“It’s okay. It was your time in the room. Everything in there was yours to destroy.”
“I didn’t even pay for the room.”
“It was my gift.”
Her eyes bounce over mine like she’s searching for an answer. “You have been gifting me a lot of things. Food, use of yourbusiness, this.” She turns her focus to the treasure in her hands. “And I’ve given you nothing in return.”
“You saved my sister, you set up her room, and most importantly you’re making her feel safe.”
“I meant I’ve given you nothing physical,” she says, unconsciously diminishing her own worth.
“You know money means nothing. You’ve given me far more than I’ve done for you.”
Her gaze sweeps the room. “Why do you want me to stay in here with you? I can keep my stuff here in case CPS returns, but I can sleep across the hall.”
“I want them to believe us. We need to be comfortable around each other. We talked about this earlier, remember?” I sigh, trying to explain myself a little better. “I’m not a good actor, Serenity, and neither are you.”
A smile tugs at the corner of her mouth. “True, but I can’t …” She glances over her shoulder at the bed.
“We don’t have to go that far,” I assure her.
“Sometimes I have a hard time sleeping,” she admits quietly.
“Me too.”
“We keep our clothes on.”
“We keep our clothes on,” I agree. “But I’ll be in shorts. I’ll get too hot in anything else.”
“You’ll stay on your side of the bed?”
“For as long as you want me to.”
My joke doesn’t make her smile, and I see a flash of fear race over her features. I don’t like it. That was not my intention.
“It’s a king size bed. I promise I won’t cross the center line.”
“For Mila.”
“For Mila,” I agree, knowing full well this part is mostly for me. I want her close.
Chapter Seventeen
Serenity
I’m not stupid. I know this part is unnecessary, which is why I tried to reason with him. My reflection stares back at me, knowing without a doubt that is a lie.
The more I’m around him, the more I find I like it in some weird sort of way. I couldn’t tell you why. The man never smiles.
But with that said, I am terrified I’m making a mistake. Look how hard I slept at the Inn. I run my fingers through my wet hair. I can’t let that happen again.
When I leave the bathroom, Rage grabs his stuff. “Did you leave me any hot water?”
“Of course,” I say innocently, not really sure if I left him any. “I wasn’t in there that long. I’m not rude.”
He makes a noise that might be a short laugh. I don’t really know because his face remains neutral.
I hurry to get in bed while he’s in the shower. My plan is to pretend I’m asleep by the time he comes out.