Page 42 of Defying Ella
I placed the cup on the floor just to break our stare. The first staring contest I’d tapped out of willingly. Scooting down into the blankets, I stretched out while my tired eyes demanded I succumb to the caress of the fire.
Jared did the same. The only problem? His feet hung nearly a foot off the end. No way would that be comfortable, even with the fire baking his feet.
“Stop being stubborn.” I threw the blankets back, uncovering the perfect space for him. “This sofa is more than big enough for us both.”
“I’m fine,” he muttered at the ceiling.
“You’re not, and I’m the one who’ll have to deal with your griping tomorrow so please, I’m begging you, sleep next to me.” I patted the cushion when he eyed me, giving him an encouraging smile. “Purely for selfish reasons, of course. Not because I want to look after you or anything.”
He groaned, his eyes falling shut on a wince. “You’re going to hold that against me forever, aren’t you?”
“Not if you do as I ask.” I fluttered my lashes at him, fully intending to follow through if he kept resisting. “It’s just sleep. It’s not like we haven’t done it before.”
He dragged a hand down his face, muttering to himself. I almost cheered when he threw the blanket off and sat up. Instead, I bit my lip and buried my face against my pillow.
Slowly, he lowered himself to the cushion beside me. Pulling the covers back over himself, he relaxed into a pillow, and I let my grin free.
“See, isn’t that better?”
“Go to sleep, Els.” He shook his head, but he couldn’t hide his smile from me when we were so close.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” I rolled onto my back, grinning openly at the flickering darkness above. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you listened to me.”
He sighed and threw an arm over his face, ignoring me. Or trying to, at least. If I couldn’t tune out the burn of his body next to mine, there was no way he would succeed.
I turned back onto my side, resisting the itching need to reach out and touch him. I forced my eyes to fall shut, forced my mind to stop fixating on his extreme proximity. I wanted to tease him more and luxuriate in this softer mood, but after hours of fighting the cold, I couldn’t hold off the exhaustion any longer.
Shouldn’t this feel awkward?
As my mind shut down, that thought remained. After all our arguing, surely the feel of his body heat next to mine shouldn’t have felt natural?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Afirm wall of heat engulfed my back when I woke the next morning. I buried my head in my pillow to block out the muted light of the winter sun shining through the big windows, uncaring of how late we’d gotten to bed.
A happy sigh slipped past my lips before my brain caught up.
You shared a bed with Jared last night.
Which meant the heat at my back didn’t come from the fire. Fingers grazed my stomach, sending liquid heat through me, and I bit my lip against a moan, stiffening despite myself.
Every hard inch of him pressed against me, and his morning wood prodded my ass, a sensation I hadn’t experienced since that week in my flat.
I knew I should move but couldn’t find the will to follow through. Why did cuddling have to feel so good, especially when the person doing the cuddling had spent months trying to drive me out of my mind?
Jared nuzzled my neck and rubbed himself against me, throwing fuel on the spark set by his fingers. He had to be asleep. No way would he grind himself against me if he waseven a little awake. Even after looking after me last night. He wouldn’t leap that far in a single night.
No, the best option would be for me to get up without disturbing him and pretend it never happened.
Decision made, I lifted his arm from my stomach, edging myself away from him until I could turn onto my back and place his hand back down on the mattress. I held my breath as I went, moving far too slowly, while my heart pounded in my ears.
His leg wrapped around mine before I could so much as sit up. His arm snaked around my waist, and he snuggled back into my side, his face pressed into my neck, while the majority of his body weight settled against me. His contented sigh ruffled my hair and tickled my ear.
I glared at the ceiling, allowing myself to breathe normally now that he had trapped me so thoroughly.
“Fucking needy drummers,” I muttered beneath my breath.
I shifted my leg, testing his grip, and he hooked his leg tighter around it.
