Page 72 of One and Only

Beckett glanced at the bed, staring hard for a beat. “I like to sleep closest to the door,” he said.

He held my gaze for a long moment, and I finally nodded. “You got it. You can be my body shield if someone breaks in.”

“That’s the idea,” he murmured. “Though knowing you, you’d probably have your taser out before I even wake up.”

I laughed, and his eyes snagged on my mouth for just a fraction too long.

He cleared his throat. “Well. I’ll see you in the morning then. I uh, I hope I don’t snore.”

My smile threatened to overtake my face. “I guess I’ll let you know tomorrow. Tell as much of the truth as possible, even if it’s the only thing we do.”

Beckett took one long look at my face, and then left the room just as quietly as he’d entered it.

My halfway husband—champion brusher of hair, horrible artist, and secret room-sneaking ninja skills.

An hour later, face washed, clad in my most appropriate pajamas—cotton shorts and a baggy T-shirt—I climbed between clean fresh sheets that smelled incredible. I pushed my face into the pillow and sighed happily.

“Oh I could get used to this,” I moaned.

I fell asleep thinking about Beckett and wondered just how things might change when the sun came up.

Chapter16

Beckett

It could have been any number of things that woke me in the middle of the night because I often found myself trying to get settled back into sleep when the skies were still dark.

The first fact that solidified was that the house was quiet.

There were no cries from Olive’s room.

There was no small body creeping up onto the mattress with us.

And it was that thought—with us—when the second fact crept in.

Greer was in bed with me, and she was pressed tight against my back.

In her sleep, she’d moved against my body, her arm slung over my waist.

I hardly dared to breathe while I took stock of how we’d ended up in the handful of hours since I’d slipped as quietly as possible into bed next to her.

If Greer hadn’t been in bed with me, I would have only been in boxer briefs, but out of deference, I’d kept on athletic shorts and that was it.

Her arm, a slim, warm anchor curled around the front of my body, her fingers twitching lightly in her sleep, brushing over my stomach.

I pinched my eyes shut.

That’swhat had woken me.

Her knees were tucked behind my legs, and because I couldn’t help it, I took a deep breath, cataloging the soft press of her breasts against my back.

Every inch where we touched, Greer was warm and soft, the gentle lull of her even breathing was soothing enough that if I hadn’t been so impossibly turned on, I might have been able to slide right back into sleep.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and counted to five, willing my body into submission.

This was better than the alternative, though, where I woke to my body draped around hers, my hand over her stomach, and my chest curved around her back, my hand sliding over her skin while she slept.

That wasn’t helping, I realized quickly, when the image in my head roared hot and bright so quickly that it practically caused me pain.

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