I wished he would let go of me, but I didn’t even try getting away because I knew he wouldn’t. But I wanted to go home, take a nap, relegate my wild night to my dreams. Except Ronan would hunt me down and demand answers for everything left unsaid. He wasn’t the type to let things slide.
“I don’t, I guess, hookup with random people. And I realize everything you know about me is contrary to that statement, but it’s the truth. I can count on one hand how many people I’ve slept with. So, forgive me if I’m not quite up to playing it cool about last night.”
He did several long blinks. “Am I a random person?”
“I don’t know.” My hands curled into fists. “I’m ready to go home now. I need a nap.”
“You just woke up.” His hold on me didn’t loosen.
“I’m tired.”
“You’re avoiding a reasonable conversation.”
My eyes narrowed. “I’m tired. And sure, I don’t love laying all my cards on the table directly after being in an extremely vulnerable position with you. It’s too much.”
He regarded me for a long moment, then nodded sharply and lifted me off my feet. He walked with me in his arms to his bedroom. Backing me up to the edge of the bed, he sat me down and slipped my shoes off, tossing them behind him, then he pressed on my shoulders until I was lying down.
“What are you doing?”
The corner of his lips quirked. “Putting you to bed. You said you’re tired.” He walked around to the other side and climbed in, scooting closer to my side.
“I intended to go home, Ronan.”
He splayed his hand on my belly, warmth seeping through the thin cotton of my borrowed T-shirt. “I know what you intended. I don’t agree. Take a nap here. I know you like my bed.”
I tried to move his hand, but he wasn’t budging, and exhaustion weighed down my limbs anyway. Turning my head, I peered at him from under my lashes. He was a looming mountain, lying on his side, eyelids hooded.
“This means nothing,” I murmured.
If I hadn’t been looking at him so closely, I would have missed the subtle downturn of his lips. “That I know.” Curling his arm around my middle, he scooped me up and placed me right beside him. “Quiet down and let me go to sleep. You kept me up far too late last night.”
There was no reason for me to cuddle with this man. One insane night with him between my legs didn’t suddenly make us a couple or even pals, but logic didn’t touch how comforting it was to be dwarfed by the wall of human marble that was Ronan. Except marble was cold, and Ronan was a crackling fire, heating me from head to toe.
For the second time in less than a day, I let darkness overtake me while curled up in Ronan’s arms.
It took twenty-one days to form a habit, and we were nowhere near that. This was safe.
This wasn’t a pattern.