Page 99 of Leave a Mark
He disappeared into the bathroom, and at the sound of the door clicking closed, Victor popped up from his spot on the floor and went in search of his master. When the pup encountered the closed bathroom door, he turned his nose up and whined.
“It’s okay, Victor,” Wren said, moving toward him. Agnes followed at her heels. “He’ll come back.”
She scooped up the puppy and carried him into her room. If she tucked Victor in the middle of the bed, he could serve as a kind of chaperone and keep her body from curling into Lee’s. Wren tossed her robe onto the foot of the bed before settling Victor on the quilt against her right hip and picking up her sketchbook.
When Lee stepped into her room, she managed to look completely composed, and she busied herself by adding shading to the underside of the egret’s long neck. Her pen only faltered for a second when she glanced up to see him crowding her doorway in just a pair of sleep shorts.
Looking at his beauty put everything at risk, so she kept her eyes on the page before her, instead of watching him cross the room to her bed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lee draw back the covers before the bed gave with his weight. And then, before she could protest, Lee pulled Victor from his nest between them and tucked him on his right side.
“Is that from our trip to the lake?” he asked, nodding at her sketchpad. Lee scooted in beside her, his hip against hers.
“Y-yes. I’m almost finished.”
“Mmm. Take your time. I need to crash, but I can sleep through almost anything.” And with that, he stretched out under the covers, deftly tucking one arm behind the small of her back and settling the other across her middle. Lee then rested his head against her side, his warmth, and his weight tender and impossible to ignore.
Stunned, Wren looked down at the soft curls at the top of his head. “What are you doing?” She tried to sound put-out, but, in fact, the closeness she felt as he hugged her to him threatened to make her tears return.
“I’m falling asleep with you in my arms. Keep drawing. Don’t mind me” he murmured into her nightgown, the words tickling the side of her waist.
She peered forward and saw that he’d closed his eyes. “I can’t draw like this. I’ll knock you in the head with my elbow.”
Lee shook his head, nudging her in the ribs. “No, you won’t. Use my head as an armrest.”
Wren huffed a laugh. “What? No. I’m not using your head as an armrest.”
She felt him smile against her.
“C’mon. Do it.” And he pulled her closer. “I’m using you as a pillow. Why not?”
Indeed, he now was using her tummy as a pillow, and nothing in her life had ever felt so intimate, so familiar, and… sweet. With her pen still in hand, she ran her fingers gently through his hair, and at her touch, he seemed to melt into her.
Enjoy this, she told herself.It won’t last.
With that painful thought, she forced herself to resume sketching. But the sketching didn’t soothe her like it normally would. Lee was here now, holding her like she’d never been held, and she wanted him to stay. She wanted to count on this feeling for the rest of her life. Wren Blanchard had never wanted something so ridiculous and impossible, and the very act of wanting it hurt like hell.
The egret’s plumage blurred before her, and she bit the inside of her lip to try to regain control. She needed to slip away to the bathroom before she made a fool of herself — again.
“What’s wrong?” Lee asked before she could move.
He wasn’t looking at her. In fact, his head was still resting on her middle. He couldn’t know tears filled her eyes.
Wren swallowed hard and mastered her voice. “Nothing. I’m just trying to finish this.”
“Liar.” Lee palmed her stomach and let his fingers span her belly from navel to ribs. “You tightened up here, and your breath got shallow.”
He tilted his head up to look at her, but Wren glanced away, tossing her sketchbook and pen on the floor. “And you’re crying again. Something’s been upsetting you all night, and you’re going to tell me what it is.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
WREN TURNED OUTthe light, plunging the room into darkness.
“I envy you your confidence…” She jerked away from him and settled onto her pillow. “…but this topic is closed.”
Lee could hear the strain in her voice. He heard the distress and — although she tried to hide it — he also sensed fear. What made her afraid? And what could he do to reassure her?
“I think we should reopen it.”
Wren sighed. “Goodnight, Lee.”
