Shell nodded, her chin bumping his chest. “I know,” she whispered.

“Good. Now get moving.” He gave her a playful swat on the ass that made her giggle as she hurried into her room.

Copper made his way through her house, ensuring the doors and windows were locked, before following her into her room. He was too beat to drive home. At least that’s what he was telling himself. This wouldn’t be the first time he’d crashed at Shell’s. It’d happened two or three times since she’d been back in Tennessee. The other times it was because he’d been keeping an eye on her due to some threat against the club. Both times he’d stayed on that piece of shit couch, and got about fifteen minutes of sleep.

Not tonight.

When Shell emerged from the bathroom, he was lounging on her bed, eyes closed.

“Oh,” she squeaked. “You, uh,” she cleared her throat, “you staying here? Uh, in my bed?”

“Yeah, you mind? I’m too fucking big to sleep on that tiny-ass couch.”

“No, of course I don’t mind.” she answered too quickly. “I’m the one who always tells you you’re crazy to sleep there.” Barefoot, she padded toward the door. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”

As she walked past the bed, he reached out and captured her wrist. God, her skin was soft. Felt like silk under his callused fingers. “Just take the other side. Trust me when I tell you that couch is no place to sleep. Actually, I think you need to stop calling it a couch. It’s an insult to real couches.”

“I, uh, well…” Her mouth opened and closed about three times. Combined with the wide-eyes, she looked almost comical. Seeing her so flustered was kind of funny. Normally she had a witty comeback for him. Not tonight. She must really be exhausted. He frowned and dropped the teasing.

“Look,” he said. “I’m bushed and so are you. I’m not leaving you alone knowing that prick was just here. I get that you’ve been dealing with him for a while now, but just humor me. I’ll feel better knowing you and Beth have a guard tonight, okay?”

She still stared at him like he was crazy, but seemed to be considering his words.

So he went in for the kill.

“You need a solid night sleep so you can take care of Beth tomorrow. You know you won’t sleep well on the couch.” He knew the moment she gave in. Her body lost its tension, and she nodded her head.

“Okay.”

“Got a spare toothbrush I can borrow?” he asked as he released her wrist.

“Uh, yeah, cabinet under the sink.” She scurried around to the other side of the bed.

“Thanks, babe.” He climbed out of the bed just as she was slipping under the covers.

“Uh huh,” she said. Her voice was high-pitched like she was nervous and Copper chuckled.

There wasn’t a damn thing to be nervous about. He wasn’t going to touch her. Would never touch her. Last words her dying father said was to make sure Shell was protected. Make sure she was taken care of. He’d said, “Don’t let any of the fuckers in this club have her,” right before he took his last breath.

Copper wasn’t about to break a promise to the man that had taken him into the club and given him the life he loved.

He took a leak, brushed his teeth, then stepped back into Shell’s room. There wasn’t much in the way of decoration, probably due to lack of money, but the room was neat and comfortable. She was in the queen-sized bed, on her side, facing a window. And not facing him.

Copper put a hand on his belt, shook his head, then started for the bed. After two steps he said, “fuck it,” and undid the belt. The past times he’d crashed there had been planned so he’d had a change of clothes but fuck if he’d get a good night sleep in jeans. He dropped the denim to the floor and stepped out, clad in his boxer briefs and T-shirt. It would have to do.

He slipped under the covers and tried to pretend his feet weren’t hanging off the edge and his massive body wasn’t taking up more than his fair share of the bed. Soft breath sounds came from Shell’s side of the bed. Poor thing was probably out cold already.

She worked way too much for way too little, and it made him sick to his stomach to think that a good chunk of her money was being stolen by drug dealers.

Not anymore.

Copper glanced over and watched the steady rise and fall of her back for a few minutes. Then, he rolled to his right side, curled an arm around her waist, and tucked her against his body. Aside from his birthday, he never touched Shell, not hugs, not pats on the arm, not even so much as a handshake. Just didn’t trust himself not to lose control and ravage her. But as he held her soft body close, he felt more at peace than he’d felt in years. Maybe ever.

Tags: Lilly Atlas Hell's Handlers MC Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net