Page 57 of Settling the Score

She batted her lashes serenely. ‘We’ll see.’

His chuckle was low and soft.

‘I mean, you kind of deserve it.’

He really couldn’t argue with that.

‘I’ll tell you what, Mastrangelo. I’ll sleep here and try to take up as little space as possible.’

She snorted.

‘What?’

‘It’s just, you might not have noticed, but you’re kind of…’

‘What?’

‘Huge.’

He grinned and wiggled his brows, his implication clear.

She rolled her eyes. ‘You’re a child.’

‘Nope.’

‘Get in bed.’

He arched a brow, loving the way she blushed. Loving that he could make her blush.

Which scared the crap out of him all over again.

He pushed back the covers and made a show of lying down right on the edge of the mattress, enjoying the way she regarded him sceptically, before moving gingerly to her own side of the bed and peeling back the covers.

She kept watching him as she hopped in, and didn’t, in the end, starfish at all, but rather lay right on the edge of her side of the bed, too. With a gulf of mattress and covers as wide as two hockey rinks between them.

It only occurred to him, as he was starting to drift off, that her predilection for starfishing meant she probably didn’t share a bed often, and he hated how much that thought pleased him…

* * *

At first, she thought it was a dream. It wouldn’t have been the first time her subconscious had conjured Aiden up out of nowhere. But this wasdifferent.This time, she couldfeelhim. Even after her eyes had opened.

His warmth and nearness. His breath on the back of her neck. His hand, heavy and comforting, wrapped around her waist. She couldhearhim too, each exhalation like a deep, throaty rumble.

Aiden.

Carter.

In.

Her.

Bed.

With his arm around her. And his body playing big spoon to her little.

She startled, eyes wide, staring at the wall across the room, but stayed perfectly still, as though she couldn’t bear to break the contact, even when she knew it was a mistake, and probably a disaster in the making.

‘Morning.’ His voice was a deep rumble from behind, close to her ear. She hated the way her insides twisted with something like need.