Page 103 of Guarding Grace

She lay on her side and backed up against me, all soft skin and irresistible warmth.

How the hell was I supposed to get to sleep like this? It didn’t matter. This was only about allowing her to get some sleep.

“Will you hold me?” A second later, she added, “Please.”

When she put it that way, she gave me no alternative. I turned in her direction, which unfortunately put her sweet ass against my hard dick. Tentatively, I laid my arm over her waist. Discomfort gave way to acceptance and then comfort. She felt so right under my arm, like this was the way we were meant to be.

“Thank you.” She shifted against me.

I willed my cock to not notice. It didn’t work.

Then I had a terrible thought. I’d told Lucas I’d go slow, and if he found out about this, he might take the assignment away from me and give it to Zane. That would be unfuckingacceptable.

She turned her head. “Do you think?—”

I didn’t let her finish. “Thinking can wait until tomorrow. Get some sleep. I’m here. You’re safe, and you need your sleep for work tomorrow.” Being successful with her company had always been her biggest motivator.

“You’re right.” She shifted against me.

I scooted back a tad. It wasn’t enough, as the tip of my cock still rested against her. The movement was not helping. Maybe if I stayed absolutely still, just maybe, I could get my cock to deflate.

Baseball—few things were as boring as baseball. I tried reciting the starting lineup of the Dodgers over and over in my head.

Before long, Grace’s breathing fell into the slow rhythm of sleep.

So close and yet so far… This was going to be a long night.

CHAPTER 23

Grace

The next morning,I woke slowly, pulling the pillow to my face. I rolled, ready to wish a good morning to the man who’d rescued me from my nightmare last night, but he was gone. The sheets on his side of the bed were still warm, though. So it hadn’t been long.

He’d stayed with me like he promised. Realizing that made me smile through the headache.

Bringing his pillow to my nose, I got the slightest hint of the woodsy scent that was Terry.

I regretted all that wine as I rolled out of bed. This was going to be a hell of a day—one foot in front of the other, and a million Advil in between. After taking care of business in the bathroom, I found the pills in my purse and poured a glass of water. Normally, a shower first thing invigorated me. Today, all I wanted was to curl up under the covers and hope for sleep to rescue me.

The loud voice from behind startled me. “You need to drink these.”

Now my ears hurt as well. But as soon as I turned, the view of Terry made it all better. I accepted one of the mugs he held out. It was water. “Two?”

With his free hand he fished into his pocket and produced tablets. “Yes. Aspirin, water, and coffee.”

“I already took Advil, thanks.”

He pocketed the pills and flipped on the light I’d intentionally left off.

Squinting, I tried to keep from having a full-on brain explosion.

“Bad?” he asked softly as he flipped the switch back off.

I nodded. “You warned me.” I waited for the cutting attack, the reminder of how stupid I’d been to ignore his advice. It didn’t come.

Instead, he leaned into the shower and turned on the water. “I find a shower helps, but you need to finish these—caffeine and extra hydration—to begin with.”

I nodded and addressed the elephant in the room. “Did I do something wrong?”