“About?”
She shook her head. Tears gathered in her eyes, but she didn’t blink. I suspected she refused to let them fall.
“God, you’re pretty when you’re stubborn.”
“I’m not being stubborn.” Her voice shook as she lifted her chin, glaring at me. I raised my eyebrows, and she sighed. “Okay, maybe I am being a little stubborn.”
“You need to think,” I said, struggling to respect her wishes. Right now, my whole being wanted to carry her to bed and make her mine. The hesitance I felt about bedding her when I first learned she was a virgin eroded more with each moment that passed. “I can respect that.”
She gave me a doubtful look.
“But this is your room as much as mine,” I prowled closer.
“Not remotely.” She shifted, nearly dropping a pair of jeans in the process.
There was no way I would let her hole up in another room. She belonged here. She belonged in my bed. “You take the bed.”
“And where will you sleep?” she challenged me.
“Elsewhere.”
“You want me to take your bed?”
“Pet, I might go crazy if you try to sleep in anyone else’s bed,” I said in a strained voice.
“Even my own?” she asked. Her lips tugged up at the corners. She thought she had me.
I dared to trace a finger down her cheek. She shuddered when our bare skin made contact. “Especially your own.”
Because being in her own bed meant she would be back in San Francisco. My own plans wouldn’t take me back there this year, if not longer. Just the thought of her being that far sucked the air from my lungs. Was this ever going to get easier?
She studied me for a moment, her face full of her own questions. After a minute, she turned and dumped the clothes in a nearby chair. “Fine. I’m going to get undressed–alone.”
I remained silent as she made her way to the bathroom. It was a victory, if only a small one. She shut the door, and I picked up her clothes and carried them to the closet. I wanted no reminders that she almost left. I’d just finished rehanging everything when she emerged from the bathroom. Her face was freshly washed, and she was wrapped in a cashmere robe. She continued past me with a look of pure determination. When she reached the bed, she slipped the robe off quickly, granting me a flash of ivory satin, before she climbed under the covers.
“I think I’ve got it from here,” she announced.
Every instinct in my body screamed to join her. I had never wanted anything more–not sex or power or blood. Instead, I nodded and took the chair I’d just cleared.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Going to bed.”
“Julian.” She stretched my name into five syllables. “You have plenty of beds in this house.”
“I don’t mind the chair.”
“You said you would sleep–”
“Elsewhere,” I pointed out. “The chair is elsewhere.”
“I thought you meant another room.” She tugged the sheets up to her chin.
“Then I hope you learned something about agreeing to an arrangement.”
Her eyes narrowed, but she burrowed into the bed. “Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
“I know that.” Nothing would happen to her because I wouldn’t let it happen.
“I’m not going to be able to fall asleep if you’re just sitting in that chair staring at me.”
“Maybe I can help.” I rose from my seat, but she held out a hand to stop me.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Relax, pet. I’ll behave,” I promised her. She clung to the sheets like they were a shield. I sighed and sat down at the end of the bed. Lifting the bedding, I drew her feet one at a time into my lap. “Believe it or not, I can put you to sleep without an orgasm.”
Was it my imagination, or did her face fall a little at that?
It didn’t matter. Taking one of her feet in my hands, I began to massage gently. It took effort to control my own strength to not injure her unintentionally. Watching Thea’s limbs slowly droop made it worth it.
“That feels amazing,” she said breathily.
“I figured it might after wearing those shoes.”
She sighed. “So, this is the perk of having a vampire boyfriend?”
God, that term felt so grossly inaccurate. I shoved the urge to say so back inside me. “One of them.”
