After Lane had tucked himself into bed, I sat at the kitchen table eating chips and going over the notes X had sent me. It was late by the time I decided to go to bed. I considered trying to find some sheets to stretch over the couch but decided I didn’t feel like going through the trouble.
I grabbed a throw pillow from a dilapidated armchair and the blanket that was draped over the end of the couch and settled in, tossing and turning until I found the most comfortable position. I was serious when I’d told Lane I’d slept in much worse places, but it had been a while. Apparently I’d gone rather soft.
I was just starting to drift off when I heard a creak. The couch buckled in the middle and cracked, dumping me onto the floor.
8
Lane
A loud crash and a shout woke me. I jumped from the bed and grabbed a marble statue that was sitting on the nightstand.
“Giorgio!” I rushed to the door. When I stepped into the short hallway, I saw him lying on the floor beside the couch which was now in two pieces. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” He stood as if to prove it to me. “What’s that?” He gestured toward the statue.
It took me a moment to answer because I was busy ogling him. All he had on was a very tight pair of boxer briefs, and it was the first time I’d seen him with his hair down and falling over his shoulders. He looked incredible, and fuck me, he had shiny silver rings in both nipples. “I… I didn’t know what was happening. I thought someone had broken in, and I might need to defend us.”
“Us?”
“If someone was attacking you, I was going to do what I could to stop it.”
“Lane, I—”
“I know you’re perfect. You never miss. You’re super strong. But I just… I don’t know. I was scared.”
He studied me for a moment, then smiled for the first time since we’d arrived. “Thank you.”
“What happened?”
He rubbed his ass and looked down at the mess. “I was trying to sleep on the couch, and it fell apart.”
“Great. Now we’re stuck in this cabin, and we don’t even have a couch.”
“Apparently.”
This was absolutely not going to work. I was calling my mother first thing in the morning to get us out of here. “Just come get in bed with me.”
He shook his head. “That’s still not a good idea. I’ll sleep in one of the chairs.”
“You were the one who said you had fantastic self-control. Come prove it. That way if someone breaks in, you’ll be right by me, ready to protect me, and I won’t have to find a weapon of my own.”
“I am your weapon.”
Heat raced over me. “That shouldn’t be as hot as it is.”
“You just told me I could sleep with you and nothing would happen. Now you’re telling me you’re turned on by the idea of me protecting you.”
“You know you’re fucking hot, and you know I want you. I know you want me too.”
He shook his head. “This isn’t happening.”
“We both need sleep. Come get in the bed.”
Who was I kidding? I wasn’t going to be able to go to sleep with him lying next to me. Did I really think I could seduce him? Because the only way I was going to get any decent sleep is if he made me come first.
“Fine.” Giorgio stood and reached for his jeans.
“Don’t put those on. I promise I won’t attack you.”
I turned around and headed back to bed. The last thing I needed was for him to notice the bulge in the front of my sleep pants, though I did wonder what he would do if I just turned around and dropped to my knees. I wanted to taste him again.
Instead, I hurried to the bed and pulled the covers over me, hiding how much I wanted him. When he got into bed, I turned to face the wall.
Neither of us said a word. I lay there, muscles tense, cock throbbing. I drew in his scent with every breath. The room had felt warm before; now it felt oppressive. I considered getting out of bed to turn down the heat, but I stayed where I was, not moving. I didn’t want him to know how badly he affected me.
Eventually, I drifted off to sleep, but at some point, I jolted awake. At first, I didn’t know why, then Giorgio cried out again.
I turned over, frantically trying to figure out what was going on. He seemed to still be asleep, but he was tossing his head back and forth. He’d kicked the covers off, and they were bunched up at the end of the bed.
“No!” he called and pushed the air as if trying to get someone off him.