“I’ll drive you home.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled, her head knocking into the glass.
My grip on the steering wheel tightened. I couldn’t let this lay between us. “I’m not trying to encroach on your independence, this is me showing you concern.”
She knocked her head twice more. “It feels like judgment.”
“I promise you it's not. I saw your and Luciana’s situation. This is what you feel you need to do and—”
She twisted in her seat. “Theo, I make bank working there. Triple what I made at Wheelz. I keep my sister in nice clothes and food that’s not made entirely of chemicals. One day, this place will be in my rearview, but today isn’t that day. It’s a necessity.”
“I get it, baby.” Reaching across the console, I grasped her leg, squeezing to reassure me as much as her. She covered my hand with hers in an attempt to push me off, but I stayed, and she relented with a heavy sigh. “What happened to the job you had last year? You said you worked somewhere els—”
“Can we listen to music? I don’t really want to talk right now.”
Helen was quiet and still the rest of the drive. I almost thought she’d fallen asleep, except as soon as her dorm came into view, she grabbed her things, ready to bolt.
I parked. She hopped out, and I followed. At the door to her building, she turned to me.
“I’m good. I can take it from here.”
Reaching around her, I took her key card, scanned it to unlock the door, and pulled it open. Laying a palm on her belly, I walked her backward until we were both inside, the door falling shut behind us. She frowned at me, her brow crinkling. My mouth twitching, I wrapped my arm around her waist to grip her hip and guided her to the elevator. She scowled at me in silence all the way up to her floor, down her hall, and into her room.
There, I kissed the fucking frown right off her face, pressing my tongue inside to restake the ground I’d claimed that she was trying to take back. Helen shoved at my chest, not hard, but enough for me to pull back.
“I’m tired, Theodore. Go home.”
“No. I’m not leaving. We had a spectacular day. I’m not letting you take tonight to build up your walls because you showed me something you didn’t mean to.”
Her head dropped onto my shoulder, and she sighed. “I don’t do this.”
“What?” Hooking my knuckle under her chin, I dragged her gaze up to mine. “What, baby?”
“I don’t, you know, fuck around. I mean, I used to, but I don’t now. You need to know that and not expect it from me because you’re not going to get it. I shouldn’t have let you touch me today, but I was caught up, because you’re right, we did have a spectacular day. But now we’re back, and this is reality. I’m not having sex with you, so you can just go now.”
I couldn’t stop my flinch. “Fuck, baby. What happened to you?”
Helen’s face went hard. She backed out of my arms, walking straight to her dresser. “I’m putting on my pajamas, washing my face, and climbing into bed to go to sleep. That’s all I’m doing for the short time I remain conscious. You decide what to do with that.” She disappeared into her en suite bathroom, pajamas in her arms.
I did the only thing I could do. Shirt and shoes off, I shoved a pillow against the headboard of Helen’s bed and reclined against it while I waited for her to come out. It took her a couple minutes, but when she emerged, I stopped breathing.
“Your mouth.”
She blinked. “You’re still here...in my bed. Why are you in my bed, Theodore?”
“Your mouth, Helen.”
Her hand shot to cover her mouth. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
I patted the bed beside me. “Come here.”
She shook her head slowly. “No.”
Jackknifing upright, I hit the bed with more force. “Get over here.”
Helen wasn’t happy with me, but she came, one knee on the bed. “I’m here.”
“No.” I wrapped my arms around the backs of her legs, sweeping her off balance. She fell forward, landing on my chest. “Now you’re here.”
She jerked her head back, and my thumb swiped across her bottom lip. No lipstick, all Helen.
“Your mouth.”
“Yeah, I don’t wear lipstick to bed,” she stated flatly. “Can you let me go now?”
Back and forth, I rubbed her lips, bottom, then top. “Love the red, but this…”
“It’s just my lips,” she whispered.
“I’m seeing something you don’t show anyone.”
She stayed perfectly still, eyes on me while I touched her. “Except I wasn’t trying to show you. I thought you’d listen and leave.”
I shook my head. “Nope. You knew I’d still be here.”
Slowly, her gaze on mine, she lowered her head until her lips touched mine. “I kind of hoped, but I didn’t know.”
Something squeezed deep inside my chest, knowing what that had to cost her to admit. Moving fast, I wrapped my arms around her and rolled her to her back, hovering over her. Her hands came up to my neck, cupping the sides. She lifted her face, touching her mouth to mine again. The kiss I gave her back was a lot more than a touch, pushing her head down to her pillow. Her lips were smooth and warm under mine, her movement languid. It killed me to pull back, but I did.
“You should know I’m relentless,” I murmured. “But you’re tired, and to be honest, so am I. We need to talk, but we need to sleep more.”
“Are you asking to stay?”
I shook my head. “I’m not asking.” Rolling off her, I pulled back the covers, then pulled them over both of us. “I’m not going to take anything you don’t want to give, and I will keep telling you that until you believe it.”
Her lids were heavy as she looked me over. “You’re in my bed without permission.”
Arm around her, I slid her into my side. Her head settled on my shoulder. Her arm draped across my middle. “I saw the bat you keep next to the bed. If you really minded, I have no doubt you’d let me know.” My mouth pressed to the top of her head. “Go to sleep, Tiger.”
She shifted and flung a leg over mine. “This doesn’t mean anything.”
I pulled her deeper into me. “Nothing.”
* * *
Warm and wet. Over me. Everywhere. Silk sheets on my skin. Soft hands touching me. Too good to be a dream.
Fuck.
My eyes opened. Helen was in front of me, her body aligned with mine, head tucked against my chest. But she wasn’t asleep. She was exploring, and I was her terrain. Her fingertips traced down the length of my spine. Tipping her head, she pressed her mouth to the base of my throat, sucking gently. My cock responded to her in an instant, swelling behind my zipper.
“Helen,” I rasped. “What are you doing, baby?”
“Mmm.” Her sucks turned to light kisses, and her hand splayed on my back, pressing me closer.
“Are you dreaming?”
“Mmm.”
My hand shot up, fisting the side of her hair to tug her back. In the dawn light, her eyes were wide and startled, but fully awake.
“You know what you’re doing, Tiger?” I gruffed.
She lunged at my mouth, taking my bottom lip between hers for a long suck. “I know what I’m doing, Theodore.”