Chapter Five
After dinner and another movie, Grey dropped her off at her room with a promise to check on her, but he’d be in his room if she needed him.
She watched him walk away and had the biggest urge to chase after him, terrified of being alone. Even though she didn’t want him out of her sight, she knew she needed to be a big girl and sleep by herself because he’d already done so much for her.
Later that night, Emily heard the door open and quickly closed her eyes, pretending to sleep. She exhaled when Grey left, and then she resumed staring out the window. She was so tired, but her fear would build every time she closed her eyes.
It was midnight when she finally gave up, grabbed her blanket and pillow, and snuck into Grey’s room. She made a bed on the floor next to his bed, closed her eyes, and was asleep in a minute.
Emily had no idea how much time had passed when Grey got out of bed and just about stepped on her.
“What in the world.” He turned on the light, lifted her, put her on the mattress, and sat down by her hip, facing her. “Baby, what are you doing?”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I didn’t want to disturb you.”
He pushed her hair from her face. “Honey, you can’t sleep on the floor. It’s too hard.”
“But that’s all I did at the house.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I had a pallet, more like a folded-up blanket, on the floor in his room. He called it my dog bed.”
She patted his hand when she saw that she had upset him. “It’s okay.”
“The hell it is. You’re a beautiful human being, baby. Not a dog.”
“Okay.”
He studied her for a moment. “Do you think you can sleep in your room?”
“I … I can try.”
“Would you be afraid if you sleep in here with me? That way, I can keep my eye on you to make sure you’re okay, and I’m right here if you get scared.”
“Like on the bed with you?”
“Yes. You certainly won’t be sleeping on the floor.”
She bit her lip, undecided. Fear was starting to creep up, but she fought it down.
“We can put a pillow between us for now until you get used to it.”
“I like that idea.” It was probably crazy, but she already felt safe with him, safer than she ever had before. If he’d wanted to hurt her, he’d had plenty of chances already.
“Good. Scoot over to the other side. I’ll put the pillow here, and then we can go back to sleep.”
She snuggled down into the bed. “Good night.”
“Good night, honey.”
****
Grey watched her for a long time after she fell asleep. She was so damn beautiful and sweet with her light-blonde hair and her sad mahogany-colored eyes with such long lashes. She was extremely petite and much too thin, and one of his first priorities was to get her healthy.