Page 119 of Save Me

He could feel the heat coming off of her body, smell her perfume, hear her breathe…it was like sensory overload and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. Ideally, he would have been on the right side of the bed so he could lie on his right side and face away from her. The left side of his body was still a mess and it was painful to lie on it. If he turned onto his side and faced her…

“Connor?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, how come?”

“You’re just being very still. Are you in pain?”

As much as he hated to bring it up, he knew he wouldn’t get any sleep if he didn’t.

“With my injuries on my left side, I tend to sleep on my right side. But I felt if I turned on my side and faced you that it might be weird and make you uncomfortable.”

“Oh. I guess that makes sense.” She went quiet for a moment. “Do you want to switch sides?”

What he wanted was to haul her into his arms and not have this be so difficult.

“No,” he said. “If you’re okay with me facing you, then…”

She laughed softly. “It’s fine, Connor. Go to sleep.”

Carefully, he rolled onto his side and finally let himself relax. He was almost asleep when he felt Ivy move closer.

Connor held his breath and waited to see what she would do next, and before he knew it, she was practically pressed up against him from head to toe. He whispered her name and felt her warm breath on his neck. He slowly maneuvered so his arms went around her, and she hummed sleepily.

For years he’d slept alone—sometimes on a lumpy cot, sometimes on the ground, and sometimes in places that were too dangerous for him to truly rest. But this right here? This was the most perfect thing to happen to him since leaving Laurel Bay. No one would ever know how much he longed to come home and have his old life back. So maybe for tonight he could pretend; pretend the last seven years never happened, that this was his and Ivy’s bed, and this was the life they had planned.

And then, for the first time in far too long, Connor relaxed and fell into a deep sleep.

Five

“Connor? Connor, you need to wake up and tell me what day it is?” Ivy whispered a few hours later. But as much as she wanted him to wake up, she was kind of relieved he was still asleep and maybe didn’t know how she had practically wrapped herself around him in her sleep.

Like a damn boa constrictor.

“Connor? Come on, what day is it?”

His arms slowly wound around her and pulled her in close. “What do I get if I answer correctly?”

She had to fight the urge to laugh. “You’ll get to go back to sleep.”

“Mmm…not good enough.”

And because she was half asleep and a little delirious herself, she decided to play along. “What do you want?”

“That’s a loaded question,” he said gruffly.

He was all warm skin and hard muscles, and Ivy had a feeling she’d give him whatever he wanted. “Tell me,” she quietly prompted.

“A kiss. Just one kiss.”

It wasn’t the worst idea, she thought.

Licking her lips, she nodded. “Okay. One kiss. What day is it?”

Connor pulled her even closer and she could feel every inch of him.

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