“I’m okay.” I grab his hand, grateful that someone was here.
He nods, but he doesn’t look convinced.
The clock says it’s only three o’clock in the morning, so I ease us back against the pillows.
“Want me to get you a drink of water or something?”
I shake my head and settle in against Rex’s chest where I feel safe. “I don’t need anything, but thank you.”
My hand rests against his stomach. Several minutes pass, and right about the time my eyes drift shut, Rex intertwines our fingers and brings my hand to his mouth.
I pry a heavy lid open and blink up at him. He tries to give me a reassuring smile, but I can see the concern still brewing behind his dark eyes.
“Sleep,” he says, kissing my hand. “I’ve got you.”
And I do.
Tucking my face in the crook of his neck, I drift into a dreamless sleep, waking up hours later to an empty bed and the smell of bacon. I stretch like a cat, lifting my arms above my head as I roll onto Rex’s side of the bed. It’s still warm, so I know he hasn’t been gone long.
My body is sore in the most delicious way, a gentle yet stark reminder of where Rex has been, and I can’t stop the smile from stretching across my face. For once I’m not thinking about my father or my sister, or finding a job. I’m not a daughter searching for answers, or a friend keeping secrets, I’m simply a woman who just had the best sex of her life with an incredibly gorgeous, attentive, and cocky man.
Who would’ve thought Rex could be such a gentle lover? Don’t get me wrong, he has a rough side. If anyone is unsure of that, all they’d have to do is look at my ass because I’ve got the red marks to prove it.
“I thought I heard someone rustling around in here.”
Rex’s gorgeous face pops around the corner as he saunters into the room, gray sweats hanging low on his hips, and all my thoughts drift away.
“Good morning, sleepy head.”
Damn, he’s sexy.
My gaze rakes over his body. Tattoos run up both of his arms, and there’s another on his ribs. I make a mental note to explore them more closely if the opportunity presents itself. When my eyes make their way back to his, Rex is grinning at me.
I grin back. I should be embarrassed for ogling him so openly, except I’m not. In fact, my eyes take another trip south, watching his muscles twist and flex beneath his smooth skin, remembering how good his body felt pressed against mine, as he walks toward the bed. Rex stops and leans over me.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.” His voice is husky and raw, and judging by the growing bulge in his sweats, he’s just as affected by me as I am him.
“You sure do like to ask that, don’t you?” I say, recalling the same question last night.
He swallows, seeming momentarily taken aback. “I’m usually pretty good at figuring women out—what they want, what their intentions are, but you? You’re a mystery. And you intrigue the fuck out of me. I know we said we were only going to give each other one night, but the way you looked at me last night and the way you’re looking at me now say something completely different.”
Wow. The vulnerability in his gaze slices me open, and I’m not really sure how to respond, so I decide to answer his question.
“What I’m thinking,” I say, blinking up at him, “is that you’re terrifyingly gorgeous. You should come with a warning label because I’m certain you’re a hazard to women’s health, mine included.” My voice is soft, my words slow and precise.
Rex swallows. His eyes drop to my mouth.
“But what I can’t figure out is why I’m here…” His eyes snap back to mine, the slightest furrow to his brow. “…in your bed, naked as the day I was born, when you could have any other woman in the universe.”
By no means am I insecure. I’m happy with my body and the way I look, but Rex is in an entirely different league, and I’m not sure how any woman could possibly measure up.
Lowering himself next to me, Rex brushes his fingers down the side of my cheek, across my chest, and then he pulls the covers down, exposing the top half of my body. My nipples pucker with need when the cool air hits them, and I shift against the pillows. Rex’s eyes stay focused on my mine, but his hand continues to explore.
“Shae, you don’t know how stunning you are. Everything about you is appealing. Your smile, the tiny dimple in your right cheek, your startling blue eyes.” His fingers skim across my breasts, stopping long enough to rub my nipples before traveling toward my stomach. “Your body is a masterpiece made be treasured, but none of that is what I find most attractive.”
No man has ever complimented me like this, and I swallow hard past the lump in my throat. “It isn’t?”
He shakes his head. “No. What I find most attractive is how brutally honest you are, how you speak from your heart. You’re not afraid to say what you think, and that’s a virtue hard to come by. Make no mistake, Shae, it’s not you who is undeserving. It’s me.”