Bare Skin (Skin Deep 5)

It was almost nine at night by the time I had Dani and Kaden loaded up and headed back to the hotel. We’d had a simple, easy night hanging out with Emma and Luke, and she’d met Jacks when he and Allie had come for dinner since Luke said he’d brave the still chilly air enough to grill steaks for us all.

We’d stayed, obviously, because who turns down a free steak? Dani had seemed pretty comfortable for the rest of the evening, chatting easily with Allie and Emma like she’d known them her whole life. I did notice a few times that they asked a question of her and she’d smoothly avoided answering every time. I know they caught on, but they didn’t pry.

I knew that would come later when they could corner me for answers.

Kaden was asleep in his car seat and Dani had been quiet for almost the entire ride. Until I pulled up at the hotel and parked, shutting the car off and reaching for the door handle. I stopped when I heard a slight sigh from Dani.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, turning in my seat to see her staring out the window at the hotel looming in front of us.

“I just…it’s nothing. Tired of hotel living, honestly, but I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here, so I’ll deal and go on.” She glanced over at me. “You coming up?”

I started to nod, but an idea popped into my head and I blurted it out, not even thinking it through. “Come stay with me.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I saw her tense and freeze, her eyes flashing wildly in the semi-darkness of the car. “What?”

I cleared my throat. “I have an extra bedroom. Fully furnished and there’s still enough room to set up the baby’s crib thing. You’d have the place to yourself all day while I’m at work and you wouldn’t have to keep paying for the hotel and…”

I trailed off, not sure what else to say. I don’t think there really was anything else to say, other than the fact that, holy shit! I’d just asked a woman I’d only known for four days to move in with me. If that wasn’t enough to get my man card revoked, I didn’t know what was.

But damnit, I didn’t want to take it back. In fact, I really wanted her to say yes.

She was silent for the longest time before she finally spoke.

“Look. You’re sweet. But, again, we’ve only known each other for four days and I’ve already lost myself enough around you that we almost ended up…you know. Calland, I-I think it might be best if we just left things alone. You know?”

“Dani-”

“No. I have to do what I came to do, and I’m letting myself get distracted by you.” She was firm. Her tone brooked no argument.

At least I knew that’s what she wanted me to hear, how she wanted to come across. But I could hear the half-heartedness in her voice. I knew she could, too, no matter how much she wanted to deny it.