Jasper had planned to leave after a quick check on Hollyn. But suddenly, he felt his heels digging in. He glanced down the hallway and then gave Cal a humorless smile. “I’ll see you in the morning. I’m gonna keep an eye on Hollyn tonight.”
Cal’s brows dipped, a line appearing in his forehead.
Jasper slipped off his shoes, gave Cal one last look, and then headed back down the hallway. If Hollyn didn’t want him there, fine. But no way was he letting Cal kick him out. He’d just told the guy that Hollyn deserved someone who would fight for her. Jasper didn’t know exactly what this thing he had with Hollyn was, but he knew she was having fun with him. He knew she’d been the one to ask him for this type of relationship. This was on her terms. And he wasn’t going to bail on their agreement just because her childhood best friend was pining for her and thought he knew what was best for her. If Cal wanted her, he was going to have to step up and prove he was worth her time. Until then, Jasper was going to show her why she hadn’t chosen wrong when she’d invited him into her life and into her bed.
He quietly made his way into Hollyn’s bedroom and shut the door behind him. The sheets rustled.
“Hello?” Hollyn’s sleep-soft voice crossed the space between them.
“It’s just me again,” he said in a low voice. He squinted in the darkness, trying to make out her form. “How ya feeling?”
“Room stopped spinning,” she said. “But I’m having a little trouble falling asleep. I thought you’d already left.”
His eyes started to adjust, and he could see she’d propped herself up on her elbow. “I planned to, but…”
“But?”
He shifted his weight from foot to foot. What the fuck had he been thinking coming back in here? His ego had gotten in the way of his good sense. He may as well have taken out a ruler and had a dick measuring contest will Cal. You may be her lifelong best friend, but I get to see her naked. God, he was ridiculous. “I, well, I will but I wanted to check on—”
“You can stay,” she said, her voice a night flower blooming in the darkness.
His bumbling explanations cut off. “What?”
The moonlight from the window gave her damp curls a silver glow as she reached out and patted the bed. “I’m not going to be much company, but it’s late and I know you’ve got to be tired, too. I’d rather you stay than drive off into a ditch somewhere, falling asleep at the wheel.”
He let out a breath. “I can take the floor.”
Before he realized what was happening, something soft and solid hit him. A pillow.
“Hey!” He lifted his hands in defense a second too late. The pillow fell to the floor.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “You’ve literally been inside my body. We can share a bed for a night. Don’t make it weird.”
He laughed. “Fine. But I’m about to strip down to my boxers, so if you could refrain from saying the words ‘inside my body’ again, that would be great because otherwise, my body will not understand that it is not an invitation for him to show up for the party.”
She made a husky sound that could’ve been a laugh. “Just remind him that I vomited up a hurricane an hour ago.”
Jasper smirked. “Annnnd, that’ll do it.” He glanced at her bathroom door. “Speaking of which, do you mind if I take a quick rinse in your shower?”
“Little Jasper still needs some attention?” she teased.
“First, he is offended by the term little. Second, no I am not going to jerk off in your shower. I have some manners. Third, you don’t want me to get in your bed post-performance and post-dancing. The pheromones would be so irresistible, your hormones would just explode. I can’t risk it.”
She made a derisive sound. “Yes, I bet I’d orgasm at the mere scent of you.”
He walked closer to the bed, his dark mood lightening. “It happens.” He bent down and kissed her temple. “I’ll be back in five minutes. Go to sleep.”
She grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. The simple gesture did more to him than it should.
When he returned after a quick shower, Hollyn was quiet and on her side, eyes closed. The thin, white T-shirt she was wearing was doing nothing to conceal the lush curves of her breasts. He swallowed hard and looked away—okay, he looked twice more and then finally pulled his gaze away for good. He wasn’t a saint. He walked around the bed, carefully peeled the covers back and climbed in. The mattress groaned a little and she stirred. “Shh,” he said. “Just me.”
“Mmkay,” she mumbled and shifted against him, making him the big spoon.
His breath gusted out of him at the sleep-warm feel of her against his skin. Somehow between the time he’d left her in the room earlier and now, she’d ditched the pajama pants and was just in her T-shirt and panties. He could feel the heat of her backside nestling against him, the thin cotton of his boxers doing nothing to blunt the effect. His cock stirred. Shit.
“Hollyn,” he said in a whispered choke. “Sorry, I…”
But she just snuggled closer, his hardening erection pressing against her ass, and fell asleep. His head sank into the pillow, the sweet torture of her body somehow both the best and worst thing ever. She wasn’t going to move, though. And he wasn’t going to make a move on her right now. So, after accepting his state, he surrendered and put his arm around her, pulling her fully against his chest and inhaling the scent of her. She sighed in her sleep like she was having the best dream, and he smiled.
He was glad he’d won this round of the fight. He couldn’t think of any place he’d rather be tonight.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hollyn woke at dawn, her head aching a little and her mouth bone dry. She blinked in the semidarkness and froze at the soft, steady sound behind her. It took half a second for her brain to register what the unfamiliar noise was. Breathing. Jasper had slept over.
Being careful not to jostle the bed too much, she rolled over, finding him on his back, covers shoved down to his waist, his bare chest moving with deep, sleep-heavy breaths. Maybe it was creepy to watch someone sleep, but she didn’t care at the moment. A gorgeous, half-naked man in her bed was a gift that deserved some study. She let herself take a long look, enjoying the luxury that she hadn’t yet been afforded with Jasper—time. Their naked antics thus far had been frantic and intense, no opportunity for savoring.
She drank him in slowly without the worry of him catching her staring. His dark hair had fallen across his forehead and was sticking up in other spots, making him look almost boyish save for the stubble covering his jaw. His lips were parted slightly, the bottom one looking full and bitable. Her gaze drifted lower, over his chest, his flat stomach, along the dark trail of hair at his navel that disappeared beneath the band of his boxers. Her body stirred with awareness. She wanted to keep going with her perusal, to slide those boxers off and take in the whole luscious view. She resisted—barely. But Lord, he was fun to ogle.