Sadly, she was not only distracted by thinking about Duncan, she was so, so tired. As the afternoon wore on, she found her eyes crossing as she stared at the screen of her laptop, her eyelids heavy. Her research made no sense. She just wanted to lay her head down on the table and sleep.
Near three o’clock, she wearily slid her laptop into the padded sleeve and then into her backpack. She slung it over her shoulder and left the library. Even an extra cup of Cool Beans Coffee wasn’t enough to revive her. How the hell was she going to keep up with Duncan in a workout or a run?
He probably ran twenty miles every day and bench-pressed three hundred pounds.
His truck was at the curb waiting for her when she walked along the sidewalk. Seeing him there made her feet slow momentarily because of the heat that swelled in her chest. Geez mama, get a grip, girl.
Determinedly, she strode forward and grabbed the door handle and yanked it open. “Hey.” She jumped in.
He smiled at her. He wore one of his usual ball caps, a green khaki jacket with pockets that looked suspiciously like he was going hunting, faded jeans, and boots. She breathed in his clean scent mingled with lingering new car smell, his big presence filling the cab of the truck. “Hey yourself. How was your day?”
“Long.” She sighed as she reached for the seatbelt. “I’m tired.”
He put the truck in gear. “Sorry.”
She settled into the seat. “It’s not your fault.”
“I did keep you up late.”
“I consented.”
“True. You were definitely a willing participant.”
A smile tickled her lips. “I guess I was.”
He maneuvered through heavy traffic with ease, confident and a little aggressive in his driving. She put a hand on the dash the first time he did a fast lane change, but he was so in control of the vehicle she soon relaxed.
“How was your practice?”
“Ugh. Hard. Coach ended it with a bag skate.”
“A what?”
“Bag skate. We just skate around as hard as we can. Until our bags fall off.”
She chuckled.
“Yeah, go ahead and laugh. Nothing’s more dreaded than a bag skate. Christ.”
“Um, why did he do that? Are you guys out of shape?”
“Hell no. We just haven’t been playing as well as we could. Some more than others,” he muttered. “But we’re a team so we all get the treatment. It’s a way of getting our attention. It’s not like we don’t know how to skate.”
He glided the truck down the ramp to the parking garage beneath his building.
“You still want to work out?” she asked.
“I can do some weights. My legs feel a little rubbery, so going for a run might not be the best plan.”
“Okay.”
When they were in his apartment, she paused. She hadn’t had a bag skate, but she almost felt like she had. She’d been getting by on such little sleep for so long, but managing, and last night’s nocturnal activities had really sucked the life out of her. “Guess I should change into workout gear.”
“Sure. Come on.” He led the way to his bedroom and she trudged along behind him, almost dragging her backpack.
He turned to her. “You’re really tired, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. But I’m okay.”
He shook his head. “I think you need sleep more than you need a workout.”
“I like working out. I need to.”
“Well, yeah, but missing one day isn’t going to kill you. Come on. I’m bagged too. Let’s just have a nap.”
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. He laughed and held his hands up and out to his sides.
“Seriously. Sit.” He moved to her and pushed her to sitting on the bed, then knelt in front of her and slipped off her ballet flats. Pulling her to stand, he tugged on the covers of the unmade bed—the bed she’d helped mess up—and eased her down onto the mattress. “Want to take your jeans off?”
“I don’t want to have a nap.”
“You’re having a nap.”
“I never noticed this bossy tendency until this morning.” She burrowed into the covers and pillow.
“I’m not bossy.”
She snorted.
He picked up a remote control that lowered a screen over the floor-to-ceiling glass, darkening the room. The bed felt amazing. He had a huge bed and an awesome mattress that felt like a cloud. The sheets were silky and soft, the duvet cozy, and both smelled like fabric softener and Duncan.
Her eyelids drooped. The bed moved a little as his heavy weight joined her. Then he curled an arm around her middle and pulled her back against his front, and one big thigh covered her legs. His warmth enveloped her, and in the dim room and his arms, she was asleep in seconds.
She woke up to his fingertips on her cheek. She blinked, trying to separate the dream she’d been having from reality. Duncan…she stared at him. He was out of the bed, sitting beside her.
“Hey.” He pushed hair off her face. “You awake?”
“Mmm. Oh my God. What time is it?”
“Five.”
“Oh.” She blew out a breath. “I thought I was late for work.”
“Nuh-uh.” He caressed her jaw. “I remembered you work at six. I made you something to eat and then I’ll drive you to the Sin Bin.”
Softness expanded inside her. “Thank you.”
“Wish I could’ve let you sleep longer. You were really out.”