didn’t have to tell me twice. I wrapped my legs around him, hooked my ankles together and rested my head on his shoulder as he placed his free hand on the banister and carried me up three flights of steps. Would have been far easier if he’d told me to shift first, though I wasn’t sure if I’d have been able to muster up the energy. I’d bet he’d taken that into account, too, and saved me the trouble of trying and not being able to pull off a shift.

I was just bone weary at the moment, and so damned comfortable that by the time he lay me on our actual bed, I just melted against the comforter, while he stripped off my clothes. I must have seemed like a rag doll to him, unable to help with anything, even my super clingy jeans. I bounced when he tugged, and there was a bit of flopping around, and the feel of his teeth in one of my ass cheeks involved before he got them off me. Once I was naked, he tucked me in and pressed a kiss to my temple before sliding off the bed.

Warm and cozy.

That was the only thing I felt.

Along with a swift and sudden burst of longing that made it impossible for me to close my eyes. In the few days since I’d come to live here, I’d grown used to falling asleep with his arm around me and it wasn’t there yet. The bed was wonderful, the mattress soft and positively amazing, even the bedding was perfect. Light and breathable, providing just the needed amount of warmth for this time of year..

But his arm wasn’t around me yet which meant that he wasn’t in the bed with me yet. Until he was, I’d just lie here and wait impatiently for him to get his ass beneath the covers. I was feeling a little snappy by the time he finally joined me, wondering what had taken him so long and why his feet were so cold.

“Grump,” he grumbled in my ear when he tapped my nose and I tried to nip at his finger.

“Slowpoke,” I complained as he tugged me flush against him.

“They’re predicting a bit of a squall in the morning,” he explained. “So I went around and closed all the storm windows and made sure the windowpanes were locked, too, so nothing accidentally blew open if the winds got as bad as they’re saying they’ll be.”

“Ohh,” I said, feeling a little bad about nipping at him now, but only just a little.

It had still felt like it was taking forever, so a little nip was warranted, at least to my way of thinking. He didn’t seem to mind, either, he just nuzzled the back of my neck when I rolled and rubbed his cheek over my skin, tickling me with his beard. I was too tired to laugh and squirm, so I just sighed and finally began to surrender myself to the pull of sleep.

“I loved watching you work,” he murmured, his breath warm against my skin. Goosebumps hit when the cool air hit the spot moments later, and I shivered, jarred from the first moments of haziness to hear him chuckle.

“You did that on purpose,” I grumbled, swatting at his arm.

“Nope, I just wanted to tell you, so you’d know how inspiring it was. I’ve already drawn up a trio of kitchen imps with hedgehog features, gleefully going about their work.”

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