“Don’t feel like you need to wait up. I suspect you’ll be exhausted by then.” He winked and strode out the door, which Owen locked and double-checked behind him.
Holly wilted onto the couch. “Hell, I feel pretty dead already.”
Owen turned to her with a frown. “Do you want to take a nap?”
“Yeah, but I doubt I could. And if I fall asleep this late in the evening, I won’t be able to go back to bed tonight.” She held her hand out to him. Without hesitation, he crossed to her and took it. She used their link to pull him down next her so she could curl up against his side and rest her head on his shoulder.
At first he was stiff, as if surprised or uncertain about how to handle her.
Well, that made two of them. She had even less of a clue, since he’d had plenty of experience with foursomes and she’d had none before theirs. So she went with her gut and put her hand on his abs.
“I’ll stay here and watch over you. I swear, no one is going to hurt you again. Not on my watch,” he promised.
“I believe you.” She smiled up at him then, because she did. “It’s just that I’m worried about Trent. He’s been gone so long. I hope he’s okay.”
“He can take care of himself.” Owen shrugged. “Believe me, I’ve seen some shit in my life, and Trent is a survivor. He’ll be fine.”
Holly bit her lip to keep a million questions from tumbling out of her mouth and overwhelming him. She considered her next move carefully.
They sat in silence until ringing started in her ears. Owen might be the quiet type, but she’d never been accused of the same. “Want to tell me more about the shit you’ve seen and why you never felt safe expressing your emotions before?”
“Nah, I’m good.” He put his interlocked fingers behind his head as if that was that.
Holly wasn’t about to let him get away with it, though, not after she’d been forced to admit so much the past few days. She got to her knees on the couch and straddled him, claiming his full attention.
“Are you really?” She flattened her hands on his chest and felt his heartbeat kicking against her palm. “Or is that a kneejerk reaction?”
“It’s a hard habit to break.” He met her stare. From just a few inches away she could see every golden fleck in his hazel eyes. “Most people only ask to be polite anyway.”
“I’m not most people.”
“That’s definitely true.” He smiled then, the real sort, not the perfunctory kind she’d seen him flash at hospital staff or even the agents outside. That alone told her it was worth harassing him a bit more. So she took a page out of her mom’s book and channeled the patented Hendricks tell-me-the-truth stare that had always worked on her.
One of his brows rose in response, and she tried to seem stern instead of laughing. She certainly didn’t want him to think she was looking down at his fledgling attempts to tap into the emotions she could sense trapped and swirling within him.
“Tell me, Owen. Please. What are you feeling right now?” She took his hand.
His eyes sparkled and she anticipated his smart-ass remark. “Horny.”
“Don’t give me that. You’re deflecting. Let’s have a serious conversation.” She started to move off of him, but he was faster, snagging her hand and pressing it to the bulge in his pants.
“Am I lying?”
“No, but that’s not the whole truth.” She swallowed hard. Unless she had been wrong all along. “At least, I don’t think it is. Maybe I’m making a mistake.”
Holly backed up, withdrew her fingers from his, and began to climb off his lap.
He put his hand on her hip. “Wait. You’re not. This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I’m not used to someone being up in my psyche or giving a shit about what I think.”
“Do you think you could get used to it? Because I’m kind of pushy and nosy, and if we’re going to be living together—and sleeping together—then it’s inevitable that you’ll have to trust me too.”
“I do.” He seemed kind of surprised by that revelation.
“Then answer me, please. I need to know where we stand. Do you think of me as Trent’s girlfriend who you sometimes fuck, or as someone you want a relationship with out of bed?” Her throat dried out when he still couldn’t seem to find the words to respond.
“Okay, look. I’ll go first.” Holly figured she had to find the balls to put herself out there if she was asking him to do the same. “I’m worried that what the four of us have going on here won’t last if we’re not all in it. Not only as fuck buddies but as equal partners. Like Kari and her lawyers or Andi and her guys. They’re good examples of how to make something like this work. Andthat’swhat I want. More than a night or two of fun. I want the forever-and-always variety of relationship with each of you. I know it’s going to take time, but yeah…that’s what I’m hoping for.”
Owen let out an enormous sigh, if he’d been holding his breath for days. She took that as a good sign, along with the fact that she could feel his erection growing where they were pressed together.