As they'd shopped for groceries, it had felt so normal, like the start of a new relationship. Six was clearly well known in the neighborhood, and the cashier at the grocery store had called him by name.
She'd seen the admiring glances from women as they'd walked by, though, women who had plenty more to offer him physically than she could. It had taken every ounce of self-control for her not to compare herself to them or make internal bitchy comments about their IQs. She'd seen the confused looks as people tried to figure out exactly what she was to Six. Yeah, they were confused, and so was she.
Her thoughts wandered back to the man across the hall. Did he sleep in boxer briefs? Or naked? She shivered at the visual of the hot body she'd seen covered in sweat in the garden. Damn, she needed something else to focus on, like the logistics of their situation.
They needed to talk about contracts. If he was helping her out as Eagle Securities, then she was more than willing to sign a contract and pay. And it sounded like they needed the money. Perfect timing. But she couldn't figure out why Six was so personally invested. In her. Beyond the obvious business opportunity, it made no sense. Maybe she'd relied on logic for too long, but why the heck did he care enough to bring her to his home? He could have dropped her at her mom's and been on his way. She could have gone to stay with her friend Julie in LA, even though she hated the damn place. Too many people. Too much everything.
Thoughts ricocheted around her brain, leaving her staring at the ceiling.
Eventually, Six turned the TV off, and the light spilling out into the hallway from his room went off. A garbage can clattered outside the window, and her whole body tensed. She listened carefully for the sounds of footsteps, windows opening, or even gunshots. Rationally, she knew it was more likely that it was just a new neighborhood with new sounds. But she was scared they were back. Scared they were trying to get into her room as she lay there.
Louisa pushed back the covers and crept to the window. With the tip of her finger, she pushed the curtains open a fraction just in time to see a cat jump off the neighbor's fence. A freaking cat. Wide awake, she gave up trying to sleep and wandered along the hallway past Six's bedroom. The door was open and Six lay on his front, his face hidden from view. For a second, she was tempted to crawl in with him, but she hurried past to the kitchen. The clock on the oven told her it was nearly midnight. She was going to be exhausted if she didn't find a way to go to sleep soon.
The plants in the bay window that had been left behind by Six's tenant bothered her. They were all over the place. Tall ones at the front, shorter ones at the back. Gray containers, blue containers, red containers. Normally she'd fix them, but with everything else going on around her, she didn't have the energy. She sat down on the sofa and debated turning on the television but was concerned it would wake Six.
With a sigh, she stood again. Bed was the best place to be, even if she could only rest instead of sleep. She padded back down the hallway and paused in front of Six's room. If she joined him, it wouldn't be that much worse than the night he'd slipped off her bra and slept on her floor. And being closer to him would definitely make her feel safer.
Mind made up, she crept over to his bed and peeled back the comforter and sheets. They rustled loudly, but Six didn't move. She sat down gently and lifted her legs slowly onto the mattress before sliding them under the covers.
Just as she was lowering her head to the pillow, Six turned suddenly and reached for her. His arms snaked around her and pulled her back to his chest. His body was hot, overwhelming, and unmoving. The soft snore over her shoulder and the warm breath ticking her neck, told her that he was asleep, that this was no deliberate move, but she relished it all the same.
She could feel every part of him pressed up against her as his hand drifted up to hold her breast. Everything inside her tightened. But she finally felt safe.
And no matter how good it felt to be next to him, she drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Six woke with a start. Death and loss were impossible to outrun in sleep, especially when dreams took him to that dark place he rarely revisited during his waking hours. Brock's death and his own gunshot wound had morphed into one impossibly connected and grotesque event that had left him lying and bleeding next to Brock's broken body.
In that place between being awake and asleep, he reached for the one thing that chased away the lingering chill of his nightmare. A woman. Nothing felt better than waking up slowly with a sweet woman in your arms, especially when your dreams had taken you to a hellish place. There was something about the fragility of a woman that helped him escape the dreams' clutches. Perhaps it was the comfort of another human being to be vulnerable with, the sense of connection that helped ground him back in reality. Lying on his back, he ran his hand down the curve of the woman tucked against his side and focused on her, on her skin. God, he loved the flare of a hip, just running his fingers softly along it and back. Sometimes touching a woman's skin was an innocuous move, like when watching a movie on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and others it was an invitation to the best kind of sex.