Page 118 of Save Me

She rose and walked out of the room and Connor couldn’t help but feel disappointed. He had hoped she’d at least think about the sleeping arrangements before agreeing so quickly to him sleeping on the couch. It was a decent size and he knew he’d be fine, but knowing Ivy was sleeping in the next room was going to guarantee that he wasn’t going to get much sleep tonight.

Well…that and the concussion…

When she walked back into the room a few minutes later, she had a couple of pillows and a blanket in her hands but she didn’t put them down.

If anything, she was hugging them tightly against her.

“Uh…Ivy?”

“Hmm?”

Connor started to rise to take them from her, but her words stopped him.

“I’m being ridiculous, right? I mean…you’re injured. I’m going to have to wake you up a few times during the night to make sure you’re okay.”

“Um…”

“We’re not strangers,” she went on, more to herself than anything, “and it’s silly to pretend we are. Obviously nothing’s going to happen because you have a concussion and stitches and…”

Yeah, no need to let her keep going and hammering the point home on how he wasn’t able to do all the things he’d really like to be doing with her…

He walked over to her and took the blanket from her hands. “Even if I wasn’t all banged up, there is no way I’d even suggest doing more than sleeping tonight. It’s been a long time and…” He shrugged. “I just wouldn’t ask that of you.”

“Oh.”

Was it his imagination or did she sound disappointed?

Or was it wishful thinking on his part?

Probably wishful thinking.

“So…?”

“Right.” Shaking her head as if to clear it, Ivy led the way down the hall to her bedroom. And just like the rest of her home, the space was exactly how he imagined it would be—a queen-sized bed with all-white bedding, light furniture, and a crystal chandelier. It was very feminine, and if it were any other woman, Connor knew he’d feel awkward as hell even walking into the room. But this was Ivy and he was just happy to be there.

She excused herself and went into the bathroom and he took the opportunity to strip down to his boxers so she wouldn’t have to see all his scars and slid into bed.

And then paused.

Did she sleep on the right side? The left? The middle?

“Well…shit.” Deciding the safest bet was to sit in the middle and let her tell him which side to move to. There was a TV mounted on the wall in front of the bed and he wondered what she currently liked to watch. Looking over at her nightstand, he saw a stack of books and was about to reach over to see what she was reading when she walked back in.

And that’s when he seriously cursed the fact that he was injured because…damn.

She wasn’t wearing anything particularly sexy. If anything, it was rather plain. But the blue cotton hit her mid-thigh and had thin little straps, and all Connor could think of was peeling them off her shoulders and…

“I usually sleep on the right side,” she said, interrupting his thoughts. Connor moved over as Ivy slid beneath the sheets beside him. She gave him a nervous smile. “I’m going to try to wake you up a few times to make sure nothing’s gotten worse with your head.”

“I’m sure I’m fine.”

“This isn’t up for discussion. Head injuries are serious, Connor.”

He knew that, so he didn’t even try to argue.

“Try to get some sleep while you can,” she said as she reached over and turned out the light.

And that’s when things got awkward.

---