Page 3 of The Bookworm

“You can, and you will. It’s already decided,” he says all matter-of-factly, leaving no room for discussion.

Shock fades away when I look at him and realize he is totally serious. The determination in his eyes fills my heart with joy and contentment. I don’t remember the last time I felt like this. My life has been filled with dread and fear for so long that this is foreign to me.

I should probably be more guarded, not relying on him, but damn, it feels so good to have someone taking care of me. I’m so tired of taking care of myself.

He walks through his house, carrying me in his arms effortlessly. We make it up the stairs to a slightly open door. Talon softly kicks the door open the rest of the way and steps into the room. The only light illuminating the space comes from the hallway, but it’s enough to make out the king-sized bed in the back center.

He carries me to it and gently places me on the mattress. My butt sinks into the cloud-like bed with a sigh. It’s so damn soft and smells of him. I’m sitting up with my feet dangling off the side, but I really just want to lay down and bury my face in his pillow. The only downside is him letting me go to turn on the bedside lamp.

“You’re sleeping in my bed either way. I can sleep on the couch unless?—”

“You can sleep with me,” I blurt out before thinking it through. “I mean, sleep with me in the bed.”Although…I squeeze my thighs together at the thought of him sleeping with me. I’ve never been with anyone, but I’ve made myself come plenty of times, and during many of them, I was fantasizing about Talon… and maybe Sawyer a few times. Shame and guilt sparks in my chest. I shouldn’t think of two guys like that.

“If you’re sure, I would like that.” He grins.

I nod. Glancing at my legs, I notice the dirt on my jeans from where I fell on the ground. “I’m sorry, I’m getting your bed all dirty.”

“I don’t care about that.” He kneels in front of me and undoes my shoelaces. My cheeks heat with embarrassment about my old worn-out sneakers. That feeling only grows when he pulls my shoes off and sees my deteriorating socks.

Part of me expects him to make fun of me or, at the very least, show his disgust like the other guys who make fun of me for being poor. He does neither. He simply pulls my socks off and throws them on the floor.

“Would you like to take a bath?”

“God, yes,” I say quickly. “I haven't taken a bath in years. We only have a shower.”

“Wait here,” he orders before disappearing into what I assume is the attached bathroom. The sound of a faucet being turned on confirms my assumption.

When he returns, his upper body is bare. He must have discarded his shirt in the bathroom. Instinctively, I look away, averting my gaze to the floor. He eats up the distance between us until he stands right in front of me. It takes me a second to realize that his crotch is now directly in my field of vision, and though I don’t mean to, I’m staring directly at the bulge in his pants.

Grabbing my chin, he tilts my head up, forcing me to look at him. “If you keep looking at me like this, I won’t be able to sleep in here with you.”

I almost ask him why, but then the two brain cells of mine that are still at work jump into action. He is hard. His dick is hard. He really wants me. Oh. My. God.

Talon Mitchell wantsme.

My mouth goes dry. What the hell am I going to do now?

Calm down, Merrit,I yell at myself internally while forcing a smile on my lips.

Talon turns around and grabs an oversized T-shirt—well, not oversized on him, but it would be like a dress to me—and a towel, then leads me to the bathroom. I stand and follow him, my head aching and making me dizzy after the slap.

I stand in the bathroom by the running tub, looking down at the steaming hot water with some bubbles foaming at the top. I can't help but smile at the idea of him putting soap in the tub before running the water just to make it a little more appealing to me. It's thoughtful, and I'm already starting to see a new side to Talon I didn't know existed.

“Thank you,” I whisper, looking at him with a soft smile as I wait a few moments, expecting him to leave. He stands in the doorway and nods toward the tub, signaling for me to get inside.

“If you have a concussion, I don't trust you to be in here alone right now,” Talon says, a smile growing on his lips. “I’m staying here with you.”

There's no room in his words for negotiation. I can either take a bath and wash the dirt off my skin and let my sore muscles relax with Talon watching me, or I can sit in uncomfortable filth. The idea of him watching me undress and soak in the tub is also appealing for a myriad of other reasons.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined Talon Mitchell would wantmeto stay in his house, sleep in his bed, and bathe right in front of him. The excitement pools between my legs, and I nod my head, lifting my shirt above it to drop it on the ground.

Talon's eyes are on me when I shimmy out of my pants and kick them to the side before hesitantly taking off my underwear. My cheeks heat as I quickly step into the tub. I'm not entirely sure what happened or what universe I've just stepped into, but I'm excited to see where it goes.

THREE

Merrit Wright is naked in my tub right in front of me. I have to repeat the phrase over and over in my mind to make sense of it. This morning, I woke up with her on my mind, as I do just about every day. I've admired her from afar long enough, and now she's here in front of me,naked.

I sit on the cold tile floor beside the tub and dip a washcloth in the water, letting it soak up some of the suds from the bubbles. Merrit is nervous. I can tell by the way she lifts her legs to try to hide her breasts from me. The last thing I want to do is make her uncomfortable, especially after everything she's been through, but I can't leave her alone right now. I won't let any harm come to her, not on my watch.

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