Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
The arm Pierce had draped across my waist tightened, and I closed my eyes, losing myself in the sound of his heartbeat and raindrops on leaves.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Pierce murmured.
“Nope. This is perfect.” I sighed.
“Then get some sleep.” Pierce pressed the softest kiss to my forehead, and it was as if he’d touched a magic button. As much as I wanted to stay awake, wallowing in this cozy warmth with him, I couldn’t. Sleep overtook me and left a smile on my lips.
13
PIERCE SUTTON
Morning seemed to arrive more quickly than normal. I stretched, and one of my legs fell off the bed. My eyes flew open as my toes touched the floor, and I looked around. I wasn’t in my bed, but on the sofa in the corner of my bedroom.
Simon.
Last night returned to my sleep-fogged brain in a flash. After Simon had fallen asleep on me, I’d carried him to the bed and tucked him in and slept on the couch. I could have moved to one of the other five bedrooms in my home, but I’d wanted to be close in case Simon awoke in the middle of the night in a panic.
After tossing the blanket aside, I turned and put my other foot on the floor. I scrubbed my hands across my face, trying to banish the rest of the fog from my mind. How had I not known that he was overwhelmed and burned out from everything happening in his life?
Mostly because the man always had the biggest smile on his face when he saw me. He displayed no signs of fatigue or emotional distress. Why the hell would he hide something like this from me?
That was easy. He was still trying to convince me that we should date. There was no doubt in my mind that he thought if he showed any hint of being difficult or complicated, I would use that as an excuse not to see him.
A low groan rumbled through the brain. Idiot. Something like that would never bother me. Hiding shit from me was the deal-breaker. Lying to me about his mental and physical health was a bad fucking thing. Feeling overwhelmed was not.
I shoved to my feet and crossed to the bathroom, where I pissed, washed my face, and brushed my teeth. A shower could wait for now. When I returned to the bedroom, Simon was sitting up in the middle of the bed, his hair standing up in every direction as he blinked wide, slightly confused eyes. I snatched the remote off a nearby table and turned off the rain “music” that had been running on a loop all night. It was something I used to help me fall asleep.
“How’d I get over here?” he asked, pushing a hand into his hair and scratching his scalp.
“I put you in bed last night after you fell asleep. I thought you’d be more comfortable there. It allowed you to stretch out more.”
Simon’s shoulders slumped, and he made a show of giving me a very pouty expression. “But I was comfortable on you. I like the sound of your heart under my ear and the feel of your arms around me.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, willing the sudden rush of butterflies back into their cocoons. Simon’s cuteness would not sway me even if I had enjoyed holding him in my arms last night. I would not think about how perfectly he’d fit against me or how empty I’d felt after moving him to the bed.
He twisted for a second to look at the bed before directing those all-too-discerning eyes at me. “You didn’t sleep in the bed with me?”
“No, I was on the couch.”
Simon dropped his head and groaned. “Why? There was plenty of room for both of us. It’s not like I would have pounced on you in your sleep.”
I snorted, a hint of a smirk teasing up one corner of my mouth. “Yeah, I don’t believe that at all.”
“What?” Simon tried to sound innocent, but he couldn’t hold in the wicked grin spreading across his lips or the evil twinkle in his eyes. “You think I would roll over and snuggle close while you were sleeping, slip a hand under your shirt, and run my fingers up your bare chest? Or maybe I’d push my fingers under the waistband of your sleep pants and—”
“Enough!” I barked, far louder than I’d meant to. My fucking morning wood had only just subsided, and his words were stirring it back to life.
“But I’m your boyfriend. Isn’t that how I should wake you every morning I stay here?”
It sounded like an amazing way to wake up every damn morning, but it wasn’t going to happen. “You’re my fake boyfriend. The show is for my parents.”
“You wanna do that in front of your parents?”