Page 27 of Nanny for the Mercenaries

“Thanks.” I took the pill and gulped it down with the water.

“Huh,” he said.

“What?”

He shrugged and returned to the couch. “I guess I’m surprised you took a pill from a stranger without thinking about it.”

“You’re not a stranger,” I said. “And besides, I know I can trust you. Or at least, I feel like I can.”

It was too dark to gauge his expression, but I got the distinct feeling that Jordy was blushing. “Yeah, all right,” he finally said.

“So, what are you doing on the couch?”

“Archer snores,” he replied. “It sounds like someone threw a toolbox into a cement mixer. I’m surprised you can’t hear it in your room. Hell, I’m surprised it doesn’t wake up all of Scandinavia.” He shifted on the cushions. “Unfortunately, this couch isn’t nearly as comfortable as I expected.”

“Why don’t you take one of your sleeping pills?” I suggested.

The shadows of his face twisted into a smile. “Technically, we’re on-call. Can’t risk sleeping through the alert.”

“Oh.” I started to say goodnight, then turned back to him. “Jordy, this is dumb. You should take my bed.”

He shook his head. “I’m good.”

“You’renotgood. You need your sleep! You have a job to do tomorrow.”

“So do you.”

“My job doesn’t require the same alertness as carrying a gun around and protecting foreign dignitaries.”

Jordy chuckled. “You’ve got me there. But seriously, this couchsucks. There’s no way I’m letting you sleep on it.”

I could have let it drop there. I had offered, and argued, and he had politely declined my offer. I could have gone back to bed and allowed my sleeping pill to work its magic.

Instead, I said, “We can share the bed.”

Jordy gave a start. “Huh?”

“It’s plenty large enough for two people. We can even put a pillow barrier between us. Nothing awkward about it. Just two people trying to get some sleep. And I know for a fact that I don’t snore.”

He hesitated. It seemed like he was considering it. My heart began racing all over again—what if he accepted? Could I really share a bed with the man I had been crushing on for months at the gym?

“Tempting, but I’m going to stick it out here,” Jordy finally replied. “Appreciate the offer, though.”

I let out a sigh, and I wasn’t sure if it was one of relief or disappointment. “I’ll leave the door unlocked and half the bed open in case you change your mind. Seriously. I won’t mind.”

“Thanks, Kettlebells,” Jordy said as I went back upstairs.

The pill he had given me worked wonders, and I was asleep within minutes of my head hitting the pillow. But it also gave me very vivid dreams. I was downstairs on the couch watching television with everyone else. In the blink of an eye, everyone else was gone except Jordy. Another blink and he was sitting next to me on the couch, turned toward me to see the TV screen. He leaned forward and laughed, and clapped me on the thigh. I laughed with him.

And then he was reclining back on the couch while I straddled him. My hair was loose and created a curtain around our faces as we kissed. His lips felt familiar against mine, rather than someone I was kissing for the first time. His tongue forced its way into my mouth, and I accepted it eagerly with a moan.

Without breaking our connection, Jordy sat upright and wrapped his arms around me while I straddled him. Then he was pushing me away, down onto my back so he could cover me with his body. His skin pressed against mine because suddenly we weren’t wearing any clothes. I spread my legs wider, accepting him, beckoning him into me. And with the wonderful ease that came from a dream, he slid right inside me, every inch of him until there was nothing left to give.

I grabbed a handful of his hair, the hair that had given him the nicknameBrowniefor so long in my mind. He drove into me with passionate abandon, thrusts of need rather than conscious thought, and within seconds the two of us were crying out as we came together.

I woke up before my alarm went off, groggy and horny. Oh, it had been a while since I had a sex dream like that! I could still remember the way he felt inside me, that wonderful ache of being filled completely by a man. But now, the only ache I felt between my legs was one of dissatisfaction.

It was only when I opened my eyes that I realized I wasn’t alone. There was a nipple in front of my face. Amalenipple. In fact, an entire male body was in my bed, and I was snuggled up against it.

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