Page 24 of Welcome Home for Christmas
Her eyes widened. “Listen, I don’t know what you think that was, but I’m not looking for a man to meet those kind of needs.”
“What kind of needs?” he asked, knowing good and well what kind she was referring to.
“You know, the sexual kind,” she said in a hushed voice. “Truly, that was for my neck.”
“You said back.” He laughed a little under his breath and shook his head. “And I’m offering to stay for your protection. Not that you need protection with a vibrator. Very low risk there.”
Her lips parted.
“Kidding. I don’t want you to stay here alone tonight. Not because I think you’re in danger, but I think you’d feel a lot safer if you weren’t alone tonight.”
Allison softened a touch. “You don’t have to do that. I can call a friend.”
“At one a.m.?”
She pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “Right. Everyone’s sleeping.”
“And your friends aren’t going to be much help if the guy does come back. Not unless they’re Marines or police officers.” He pointed to himself. “Or both. I can sleep on the couch. You won’t even know I’m here.”
“Well, I guess I would feel better with you here. If you don’t mind.”
“I insist, actually.”
The Seaside police officers walked back into the room. “We couldn’t find anything outside. We’ll be patrolling and continuing to keep an eye out for suspicious activity, though.”
“Thank you,” Allison said. She walked the police officers to the front door. Troy went to his truck, turned off the lights, and locked it up. Then he returned to the porch, where Allison was blocking his entry.
“I mean it. I don’t want this to mean anything. When a man stays the night in a woman’s home, he might get the wrong idea.”
“I have the right idea. I’m not looking for someone to meet my sexual needs, either. I don’t have a purple woman pleaser, but I’ll survive.” He winked, then laughed as Allison huffed. She stepped aside and let him through, quickly locking the door behind her.
He headed toward her couch. “I’ll stay right here all night. Unless you call me.”
Allison stared at him for a long moment. “Okay. Well, I’ll just be in my bedroom. Unless you call me. Good night, Troy.”
“Good night,” he called, lying back and rolling onto his side. She’d sleep better with him here, he guessed, but he wouldn’t be sleeping at all. Not with his imagination going wild with fantasies of Allison using that vibrating wand on herself.
—
Allison was staring at the ceiling again. She didn’t want to fall asleep.Oh, God.She was mortified about the vibrator. Her eyes started to close; her breathing became shallow. Things would seem better in the morning—she hoped.
A few hours later, sunlight slanted in through her blinds, poking her in the eyes and nudging her awake. It felt like she’d just gone to sleep…and had a very bad nightmare. Which wasn’t a nightmare at all, she feared. Troy Matthews was in the living room on her couch.
She smacked a hand to her face, not intending the force behind it. Her skin stung from the impact. At least that removed some of the sting of the memories of last night.
Note to self: Even if someone is breaking into your house, hide your vibrator first. At all costs.
Allison slipped her feet into a pair of pale yellow slippers. She went to the bathroom first, ran a brush through her unruly red hair, and gargled some mouthwash. Then she made the walk of shame out into the living room, where Troy was asleep on her sofa. She stopped for a moment and stared at him, getting a free pass to observe the details of his face right now: his full lips, outlined by what was now a thick onset of beard. He had long eyelashes that made her a bit jealous, and a thin white scar that ran across a corner of his forehead.
His nose twitched. Then he sneezed.
Allison startled as his eyes opened and locked on hers.
“Good morning,” he said in a scratchy, barely awake voice.
“Good morning. I was just, um, going to make some coffee. Do you like coffee?”
“I love coffee,” he said, stretching his arms over his chest, which she realized now was bare under the blanket he’d pulled up from the back of the couch.
