“Please. I don’t want to be alone.”
The panic I see in her blue eyes does me in and I sigh.
“Okay.”
There’s no other place in this small bedroom to sit other than the bed. So Nora slides over a bit, and I drop onto the other side of the bed. I stay on top of the covers.
“Thank you.”
Nora’s voice is small as she huddles back down into the bed. I glance down and find that only her nose is sticking out, and a few tendrils of dark red hair. Her fingers are still tightly wound around the sheets.
I smile in the dark, then reach over and pry her fingers loose, straightening them out, forcing her to relax her grip.
Her eyes open.
“What are you afraid of?” I ask her quietly, staring into them.
She blinks.
“Everything,” she sighs, surprising me.
The dark almost seems suffocating, and against my better judgment, I close my hand over hers, holding her fingers.
“Don’t be,” I tell her. “I’m here now.”
She sucks in her breath, I hear it. And I regret my words. I don’t want her to grow dependent on me. We’re only here a short time. I can’t get sucked in. I won’t let it be another situation like the one with Jacey.
Nora reaches for me, and I tense. It’s visible.
She stares at me through the dark, her eyes narrowing.
“What are you afraid of?”
“Nothing,” I answer out of habit. She narrows her eyes more.
“Let me ask that again. What are you afraid of?”
“This,” I finally answer.
Nora sucks her breath in again. “Why?”
I shake my head. “Because nothing good can come of it. We’re only here for a few weeks.”
Nora’s lips curve into a slow smile. “Brand, trust me. A whole lot of good can come from it.”
She reaches for me, her slender arms curving around my neck, pulling my face down to hers.
And while I know I should push her away, I should get up and leave, I don’t.
Her lips taste sweet as they press to mine. I slide my hands up her warm back and pull her to me, crushing her against my bare chest. Our combined warmth ignites and her tongue slides into my mouth.
“I need you, Brand,” she breathes. “I need you.”
She slides her hand down my chest until she finds my hardness and I hear the rush of air as her breath rushes over her lips.
Her cool fingers grasp me, and I know that it’s over. Logical thought escapes me and all I can focus on is the friction of her hand stroking my cock.
Smart or not, I’m burying myself in her tight little body tonight.