“I wasn’t even gone five minutes.”
“I have a short attention span.” He glanced back at me, eyes glittering. “Nice shorts.”
I grinned. There were stars on my shorts. “What are you doing up here?”
“You said I could stay.” He faced me, his gaze drifting to the bed. The room suddenly seemed too small, the bed even smaller. “I didn’t think you meant staying on the couch.”
Now I wasn’t even sure what I’d meant. I sighed. What was I doing?
Crossing the room, he stopped in front of me. “I’m not going to bite.”
“That’s good.”
“Unless you want me to,” he added with a devilish grin.
“Nice,” I muttered, side-stepping him. Space was definitely needed. Not that it did much good. Heart pounding, I watched him kick off his shoes and then whip off his shirt. He moved to the button on his jeans. My eyes widened. “What—what are you doing?”
“Getting ready for bed.”
“But you’re getting naked!”
He arched his brow. “I do have boxers on. What? Do you expect me to sleep in my jeans?”
“You did last time.” I felt the need to fan myself.
Daemon laughed. “Actually, I had pajama bottoms on.”
And he’d had a shirt on, but who was keeping track? I could’ve told him to leave, but I turned away, pretending to be engrossed with a book on my desk. Chills shot straight to my core when I heard the bed groan under his weight. Taking a shallow breath, I turned around. He was in bed, arms folded behind his head, an innocent look on his face. “This was a bad idea,” I whispered.
“It was probably the smartest idea you’ve ever had.”
I rubbed my palms on my hips. “It’s going to take a lot more than Thanksgiving dinner and a Christmas tree to get laid.”
“Damn. There goes my whole plan.”
Flustered, infuriated, and thrilled, I stared at him. So many emotions couldn’t be possible. My head was spinning as I stalked over to my side of the bed—oh my God, when had we developed sides?—and quickly slid under the covers. I did not want to know if he’d left the jeans on or not. “Can you turn off the light?” Darkness descended without him moving. Several moments passed. “That’s a handy ability.”
“It is.”
My eyes focused on the pale light peeking through the curtains. “Maybe one day I can be just as lazy as you and turn off lights without moving.”
“That’s something to aspire to.”
I relaxed a fraction of an inch and smiled. “God, you’re so modest.”
“Modesty is for saints and losers. I’m neither.”
“Wow, Daemon, just wow.”
He rolled onto his side, his breath stirring the hair along my neck. My heart leaped into my throat. “I can’t believe you haven’t kicked me out yet.”
“Same here,” I murmured.
Daemon weaseled his way closer, and, oh yeah, he’d gotten rid of his jeans. His bare legs brushed mine, and my heart rate spiked. “I really didn’t mean to make you cry earlier.”
I flipped onto my back and stared up at him. He was raised on one elbow. Silky locks fell into his shining eyes. “I know. The whole thing you did, it was sort of amazing.”
“I just didn’t like the idea of you being alone.”
Slow and steady breaths raised my chest. Like when he’d hugged me downstairs and I’d kissed him, I wanted to stop thinking. Impossible when his eyes held the intensity of a thousand suns.
Daemon reached out, brushing a strand of hair off my cheek with the tips of his fingers. Electricity shimmered through me. There was no denying the attraction—the pull that didn’t want to let either of us go. My gaze was fixed on his lips like an addict. Memories of the way they’d felt seared me. All of this was crazy. Inviting him to stay, getting in bed with him, and thinking what I was about him. Crazy. Exciting.
I swallowed. “We should go to sleep.”
His hand palmed my cheek, and I wanted to touch him. I wanted to be closer. “We should,” he agreed.
Lifting my hand, I brushed my fingers over his lips. They were pillowy soft yet firm. Intoxicating. Daemon’s eyes flared, and my stomach hollowed. He shifted his head closer and his lips brushed the corner of mine. His hands slid from my face and down my neck, and when he dipped his head again, his lips brushed over the tip of my nose. And then he kissed me. A slow-burning, toe-curling kiss that left me aching for so, so much more. I felt like I was spinning into that kiss, falling into him.
He pulled back with a groan and settled beside me, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Good night, Kitten.”
Heart pounding, I let out a long sigh. “That’s all?”
Daemon laughed. “That’s all…for now.”
Biting my lip, I willed my heart to slow down. It seemed to take forever. Then finally, I wiggled closer until he snaked an arm under my head. I turned onto my side, resting my cheek against his upper arm. Our breaths mingled as we lay there, staring at each other silently until his eyes drifted shut. For the second time that night, I admitted that maybe I’d been wrong about Daemon. Maybe I didn’t even know myself. And there was no wine to blame this time.
I drifted off to sleep wondering what he meant by “for now.”
Chapter 17
When Blake texted me and asked to meet him at the Smoke Hole Diner Friday evening, I didn’t know what to do. It seemed…wrong to have an early dinner with him when last night I’d slept in Daemon’s arms.