Luca’s head jerked up. “What? Why?”
My shoulder lifted. “She said she can’t get comfortable in her own bed and has been dreaming about your guest bed. I told her of course she can spend the night at our place. As many nights as she needs.”
Clara was a month away from her due date. She hadn’t really slowed down, despite the beach ball she was carrying in front, and she never complained. So, when she called me this afternoon and her voice cracked when she told me how tired she was, I immediately invited her. How could I not?
Luca put Clem down so he could shove his hands into his hair. “It’s going to look awfully strange when you and I don’t share a bedroom.”
I curled my fingers around his wrists, pulling his hands down to his side. “I sent Miles home early so I could clean out every trace of myself from my bedroom and move my things to your room. I’m sorry to tell you, you’ll have to share your bed with me for a night or two, but I’ve heard I sleep like a corpse, so it shouldn’t be too much of a burden.”
Luca didn’t look any less relieved. If anything, he seemed to be horrified, which was a dagger to my chest. I was starved for him, and he was reacting like sharing a bed with me was his worst nightmare.
“Fucking Clara,” he muttered. “How long is she staying?”
“She didn’t say.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek while he bored holes into the floor. “I’m not picky about where I sleep. I’ll just sleep on the flo—”
“You’re not sleeping on the floor, Saoirse.” He glared at me like I was enemy number one. “We managed just fine in Wyoming, we’ll be fine here too. It just took me a minute to come to terms with it.”
Dear god. He had to come to terms with sleeping with me. I didn’t think he realized how awful that sounded. Luca wasn’t a cruel person, and he made his affection for me obvious. We had become good friends over the past few months, but that was where it ended for him.
Besides the hotel sex, of course.
I’d fallen for him.
I hadn’t meant to. It hadn’t been part of the plan. But it had been impossible not to.
I walked out of the bathroom in sweatpants and Luca’s T-shirt. My skin already itched from all the extra fabric, but it was for the best. Wearing my normal skimpy pajamas didn’t really seem fair to either of us.
Luca was in bed, his back against the headboard, laptop on his legs. He glanced at me over the screen.
“What are you wearing?” he groused.
“My pajamas.” I climbed into bed, situating myself on the edge, and grabbed my Kindle.
He’d been grumpy with me all night, though he was sweet to Clara, making sure she had everything she needed in the guest room down the hall. She hadn’t even peeked into my bedroom, so moving all my things probably hadn’t been necessary, but it was better safe than sorry.
Luca was still looking at me. “Those aren’t your pajamas.”
I plucked at my T-shirt. “I borrowed this. I promise to wash it before I return it.”
“I don’t mind my clothes smelling like you, Saoirse. I’m wondering why you’re wearing them.”
“It’s better this way.”
I turned on my Kindle, blindly flipping the pages while he stared. Eventually, he looked away from me, returning his attention to his computer.
In my head, I rolled to Luca’s side of the bed and snuggled into his side while I read and he worked. In my fantasy, every once in a while, he’d reach over, stroke my hair, or drop a kiss on the top of my head.
Instead, we spent the next hour in silence, a cold stretch of mattress between us. Eventually, I gave in and said good night. I couldn’t stand one more minute of this strained atmosphere.
Besides, I was tired. Starting a new company was no joke. Peak Strategies officially had two clients. Kenji and a tech startup. Actual strangers had hired us. Miles and I had been throwing our whole selves into this venture.
The problem was I couldn’t get comfortable. My legs felt like they were tangled in fabric, and my shirt kept twisting around my torso every time I moved. But I couldn’t stop moving because I was being suffocated by my own pajamas.
So, I turned.
Rolled.
Flopped.
Sighed out my frustrations.
“Is this you sleeping like a corpse?” Luca had closed his laptop and turned off the lights a while ago. I’d assumed he was asleep. Obviously, I’d been wrong.
“Sorry. I’m trying to get comfortable. I’ll be still.”
I tried. I really did. I lay there until Luca’s breathing evened out and tried to convince myself it was soothing. And it was. It was just that I felt like I had ropes around my legs.
I decided to kick off my sweatpants. I was under the covers, so he wouldn’t see if he happened to wake up before me.
Raising my hips, I wiggled the loose pants down. They were around my knees when Luca cleared his throat.
“What’s happening now?”
I shoved them the rest of the way off. “I took off my pants.”
“Is this a seduction technique I’m unaware of?”
“It’s not. I thought you were asleep.”
“I was, but then the bed started rocking and rolling.”
I snorted, rubbing my bare legs on the smooth sheets. Much better. “You’re being dramatic.”
“Says the woman flailing about. Just put on your regular pajamas. I can control myself.”
“I was being thoughtful, Luca. There’s no need to be rude about it. Anyway, I’m fine now that I took my pants off. I’ll survive the night.”
He made a grumbling sound. “Go to sleep.”
“I plan to when you stop talking to me.”
He went quiet then, and I stared up at the ceiling, trying to force myself not to wish for his arms around me.
Eventually, I fell asleep.
I woke to a hand on my bare breast and my back cradled against a hard chest. Luca’s hot breath was on my neck, and in his sleep, his thumb rubbed my beaded nipple.
“You took your shirt off,” he murmured.
Okay, not sleeping.
I opened my eyes, peering down at myself. I was naked except for my underwear.
“Shit. I don’t remember doing that.”
His laugh was gritty and low. “You really hate wearing clothes to bed.”
“Despise it.” I wiggled back to steal some of his heat. “How did we end up in this position?”
“I woke up here.”
“And you didn’t immediately vault out of the bed?”
His teeth nipped my shoulder. “Are you complaining?”
“Just asking. I have no complaints at all.”
We stayed like that, Luca holding me and stroking my breast, me pretty much basking in the contact. He was aroused, and my panties were soaked, but neither of us made a move to take it further.
In a lot of ways, this was as far as we’d ever gone. The intimacy of these quiet moments soaked beneath my skin and embedded in my heart. I wanted this, but I was so afraid to voice it. Luca had been explicit in what this was and wasn’t, and he hadn’t wavered from that.
Was this wavering?
I shut my eyes, closed off my thoughts, and enjoyed the unparalleled bliss of waking in this man’s arms.