She leaned back to watch his expressions. He’d done so much for her, and she didn’t want to make his life harder. “Oh, no. I want you to get sleep. I can lay beside you,” she said earnestly.
He smiled at her and then chuckled when she squealed as he picked her up.
She circled his neck with her thin arms and held tight. She’d never been carried. Even when she was sick, she still had to take care of the house and meals. Her father told her often that she was lazy, and if she was ill, it was just an excuse to get out of doing her jobs.
Her nerves kicked in when he whipped back the covers and set her in the middle of the bed before he slid in beside her. Oh, Lord. She was going to sleep next to a man, one she was deeply attracted to and wanted to please. She didn’t know what to do or how to act.
The moonlight coming in through the windows was the only way she could see his features as he lay on his side, facing her.
He reached out and laid his hand on her stomach. “Are you doing okay?”
She nodded jerkily while looking up at the ceiling. She turned her head toward him when he chuckled.
“You look like you’re going to be tortured,” he said.
She relaxed and smiled. “I’m just not used to this. I’ve never slept with anyone before.”
“All you have to remember is I would never do anything to hurt you. Okay, baby?”
Eve nodded.
“Good, now go to sleep.”
She rolled over to her side away from him and closed her eyes.
It seemed like she’d just closed her eyes when flashes of her nightmare started coming back. They stopped immediately when a hard, warm arm curved around her waist and pulled her back against an equally solid chest.
A peace unlike a
nything she’d ever felt before in her life flowed through her. The rest of the night was calm, and she got the best sleep she’d ever had.
She had no fear that her father would wake her up and hit her. She was with Patrick, and he would keep the bad things away from her and keep her safe. She didn’t know why she trusted him already, but she was going to go with her gut that told her he was her future. The fact that Brylee and Larkin liked and trusted him played a huge part.
Chapter Eight
Eve felt a tranquil happiness she never had before when she opened her eyes the next morning in Patrick’s arms. She snuggled closer and breathed in his masculine scent. She jerked her hand away from his chest when a rumble of laughter came from his throat.
She looked up at him. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No, baby. You did everything very right. I like you touching me.”
She smiled and flattened her hand. “You’re so hard and furry.”
He chuckled, picked up her hand, and kissed her knuckles.
“What do you want to do today?”
Her hand froze, and she stared up at him. “I … I’m not sure.”
“What did you do at your father’s?”
“If I wasn’t cleaning the house, making the meals, or reading the bible, I sat at my window and looked outside.”
He cupped one side of her face. “You will never have to do any of that here.”
“I don’t want you to get sick of me or think I’m lazy or I’m taking advantage of you.”
“That will never happen. I want to take care of you, baby. I want to be able to do everything for you.”