Page 70 of Legacy of Danger
"You don't have to. Go on." He motioned.
She slipped in beneath the duvet and sheets. The space between her and Vaughn felt wrong, like the worst kind of disconnect. And it unsettled her that he sat on the other side of the room. "It's okay. You can have some of the bed."
"No, that wouldn't be right."
"We're modern-world people. Pretty sure your reputation will be intact in the morning."
"That's funny."
"Good." She patted the bed. "It's okay."
He studied her as he stood and took a few steps to her. He rested one knee on the bed. "You sure?"
"You're not what scares me." And it surprised her how that statement was true.
He took off his boots with twin thumps and sat on the edge of the bed, making the mattress dip. Sitting on top of the blankets, back propped against the headboard, positioned as close to the edge of the bed as someone could be without falling off, he then rested a big, warm hand on her upper arm.
Connection. Warmth. Safety.
Mariah did the impossible and drifted off to sleep.
