From Sanctum with Love (Masters and Mercenaries #10)(48)

“Just for tonight.” There was a weary tone to his voice. “I have to deal with him eventually, but I don’t want to do it tonight. All I need is a pillow.”

“I think Mia’s had too much to drink. She’s staying here tonight. I don’t know how comfortable she’ll feel sharing the living room.”

“Oh.” He nodded. “All right. I’ll see you in the morning.”

She stopped him before he made it to the door. Somehow her hand found its way into his. “Or you can stay with me. I have a queen-sized bed so there’s plenty of room. I think I snore though.”

It was a horrible mistake, but she couldn’t let him walk out that door. She couldn’t. After everything they’d meant to one another, she couldn’t be the one who shipped him back to somewhere he didn’t want to be. He would never do that to her.

“I can handle a little snoring,” he said, his eyes warm. “The way I feel I’ll sleep like a log.”

Something about the way his fingers curled around hers made her mushy. She hated feeling mushy and weepy and like something was happening that was way more important than it should be. “This doesn’t change anything between us.”

He nodded his head solemnly. “It only adds.”

“Kai, I’m not sleeping with you tonight.”

He frowned. “You’re taking the couch?”

He could be so obtuse at times for a man with a genius level IQ. “No. I was talking about sex. I’m not going to sleep on the couch. It’s lumpy and horrible. I’m not having sex with you tonight.”

“I promise to keep my hands to myself.”

That sounded terrible. “Come on. We have a long day tomorrow.”

She would set an alarm and maybe if she hustled him out of the door early enough tomorrow morning she could convince Sarah and Mia that nothing happened. Which was true because absolutely nothing was going to happen except some serious sleeping. That was totally going to happen.

She led him back to her bedroom. They’d been friends for a long time, worked together most of the time she’d been here in Dallas. He’d never been in her bedroom. She’d been in his a hundred times before, mostly since he worked and lived in the same building. First at Sanctum and then in their own place after the explosion. At least twice a year she would come into work and find him a ball of snot and sadness curled up in the middle of his futon. Yes, he was a grown man who slept on a futon. He claimed it helped his back or something but mostly she thought he couldn’t afford much else. She would have to spend days bringing him chicken soup and babying him.

Her bedroom was a bit plain, but it had some windows into her soul.

“Who is this?” Kai’s eyes almost immediately found the pictures on her dresser.

She closed the door behind her, locking out the world. The fact that she was alone in a bedroom with Kai was not lost on her. Alone and with every intention of getting into bed with him. Her room seemed smaller than before, with his big body taking up most of the space. “It’s me and my mom and my dogs. The pug was named Jinx, the pit bull mix was Cuddles, and the one I’m holding was named Butch.”

“You named the tiny Chihuahua Butch?”

She shrugged. “Better than that. He was a girl, but she humped everything she could so I think she was gender confused. I had a lot of dogs growing up.”

He nodded to the other pictures of pups she had framed around the room. “Obviously. Were you the girl who picked up strays?”

“I guess I tend to like animals more than people. I’m the person who stops traffic to move the turtle out of the road. I always wonder if the turtle is pissed because maybe he knew where he was going and I take him someplace different.” She’d always wanted to write a kids’ film about that possibility.

“You don’t keep animals here.”

She missed them with all her heart and soul, but it was another piece of herself that seemed lost. “Well, I work a lot.”

“You work at a place where the boss would pretty much let you do anything you like. If you want to bring a dog to work, do it. As long as the pup’s trained, it would probably be nice to have around. Which side do you sleep on?” He pulled off his jacket, laying it over the small chair tucked under her desk.

“Uhm, the right mostly. I think I move around a lot.”

“Then this should be fun. I’m very warm and cuddly, so if you end up wrapped around me, it’s going to be your fault because I’m a polite sleeper. I’m very Zen when I sleep.” His shirt was next to go.

Oh, that man was gorgeous. He might not be as cut as his brother, but she preferred his lean body. He did as much yoga as he lifted weights. Kai was flexible in more ways than one.

“Are you all right? I can go,” he offered.

“We’re friends. Friends can sleep together without sex. I’ll be right back. I’m going to brush my teeth. Make yourself comfortable.” She fled into her tiny bathroom even as she saw his hands go to the waistband of his jeans.

What was she doing? Was she actually going to hop in bed with Kai? Maybe she should sleep on the floor.

Like Kai would accept that. She looked at herself in the mirror. Kai obviously needed a friend. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t need her. He didn’t make a habit of showing up and needing a sleeping buddy. If she’d shown up on his doorstep and needed a cuddle, he would very likely open his arms and give it to her. Instead, she’d shown up with a junkie sister and he’d handled it, so she was going to brush her teeth and get her ass out there and sleep with her boss.