Crave (Talon Security #1)(36)

“And obviously I don’t think we can keep staying here once he gets here. Although I haven’t asked him,” I prattled on through the silence. “It’s a big enough house, I guess. But I don’t mean to assume you’d want to stay.” I bit my lip as Sid began to chuckle. I lifted my head to glare at him. “What?”

He grinned at me, his dimples on prominent display. “You’re so fucking cute, babe.”

“I’m not being cute. This is serious!” I huffed.

“I wonder how long you’d have rambled until I stopped you?” he mused. “Actually,” he continued, unaffected by my glare, “I think Cade and I timed it once—two minutes was your record for uninterrupted speech. I was worried you were forgetting to breathe.”

“Congratulations on your crowning achievement.” I rolled my eyes. “Maybe you should shut up and let me set a new record.”

He laughed, rolling us so that he was on top of me. His body was warm and firm on top of mine. “Sweetheart,” he murmured, still grinning with his eyes full of tenderness as he looked down at me, “let me tell you what happens next,” he murmured, bending to kiss my neck. “You and I, no matter what, we’re going to be under one roof. We’ve been under one roof before,” he reminded me needlessly. “The difference is now we’ll sleep in the same bed.” He grinned as he kissed my neck.

“You—you want to move in together?” I squeaked.

He shook his head, his face still pressed to my neck. “No, Sam. I need to.”

My pulse quickened, battering his temple where it beat a violent crescendo from my neck. “What?”

He pulled away to look down at me once again. All traces of levity were gone from his expression, replaced with utter sincerity. “Sam, you’re my home, baby. You have been for a long time. Why do you think I stayed for so long, living with you and Cade? I could have gotten my own place a long time ago.”

“The rent was cheap,” I reminded him.

He looked uncomfortable, his eyes shifting to the side.

“Sid?” I pressed.

“Well—it wasn’t exactly cheap, Sam.”

My brow pinched in confusion. “What do you mean?”

He sighed. “You know I managed the lease. Gary raised the rent a few times but I just didn’t tell you,” he admitted.

I shoved him off so I could sit up. “What?” I exclaimed.

“Don’t be pissed, babe.” He reached for me but I scooted back against the headboard. “I knew you couldn’t afford it and I… I didn’t want you to leave,” he admitted hoarsely. “I wasn’t ready then to be what you needed but I still wanted you close. I craved it. I craved you.”

I stared at him in shock, unable to form a response.

“Are you mad?” he ventured, after a few minutes.

“No,” I murmured finally, with a sigh. “I feel like I should be but I’m not. If you had told me, I probably would have moved out, and then who knows where we’d be now?”

He looked relieved as I allowed him to pull me back down into his arms. “So how about it, babe?”

“Oh, so now you’re asking?” I jabbed him playfully.

He chuckled. “Now where would be the fun in that?”

My fingers weaved into his hair. “You craved me, huh?” I grinned, unable to contain my pleasure at his words.

“Hell yes,” he replied emphatically. “I still do, more so every day.”

I looked up at him with a seductive smile as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Well, let’s see if we can satisfy that craving—at least for a little while.”

****

The clanging of the alarm sounding what felt like moments after we’d fallen asleep had Sid bolting out of bed.

“Get in the closet, like we’ve talked about,” he ordered. His voice was calm with a cutting edge I’d never heard before.

Sid and Travis had both been confident that we were still safe at Brad’s. Only a handful of people knew we were staying there. Despite their confidence, Sid had put me through various safety-training scenarios in the unlikely event Osip and his men found us.

It looked like I’d be using that training after all.

I managed to find my voice through the fear for my man. “Be careful,” I whispered hurriedly as I grabbed the gun he’d given me from my bedside table with shaking hands.

“Love you, baby.” He stood like a sentry, dressed only in boxers, his gun at his side, watching until I moved out of sight behind the door.

I heard the heavy dresser being pushed into position, blocking the door from the sight of anyone in the room.