“I’m not taking your bed,” I mumbled into his shoulder.
“Well you’re not sleeping on the fucking floor,” he countered. Though his voice was light, I could tell he definitely wasn’t joking.
“We’ll just have to share the bed then, because you’re not sleeping on the floor either.” I wasn’t going to budge on that.
Not when I was the one who had already spent so much of my life sleeping on the floor that it wouldn’t bother me, and I was pretty damn confident it would bother him.
“I sure as fuck won’t argue with that.” His arm tightened around me, pulling me closer to him. His bare chest felt incredible against mine, but I didn’t say that out loud.
“So much for a distraction,” I murmured, closing my eyes as I leaned even closer to him.
“Hey.” He continued rubbing my back. “It’s not too late for anything, Akari. You want cake? I’ll make cake. You want to read a book without actually looking at the pages? I’ll read you a book. Just tell me how you want me to distract you, and I’ll do it like a fucking professional.” His voice was growly again when he said that, and it made my body relax a bit more.
He cared about me.
He wanted me safe.
And… happy, even.
That was strange.
I supposed it shouldn’t have seemed that way, because he had been kind to me, and because we had become friends.
But after so long without anyone taking care of me in any way, that felt like a miracle to me.
“Let’s get you in bed, and I’ll move your stuff in while you get settled.” He stood up, hauling my ass off the ground as he did so.
“I can help move it,” I protested.
His eyes narrowed playfully. “You’re practically naked, Akari.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“We can wait until tomorrow, then.”
“And give you a chance to change your mind about moving in with me? I don’t think so.” His expression, though still a bit tense, had relaxed.
I couldn’t prevent a laugh from escaping at that. “Well, it’s too early to go to bed, so I might as well help you.”
“Youmight as welllet me take care of you, Beautiful.” He squeezed me lightly, pulling me closer to his chest. “If you want to do something, you can let me take you dancing, or play cards with me, or something.”
My eyes widened in mock horror. “Dancing or cards? I would never have expected such scandal from you of all people, Espen.”
He flashed me a grin as he carried me inside the bedroom I had so carefully avoided looking at. “What, you’re not a dancer?”
I snorted. “I’m offended that you even had to ask.”
He laughed heartily. “You’re fucking perfect.”
His words didn’t sink in until he’d set me down on the massive bed in his room and then tugged the heavy blankets up to my abdomen.
“I’ll be back in a few. Anything in particular that you want in here first?”
I shook my head; he’d made it pretty clear that he intended to grab everything he could, so he would definitely be getting what I needed.
He disappeared into the living room for a moment, and I heard the door to the room shut a moment later.
Chapter15