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Mr. Williams froze, either in horror or disbelief. I wasn’t sure. “Am I hallucinating?”
The strangled question had me fighting back a laugh. I put on a bright smile, “Earl, isn’t that fantastic? Your kindness and respect have led Mr. Williams to believe that he is dreaming. Isn’t that right, Mr. Williams?”
Mark looked at me like I had lost my fucking marbles, and he wouldn’t be far off. I moved closer and pinched him again, loving the feel of his skin against my fingertips. Not that I was thinking about that—because I wasn’t.
“Erm, yes, Earl, I am delighted?” Mark might have been slow on the uptake, but he came through like a champ.
A broad smile broke across the elderly man’s face, and I could have kissed Mr. Williams right on the spot.
“Earl, it’s been a long night. Why don’t you get back to bed?”
Earl scratched his butt again. “I reckon you are right, Sutton. I am tired.”
Lord, weren’t we all. I couldn’t remember a time when I was more tired.
As Earl made his way down the darkened hallway, I breathed a sigh of relief.
That was until Mr. Williams pinned me to the kitchen counter. He wasn’t touching me, per se. But his arms were locked on either side of my waist, and he was leaning into me with what I would consider a threatening manner.
“Did you need something, Mr. Williams?” My voice was barely a whisper.
“You owe me.” His steel gray eyes bore into mine. The heat that was there earlier had only deepened.
I didn’t even pretend not to know what he was speaking about. I would assume that there were not many times that he had to placate members of the octogenarian set. It didn’t matter. Mark had warmed my heart and I didn’t want him spoiling it.
“It didn’t hurt you,” I muttered, feeling the tremendous source of heat coming from his body.
He lifted his hand to touch the bandage on his head, “I beg to differ.”
I used the opening to slip away, “Come and take some painkillers and then we need to get to bed.”
He stopped when I said the last word.
“What?” I turned back to him. “You should take something for the swelling, and I need to wash my hands again. I don’t want stains on my sheets.”
He blinked. “Of course you don’t. Let me come and wash up.”
Standing side by side at the sink, I felt very domesticated. The heat from his body radiated across the small space. I wanted to lean into him. Hell, I wanted to plaster myself all over him. But I behaved—barely.
Chapter Six
Sutton
“I can’t share your bed, Miss Landry.”
I rolled my eyes and repeated myself one more time. “Listen, Mr. Williams, you have a head injury. That means you need to be monitored. I voted for calling an ambulance, but you voted me down. It’s fucking late, or actually hella early, and I need to sleep. So, your option is to share the couch with me or the bed.”
Mr. Williams coughed, and I could have sworn the man blushed. “That is highly inappropriate!”
“I am not going to ravish you.” I was starting to enjoy this a little too much. “I am exhausted, and I am going to sleep. Now, get your ass in gear. We are going to bed.”
Instead of waiting for him to decide, I grabbed his hand and began to pull. To my surprise, the giant of a man followed me into my bedroom. He looked completely out of place. The mattress was fairly new on the old double bed. I had saved up for almost two years to buy it. It wasn’t top of the line or anything, but at least it wasn’t sagging in the middle.
“What side of the bed do you sleep on?” I asked, yawning.
Mr. Williams was looking everywhere but at me. “What?” he said distractedly. “Oh, um, look I am going to just go back out to the couch.”
It looked like I needed to take matters into my own hands. With brute force I pushed him down onto the mattress. “Lay down, cowboy.”