“Then go to sleep.”
He checked his watch. “I just have one more thing to do.”
“How many times have you said that today?”
He formed his lips into a sort of half smile. “I’ve been saying that since I left you at your bedroom.”
I wagged my finger. “You’re a naughty boy, Alvarez.”
Another yawn left his lips. “I’m just swamped with things to do, and these two murders aren’t helping my sanity. I probably couldn’t sleep if I wanted to. I’m discovering too much about the people I care about.”
“What does that mean?”
He let out a long sigh. “Nothing.”
“It sounds like more than nothing.”
“I’ve got it handled.” He got up and walked away. “We’ll talk later, when things are less complicated.”
Disappointment plunged deep into my chest. Flirty, romantic Alvarez was gone. A grumpy and extremely tired ogre had taken his place.
I did the best I could in my flip-flops and caught up with him. “Get some sleep.”
“I can’t.”
“I’ll bet you could.”
“I doubt it.”
“Come on.” I hooked my arm through his and unsuccessfully tried to tighten the belt on my robe so it wouldn’t open.
He stopped and stared down at me. “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking you somewhere else.”
“But I have to—”
“Talk to your grandma. I understand.” I tugged at his arm, but he refused to move. “You’re not in the brightest mood right now. You’re just going to get in an argument with her like you did with Hex. Yesterday, you had nothing but patience for Hex. Today, you’re yelling, chasing, and trying to pull him out of a tree. Go to sleep.”
“And if I don’t?” He raised one eyebrow at me, but I could see all over his face that I’d won the battle. He peered in the direction of his grandma’s cottage and blew out air. “Maybe you’re right. I’ve already argued with her today. She’s hiding something with Hex. They’ll be stubborn even more than usual. I’ll need my strength to deal with them.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
“And where are you taking me, little bossy woman?”
“I’m not little and we’re going to your bed.”
He smirked and let his gaze travel toward my exposed cleavage. “And what will we be doing when we get there?”
“Get your mind out of the gutter, please. I’ll just be tucking you in.”
He did a big show of whining. “It’s not nice to tease me. I may not go anywhere now.”
“Yes. Actually, it is. And for your information, we’re going to climb up these stairs, march to your bedroom, and then I’m shoving you into bed so you can stop barreling around the property like a big bear, scaring people away.”
To my surprise, he didn’t fight me anymore. It took us ten minutes to get through the house and up the stairs to his room, another ten for him to take a quick shower and then lay down in bed. I should’ve left and gone back to my room, but I made an excuse that I had to make sure he actually stayed in bed.
Goodness. I thought he was big, but not this big.
He only wore pajama pants and rows of hard muscle layered his entire upper body. I had no idea how he was able to get to the gym, but knew he definitely figured out a way. Somehow he convinced me to lie down next to him. It hadn’t been a hard sell. He promised he would be a gentleman and only wanted for me to be the last thing he saw before going to sleep. Maybe it was the dread that lathered his voice from earlier. Something had happened to change his chipper mood from last night. He’d aged in a couple hours. So I remained there long after the time I should have left.
“You’re beautiful.” His deep voice drummed through my body as he rested under the covers.
“Stop flattering me and go to sleep.”
“Will this be a repeat act of kindness from you? Can I expect to have you near me like this every time I need to get some sleep?”
I fought the grin that tried to appear on my face.
“Fine. Don’t answer me. But I should get points for being a good boy. My hands yearn to touch you everywhere.” That statement set me on fire. I closed my eyes to hide the heat he’d incited. It wasn’t lost that I only had a robe on and nothing else, but neither one of us said anything about it. I opened my eyes and met his gaze.
Quiet minutes passed.
He still didn’t fall sleep. We just stared at each other like shy little high schoolers lying alone for the first time. We spoke our attraction with our eyes—sly peeks that we hoped the other didn’t see, but did anyway, flirtatious winks, and the seductive flutter of our eyelids.
“You don’t have to lie so far away from me.” He rolled over to his side so that I could make out his entire frame. His bed was a huge king size. At least three feet lay between us. “I’m available to be an extra pillow if necessary.”