I believed him, but it didn’t change my situation. Clutching the sheet tighter against my chest, I wished I were anywhere else. This wasn’t my world, and these guys definitely weren’t my friends.
Though if I had to pick, Brady was the least objectionable of the three. His blue eyes seemed to show understanding. At the very least, he wasn’t mocking me. God knows Gideon would have after what I’d just shared.
“Is there anything else I can do to help you sleep? Rub your back, maybe?”
His offer made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. “That’s how I got into this mess in the first place.”
“Good point.” Brady’s easy grin made the corner of my mouth involuntarily twitch upward. “So maybe I can help you another way.”
“How?”
He raised an eyebrow, as if there was something obvious I wasn’t getting. “When we brought you out here, we said we’d replace the high-tech devices you use every day. So why don’t you let me make good on that?”
It took a moment for his meaning to sink in. Shock had me shaking my head in disbelief. There’s no way in hell he could mean what I thought he meant… right? “You havegotto be joking.”
He shrugged. “You need your tech to sleep. I’m supposed to replace it. Let me do my job.”
I stared at him as if he were from Mars. He didn’tlooklike he was joking. He looked sincere, as if this were a reasonable offer.
Which.
Was.
Insane.
“Youcan’tbe serious,” I said, drawing out every word. Except he looked pretty damn serious.
“If it makes it easier, I’ll keep my eyes closed the whole time. Hell, I’ll hold two AA batteries in my other hand and make a buzzing noise.” His mouth didn’t twitch, but there was amusement in his gaze.
A small laugh escaped my lips even as my brain stayed locked inno-waymode. Feeling at an uncharacteristic loss for words, I shook my head helplessly.
Which didn’t deter him at all. “You’re my guest here this week. If you can’t sleep, I need to do everything in my power to remedy that.” Brady was somehow able to make a completely bizarre situation sound almost reasonable. “This is one hundred percent about giving you a hand, so to speak. I won’t even enjoy it—I promise.”
The absurd urge to laugh hit me. Was he this good-natured and utterly unflappable in every situation, no matter how crazy?
He leaned in and lowered his voice. “I also promise you’ll enjoy it.”
He placed his hand on my shin, his thumb rubbing my skin over the cover. When I didn’t shake him off, he ran his fingers past my ankle and squeezed my foot.
It was disconcerting to stare into such vivid blue eyes, but I did it anyway, wanting to understand what he was really after. There was interest there. He was a red-blooded male—that much was clear. And I suspected that if I let my gaze fall to his pants, I’d see more evidence of his interest.
But… as much as I hated to give one of these guys any credit, there was sincerity there, too. Maybe he sometimes dealt with nightmares. Maybe he knew just how damn bad they could get.
And maybe he honestly wanted to help.
“All right.” I barely recognized the small voice that had spoken the two syllables as my own, but I didn’t take back my answer. In fact, I patted the mattress next to me.
Brady squeezed my foot again and gave me a slow, sexy smile.
My heart rate quickened, and this time, I smiled back.
16
LILA
Time stood still as Brady held my gaze. Part of me wanted to take back the invitation. After all, a few days ago I hated this man.
But that was before. Before I’d taken a hike with him, and we’d prepared a meal together. Well, not that I’d done much of the work, but I’d gotten to know him a little.