Page 23 of Midnight Kisses

He dropped a kiss on my shoulder. “Damn, Perry. That was like a fever dream.”

“I know.”

“You’ll stay the night?” He looked surprised at himself for asking. Seeming to process his shock, he repeated it. “I really want you to stay the night. With me. Would you like anything to wear to sleep in? Should I play…um, I don’t know. Ocean sounds or whale noises or something like that? What sick shit are you into?”

“Right now, you’re the sick shit I’m into.”

He laughed, like I’d wanted.

“Tell me if there’s anything I can provide. I want you to be comfortable. I hate not being at my own house, with my own things. If I was you, even if I really wanted to stay the night, there would be about six changes minimum to ensure that even if I couldn’t sleep, I wouldn’t get angry about it and be a complete fucking demon the next day.”

I studied him. Everyone looked different in the moonlight, but Miles especially did. His hair, usually pushed back off his head and perfectly tousled, was sticking up in a funny direction. This was my doing, I’d put my hands all through it, and his forehead was lined with concern, which I felt certain wasn’t an expression he’d ever worn in the cold light of day.

I wanted a shirt, preferably a soft cotton t-shirt, but there was no way I would just be able to put on something of his and have it fall sexily to my thighs like thin women in movies. I had my sweats, I’d worn them to the Sky Tower and changed in the bathroom. But I didn’t want to put them on now. I still wanted this man to be wowed by me, and sweats weren’t my wow clothes. I would never wear sweats in front of a romantic partner. They didn’t say sex queen, you know? Not on me, anyway.

Then I remembered the satin slip I’d worn under my dress.

“Can you grab that white slip for me? I think you threw it over there…” I pointed, praying my slip wasn’t the thing I’d heard rip.

“This one?” he held it up. He’d pulled on his underwear, and of course he looked like a tousled sex god.

Shrugging the slip on over my head, I immediately felt a thousand times better about sleeping over. He was right, a few comforts made a big difference. “I don’t like sleeping naked,” I confessed. “I know that’s not sexy, but I’ve never liked it.”

I waited for him to complain about being deprived of my fabulous body, but he didn’t. He climbed back into bed, nodding thoughtfully, seeming to catalogue the information.

“I’m the opposite. I don’t like to wear too much when I sleep. I get tangled, and sometimes I get night sweats too. Usually, I just wear underwear.”

“You’re a bad sleeper?” I asked.

Leaning back on his pillows, he threw one arm over his eyes and admitted, “Honey, I’m the worst. I’ve got no hope of sleeping until after I come, and even then, it’s difficult.”

The dark shadows under his eyes made a lot of sense now.

I curled up on my side, tucking a pillow under my arm. “So you jack off every night to help you sleep. Or…?” I felt weird voicing the question and trailed off.

“Yes.”

“Or youor.”

“Yes.”

He brought girls home and he fucked them into his mattress, then they left and he tried to fall asleep.

“What else helps?” I asked.

“Mostly sex.”

“There’s more, I know there’s more.”

“Sex helps the most.” He sighed. “But I also have blackout curtains. And an eye mask that’s pressurised. I keep the eye pads in the freezer.” He sat up and fumbled for something on his nightstand. “And I have this stuff that Sadie got for me. I spray it on my pillow.”

Immediately, I wanted to smash it.

“Can I see?”

He passed it over and I (barely) resisted the intrusive impulses. “A lavender sleep spray. That’s a good idea. I have one which has a lavender base, but I cut it with vetiver and chamomile, both are calming.”

It was silly to think I couldwinwith Miles based on how much I knew about smells. I needed to get a grip.

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