Page 58 of Vital Blindside

Once we’re in his room, I pat along the wall for a light switch. As soon as I find it, Adam’s words stop me from flipping it.

“Leave the lights off. My head kills.”

“Okay.”

I let him try to pull us through the dark room while I look around, taking in as much of his space as I can.

A large window sits across from the door and above a large dresser. Adam’s king-sized bed is on the far side of the room, fit with two nightstands on either side. My toes sink into a plush rug at the end of the bed when he stops us.

Curious, I find his face in the dark. The light that peeks out from the bottom of the curtains highlights his jaw and the scruffy hair that covers it. My fingers tingle with the urge to reach up and see how it would feel against my palm.

“In bed,” I order, attempting to give him a small nudge.

His eyes don’t waver from mine. They’re full of something that turns my insides to mush. “Will you join me?”

I suck in a breath. “In your bed?”

A nod. “I won’t be able to sleep knowing you’re in my home and not beside me. Keep me company. Please.”

His arm falls from my shoulders, and his hand grabs mine. Our fingers tangle together, and I lose the battle I knew was impossible for me to win.

“Okay. Let’s get in bed.”

21

ADAM

I get in bed and pull the blanket I discarded earlier up to my waist. The corner of the room is too dark to see the expression on Scarlett’s face, but by the lack of movement on the opposite side of the room, it’s easy to tell she’s nervous.

“Want a pillow wall?” I offer, patting the empty space beside me.

“I don’t need a pillow wall,” she says defensively.

“Then come here. I want to feel you beside me.”

My throat is so far beyond sore there’s no point in keeping my mouth shut now. Especially not when I’m about to have her here, in my bed.

“I mean that in a non-creepy way, I swear.”

It was an impulsive decision to ask her to join me in my personal space—something I haven’t done in over a decade—but I couldn’t help myself. Cooper might have gone around me to invite her here with hopes of trapping us, but this might be the one time where I appreciate his sneaky ways. He handed me a chance here to spend some time with her.

Alone.

There’s no way I’m going to give that up. Just having her in my house, talking to my son like she’s known him for far longer than a few weeks, had my heart rattling in my chest like it wanted to burst free and go to her.

“Stop talking,” she grumbles.

The sheets rustle beside me before the bed dips and she crawls in beside me. Her perfume invades my senses, doing more to help this stupid cold than any medication has.

My eyes are heavy as I turn on my side to face her and fold the pillow under my cheek. I can hear her breathing, and with a bravery that I don’t expect, I reach out to touch her arm. Following the length of it, I close my hand over hers.

Her fingers are slim and smooth and fit between mine like they were made to do so. I bring our hands to my lips and graze them over her knuckles.

“Thank you for coming,” I say softly.

Scarlett turns her head in my direction. Her breath fans my face. “I was already planning to come by after work once I got your address from Brie. You didn’t show up this morning, and I was . . .” She trails off.

“Worried?”