“Worth—”
He cuts me off, his eyes never leaving mine. “You’ll still end up right where I want you, Mya.”
“Keep talking andyou’llbe sleeping on the couch.”
His mouth quirks, still infuriatingly calm. “I’m going in the shower. When I come out, you’ll be in the bed, where you belong.”
“Don’t count on it,” I snap, but my pulse is already racing.
Worth chuckles, brushing past me. “We’ll see who ends up where, Kitten.”
He grabs a towel and disappears into the bathroom.
The second I hear the water running, I move. I toss the pillow onto the loveseat, snatch the spare blanket from the closet, and make myself a makeshift bed on the couch. It’s not exactly comfortable, but it’s the principle of the matter.
I’m busy arranging the blanket when the bathroom door opens with a hiss of steam.
For a heartbeat, I forget how to breathe.
Worth’s hair is wet, strands of dark and silver slicked back from his face. Water glints in his salt-and-pepper beard, dripping down the column of his throat and his chest. His broad shoulders taper to a hard stomach, abs cut deep enough to make my mouth go dry. I’ve felt his body pressed against mine before, but always through clothes.
His eyes narrow. “You’re on the couch.”
I lift my chin. “I told you I’m not sleeping in the bed.”
He scowls, jaw tightening, then walks to his bag and pulls out a pair of grey sweats. Without hesitation, he turns his back to me and drops the towel.
I gasp out loud before I can stop myself.
The muscles of his back ripple as he moves, water still sliding over his skin. His ass is firm, sculpted, like it’s been carved. Heat blooms low in my belly, completely against my will.
He pulls the sweats up slowly, then turns, eyes locking on me with a look of pure determination.
In three strides, he’s on me, and before I can scramble away, he hauls me up like I weigh nothing and tosses me over his shoulder.
“Worth! Put me down!” I pound at his back, kicking. It’s useless; he’s all muscle and has an unshakable grip.
He carries me to the bed and throws me onto it like a caveman staking a claim.
“My. Bed.”
I push up on my elbows, glaring. “I swear, I will end you in your sleep.”
His mouth curves into a dark smile as he braces his palms on either side of me. “Make sure to suffocate me with your perfect pussy. That would be my preferred way to die.”
I huff, shoving a pillow lengthwise between us, creating a makeshift wall of cotton and stubbornness. “There. Touch that barrier and you’re dead.”
Worth’s low chuckle rumbles across the dark room. He doesn’t seem fazed. Instead, he just slips into the bed, settling on his side with his back to me.
“Goodnight, Kitten,” he murmurs.
Worth
I wake up in a haze, the room still dark, the city lights a faint glow against the curtains. Heat rolls through me, clinging to myskin, making me sweat. For a second, I think it’s the sheets or the liquor in my veins.
Then I realize it’s Mya.
Her back is pressed flush against my chest, the barrier pillow lost somewhere at our feet.