Page 9

Riley

One Bed Trope

Excuse me, Mister-One-Bed-Trope…

I’d seen this before and knew how it ended. Despite my core clenching at the idea of being curled up next to Lucan and his deliciously sculpted body, I kept my legs closed and my cat held safe in my arms.

Dobby meowed as I tightened my grip.

I’m saving us from falling into a trap.

Ember had gotten one taste of dragon dick and hopped straight onto the mate-train. But I’d had enough practice with men to know how to think with the right head when you were living with them.

“Do you have another room on the lower level?” I asked, thinking of the stairs leading down from the kitchen.

Dobby struggled in my arms.

“That’s the garage and basement.” Lucan bent over to change his boxers, giving me a show of his tight abs and smooth ass. “I converted the basement rooms to my gym, but we can move equipment around to give you space for your hobbies.”

Of course he had his own home gym.

“Speaking of that, what are your hobbies?” He stood up and hooked his arm through his elbow, stretching his shoulders and triceps.

I closed my eyes because I didn’t know where else to put them.

“No hobbies.” Unless binge-watching comfort movies and drinking wine counted as a hobby. “I can sleep on the couch.”

“You’re not sleeping on the couch.” Lucan crawled into bed and patted the empty spot beside him.

Damn this frustrating dragon-man.

“Fine, then,” I growled. “You go sleep on the couch.”

As soon as the words left my lips, I wanted to clap my hands over my mouth.

Who was I?

My heart started beating faster.

Raising my voice with Drew would’ve gotten me…

I ignored the memories my thoughts were spiraling towards, focusing on the crisp, white sheets. “Never mind. I’m sorry. This is your room.”

“And I plan to share it with you.” Lucan’s voice was calming as he leaned back against the headboard, crossing his arms behind his head. “The bed is big enough for more than two and we’re both adults. I won’t touch you.”

I frowned.

Nope. Didn’t like the sound of that for some reason.

Lucan arched an eyebrow. “Unless you want me to touch you.”

“No.” I shook my head, backing slowly towards the door. Dobby chose that moment to bolt from my arms.

My traitorous cat landed on the bed and pranced his way across the covers. He sniffed and kneaded the down comforter a few times before plopping his butt onto Lucan’s bare chest.

Wide-eyed, I stared at the two of them. “What did you do to my cat?”

“Gave him a place to sleep?” Lucan shrugged as he scratched under Dobby’s chin. My cat, who hated all things male, and barely tolerated me, started to purr.

Lucan’s grin was playful as he looked up. “Maybe you should follow his lead. You need your rest.”

“I…” I was out of excuses and feeling ridiculous. As a fully grown woman, I could sleep next to a half-naked man in a bed with no funny business going on.

“What are you doing?” Lucan asked as I started moving the pillows. There were so many and they were all so fluffy yet firm. They must’ve cost him a fortune.

“Building a wall,” I huffed as I stacked them in the middle of the bed.

This would be fiiineee.

It’s not like I was a heavy sleeper anyway. It’d been years since I’d gotten a decent night’s sleep. The older I got, the more it seemed that my brain was on high alert and never completely shut off. It was always ready to act at a moment’s notice.

“You think a pillow wall is going to protect you from a dragon?” Lucan chuckled.

Even if his words sounded dangerous, I knew there was no malice to them. Besides, if he decided to turn into a dragon, he’d do more than ruin the pillow barrier.

I nodded, pulling the comforter up to my chin. “And the blanket will keep the monsters away from my feet.”

Lucan’s face softened as he watched me.

It was unnerving.

I looked away.

“Are you ready for me to turn out the light?” he asked.

Dobby was still curled onto Lucan’s chest. But he was a free cat. He could do what he wanted.

“It’s your room,” I said. “Turn out the lights when you want.”

“It’s yours too,” Lucan whispered as the bedside table lamp clicked off and darkness fell. “Goodnight my Riley.”

“Night,” I mumbled, trying to not let the kindness in his tone get to me.

He was being nice now, but it was only the beginning. Soon, his true colors would shine through. I just needed to keep my eyes open this time.

∞

I woke with a start, disorientated and groggy like I was waking from the dead as I tried to pull myself back to the land of the living.

The sun had fully risen and the glow of it shone behind my closed eyelids. A strange sensation made me shut my mouth, feeling the trail of drool dried to my face as I pulled my sticky cheek away from other human skin.

No, no, no.

I pried one eye open.

The masculine chest underneath me was much softer than I’d imagined. But the arm wrapped around my back was just as heavy as I thought it would be.

My other eye opened as reality sank in and I came face to face with Dobby, who was also lying on Lucan’s chest. His jeweled cat eyes watched me with that judging expression he’d perfected over the years.

What happened?

I tried to force myself awake.

My heart pounded as I raised my head, about to ream Lucan for breaking his promise, when I saw how we laid on the bed.

We were way too close to his edge.

I was a starfish, taking up most of the room on the oversized mattress big enough to hold Lucan, but apparently not big enough for my needs.

I couldn’t even pretend he was the one who violated my pillow wall.

This was all on me.

One of the pillows was smashed under my tits like a wedge so that I rested comfortably on his muscular chest and another pillow was beneath my hips, providing the perfect ramp for my leg thrown over his legs. Like I’d scaled the wall and flattened it in my haste to cuddle.

I squeezed my eyes shut as Lucan stirred beside me. If he’d just move his heavy arm, I could sneak away with my shame and pretend this never happened.

No such luck.

He tightened his grip.

I breathed in slowly, feeling a sense of peace.

Sleep must’ve still had me in her grasp, because it smelled so good being this close to Lucan and it was so warm and so soft here in this bed.

If I closed my eyes, I could—

“Good morning, love.” Lucan’s voice was throaty and rough—sexy as hell. “How’d you sleep?”

I tried to pull my leg back to my side and ended up rubbing my core against his hip.

He went ramrod straight.

Blood rushed to all my sensitive areas and I was acutely aware of every place our bodies touched.

There was my morning dose of adrenaline.

“Can you let me go?” I whispered, mortified.

“If you insist,” Lucan teased as he raised his arm.

The cold air was a welcome distraction, shocking me awake as I scrambled off the bed.

“How are you feeling?” Lucan asked. “You slept as hard last night as the one before.”

The world spun a bit as I landed on my feet.

But I felt better than all right.

The pinching headache I always had in the mornings was gone and despite my bladder being really full, all my aches had eased.

And my brain was clear.

“I can’t remember the last time I slept through the whole night,” I said honestly.

Lucan was a vision of sleepy masculinity as he turned to the side, propping his head up on his arm to look at me. His golden hair was wild and loose about his face. An angel—or the devil—depending on which side you were watching the fall.

“That’s good.” He smiled. “Your body feels safe enough to relax here.”

I didn’t know what to think about that.

But my body did feel the need to pee.

“Take your time in the bathroom,” Lucan called after me as I marched across the room. “I’ll get your breakfast ready and then we’ll go shopping.”

“Shopping?” I stopped in my tracks as my heart fluttered in a way that didn’t feel all that bad.

“Yeah.” Lucan’s grin was full of mischief. Definitely the devil this time. “I made you a promise, didn’t I?”