Page 127 of X's and O's

She was asleep on top of her comforter, snoring gently, her Kindle still in her hand, though sleep had loosened her fingers enough it had fallen back on the mattress.

I’d never had a woman take my breath away like she did. It was the curve of her hip. Her tits. Her long legs.

Soft lips I wanted to kiss again.

Long hair I wanted to wrap around my fist.

A neck I wanted to suck some more, just to hear the way she moaned, even though I could still see the remnants of the bruise I’d left on her skin last time I’d been in this room.

But most of all, something inside me settled when she was around, and it was a peace my chaotic brain craved.

So while I’d made out to Whip and Levi that I was coming up here for sex, what I really wanted was to crawl into bed, wrap my arms around her, and feel the soft rise and fall of her chest pressed against mine.

Even though my body craved that touch, I didn’t dare. Her expression when she’d watched me carve up Paul Jeddersen like he was a meat tray was still engraved in my head. I’d been working so hard to change the way she felt about me.

I didn’t want to ruin it because my dick wanted her just as much as my heart did.

So instead I picked up a blanket from the end of her bed, gently covered her with it, put her Kindle back on her nightstand and plugged it into the charger, then sank down on the floor. Using her chest of drawers for support, I leaned back on them and watched the only woman who’d ever made me feel anything, other than chaos, sleep.

That lasted all of three minutes before I got bored.

“Violet,” I whispered. “You awake?”

She clearly wasn’t.

“Violetttttt. Snore if you want me to wake you up.”

She stopped snoring.

I frowned and gave her mattress a shake.

Her eyes fluttered open.

I grinned at her. “Oh hey! You’re awake!”

She jolted upright, flicked on her lamp, blinked a few times, and then focused on me. “X?” She frowned. “Did you just shake my bed? At…” She peered at the night display on her phone that showed the time. “One in the morning?”

“There was an earthquake.”

She looked at me dubiously.

I pinched two fingers together. “A very small one. Probably won’t even be reported on the news.”

“Mmm-hmm. Sure.” She squinted at me, like her eyes were still trying to adjust. “Why are you in my room right now?”

“If I said because I like watching you sleep, would that freak you out?”

“Maybe.”

“Definitely not that then. How about, I was in the neighborhood and was wondering if I could borrow your shower?”

She scrubbed at her face. “Seriously?”

“Actually, yes. I have penis hands.”

Her fingers fell away from rubbing her eyes. “What?”

“Penis hands,” I repeated.