He’s what matters.
Sucking in a deep breath, I revel in his scent. It’s a strange mix of sweat and mint with another scent that I can’t really place. My entire body relaxes as I hug his pillow and try to relax. When I fell asleep earlier, I was wearing Ian’s boxers and T-shirt. They were comfortable, and I should be putting them back on now, but I couldn’t help myself. I just wanted to know what it would be like to lie naked in his bed just once. So now I’m lying here, obsessively breathing in his scent and wondering exactly when it was that I fell off my rocker and right on my head. But I’m not too concerned, so I suck in another deep breath and inhale his unique scent. If I’m not careful, I could fall asleep just like this.
In the distance, I hear the rumble of a Harley. At least, I think it’s a Harley. A yawn escapes me as a light shines in through the front of the cabin. The sound grows louder as it nears. It takes me a moment, as I wiggle in my spot in the bed, to realize that I have company. I try to untangle myself from the sheets and fly off the bed in a frantic search for the boxers and T-shirt in the dark room. It must be the middle of the night because the sky is pitch black outside. There isn’t a clock in this room from what I can tell, and I haven’t bothered doing anything but stripping naked and rolling around in the bed like a nut case. The noise from the bike stops just as I find the T-shirt and slip it on. Heavy footsteps sound from the front porch, and the front door opens. Just in time, I find the boxers and slink back into bed, pulling them on and lying there awkwardly and try to pretend that I’m asleep.
The front door shuts, and moments later, Ian walks into the bedroom. He stops in the doorway and leans against the frame. With his arms crossed over his chest, he lets out an unamused laugh and says, “I know you’re not asleep.”
“How?” I ask and sit up immediately. I could have tried to keep up the charade that I was sleeping, but there’s little point.
“You snore.” Through a sliver of moonlight, I can see the faint smile on his face. If it wasn’t such a wonderful and rare sight, I might be annoyed by his observation.
“I do not snore.” I do, but no lady wants to admit to such a thing. “And even if I did, you wouldn’t know that I do, but for the record, I don’t.”
“You do.”
“No, I don’t.”
Liar, my brain screams at me.
“But you do,” he says. “Starts out with heavy breathing, then this nasally business, and finally a snoring-wheezing thing once you’re fully asleep. If you’re having a nightmare, you talk in your sleep.”
Pushing off the door frame, he walks out of the bedroom and opens the front door. I’m half-stunned by what he’s said and half-scared that he’s going to leave again. Sometimes it surprises me how well Ian knows me. I guess he picked up on my sleeping habits when I was in the hospital. I can’t imagine where else he would have learned all of that.
“Where are you going?”
“Out.” The tone of his voice tells me he’s tired and maybe even annoyed, but he’s trying hard to keep it from showing. I guess I know him pretty well, too. Just like I know that yelling after him won’t keep him here with me. He doesn’t respond to normal pleas, so I don’t even try. Instead, I go straight for what will get his attention.
There’s not a whole lot in the bedroom for me to work with, but I find an empty glass on the table beside the bed and grip it in my hand. I don’t have much of an arm, so I focus really hard on what I’m doing and take a deep breath before tossing the glass at the closing front door. It shatters against the solid wood, and sure enough, the front door reopens instantly. Ian’s standing in the doorway, staring me down. I’ll have to remember to clean the glass up the first chance I get. The last thing I want is to step in that mess.
“Was that necessary?” he asks in a bored tone and walks back into the house, shutting the door behind him.
“Yes.”
“You gonna clean up your mess?” He’s back in the bedroom now, and he’s leaning over the bed, his teeth gritted and his voice rough.
“No.” I lift my brows and tuck my legs underneath me. I have a brief moment of being shy when my breasts bounce as I reposition myself. I was fully clothed when he left earlier, well before I dozed off for my nap. I notice his eyes fall to my chest momentarily and then dart right back up to my face.
“There a reason you’re throwing shit?”