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“Not my bedroom?”

“If you need me close, I’ll be there. I can make a pallet on the floor.”

“What if I just needyou?”

The vulnerability in her voice ripped at my heart. “Honey, sex isn’t going to solve our problems.”

“How can you be sure unless we try?”

A hint of her normal sparkle returned, glittering in her blue eyes. Her teasing reassured me that all wasn’t lost. She just needed some recovery time. Space to process whatever had happened. In the morning, I’d press her for more details.

“Tell you what. Ask me again when you haven’t been crying, and we’ll see what happens. For tonight, I’m more interested in being your friend than your hookup.”

“Drew, you’re more than a hookup.” Her protest was soft but sincere.

“Good. Then you won’t mind waiting until I’m in a place to romance you properly. If I’m gonna do a thing, I’m going to do itright.”

“Doing the right thing is really important to you.”

“It is.”

She ringed her arms around my neck, expression solemn. “I can only hope you’ll still want me when you realize I’m only human.”

“First, I’llalwayswant you. Second, if your feelings for me are based on the assumption that I’m infallible, I’m going to disappoint you in two seconds flat. Please don’t put me on a pedestal, Anya. I promise, I’m just a man. A man who wants you desperately, but you only have to look at how I ran my mouth on our first date to see I make mistakes. I’m no saint.”

Her breath was shaky, and her mouth trembled at the edges, but it was a smile. I’d take it.

I led her inside. “Where do you want me?” I asked, my voice husky.

She arched both brows.

“Floor or couch?”

“You’re not going to get anything approaching real rest on the floor.” Vulnerability bled into her soft blue eyes. “And the couch is awfully far away… Stay with me?”

Her voice faltered on the last word, eviscerating my heart in one shaky syllable. Everything compressed, taking my ribcage and tightening it until I was sure I couldn’t breathe without her.

“If that’s what you want, I’m there.”

She did whatever women did in the bathroom before bed, returning in soft peachy-pink pajamas. It took a moment for me to resolve the intricate pattern into its component parts. From a distance, they looked almost floral. Up close? Not so much.

“Cute,” I murmured, holding back a grin. “Do I want to know how or why you have penis pajamas?”

Anya lifted one rounded shoulder, eyes glittering with humor. “It’s as close as I could get to a chastity belt on short notice.”

I widened my eyes, blinking slowly. Twice.

She grinned in the face of my disbelief, and I shook my head, dropping my chin.

“Yeah, I think someone failed history. Those might be the first urban legend. The second might be that you could come up withanythingthat would make me not want you. You look fucking adorable, even covered in dicks.”

Chapter 20 – Anya

Wearing the pajamas Lucy gave me in our gift exchange was an inspired choice, even if it mostly inspired Drew’s laughter.

Being with him kept me distracted from the conversation with Owen. I’d danced around the details, but I couldn’t do that forever. Owen made that clear. He wasn’t above outing me to my friends if I didn’t take the reins and outmaneuver him. While he wouldn’t let me hide, I wouldn’t let him manipulate me into working for the family again. Not now that I knew the truth.

My friends needed to know about Owen before he approached them so they could be on guard. I’d never forgive myself if he threatened or harmed one of them to get to me.