Chapter 14
Roarke
I assumed Nevaeh would be at the door, but that knock was off. She wasn’t delicate and polite about banging her fist on the door.
But Heather was. I didn’t want a single interruption after what my niece did earlier. I was in a sour mood and I wasn’t going to apologize for it.
“My patience is hanging on by a thin thread,” I warned my neighbor who loathed me.
She shook her head slightly, sending her black waves tumbling over her shoulder. “I... I can tell.”
“Oh. So you can read people now, huh?” I couldn’t stop looking her over, stuck on the sight of her in satiny thin pajamas that ratty old sweater didn’t completely conceal.
“Trust me—”
I tilted my head to the side and narrowed my eyes, daring her to order me to trust her again.
“Oh. Right.” She bit her lip and nodded. “I remember. No trusting women. Well, guess what. I’m not fond of the habit of trusting men, so maybe my idea to ask you, uh, for a favor is too stupid to share.”
“What?”
“Your niece?” She raised her brows, as if she was questioning it. “The teenager with the pink and purple hair, addicted to piercings and a really shitty attitude?”
I groaned lightly. “Nevaeh.”
“She came by my place about an hour ago, and I was, um... I turned her away.” She held her hands up. “I don’t know what her deal is. What your deal is. I don’t want to know. I’m content to mind my own business, but she was about to ask me for something, claiming she had nowhere to go.”
“And how’d that conversation turn out?” I glanced around her curvy frame to see if my niece was hiding behind her. If she’d tasked Heather with helping her to break into my place, she was likely to try again with something else.
“She ran off, flighty and pissy. I felt bad, because it’s cold and dark and she can’t ride that damn bike on the highway like that at this time of the night and be safe!”
I nodded, entertained that this woman had a big heart.
“So, I rushed after her, to try to calm her down and suggest she head this way, to you, despite her claim that you didn’t want her around either.”
I shook my head. “No. She took off without saying goodbye earlier.”
“Hmmm.” She sighed, hugging herself. “Well, that was my first mistake. Running out to her. My door shut and I’m locked out. I’ve called Eric and Todd and no one is answering. And like I said, it’s cold, and well, you’re the closest neighbor.”
I blinked at her, connecting the dots. “You...want to come in?”
“I don’t want to. I meant it when I said I don’t like you and I don’t trust men.”
I grunted a bitter laugh at her honesty. Then I stepped back and gestured for her to step in. She did, eyeing my cabin that was only slightly bigger than hers.
“Eric usually sleeps with earplugs in. He told us all that one day when we compared insomnia stories at work,” I explained as I shut the door and shivered at the last cling of the chill from outside. “And Todd puts his phone on silent as soon as he’s off the clock, no matter what. No one’s coming with a spare key for you tonight.”
She nodded, chewing on her lip. “That’s...that’s what I figured.”
“I’d offer you the couch, but my flighty niece spilled a damn protein shake all over it before she left. Maybe that’s why she bolted, knowing the couch was too wet to be slept on.”
With a cringe, Heather faced me.
“I only have one bed.”
Her face tightened further. “Fuck.”
“No fucking,” I corrected after I yawned. Seeing Heather woke me up. I had to be careful the sight of her in that nearly transparent cami wouldn’t wake up my dick. “You can sleep here. Crash for the night if you want.”
“In your bed?” She scanned my cabin. “Then where will you sleep?” Thrusting her hand up, she shook her head. “No. No way. I can’t do that. I can’t kick you out of your own bed.”
“You won’t. We’ll share it.” I led the way toward my small bedroom.
“What? No. I just told you that I don’t trust you.”
I stopped short, and she slammed into my back. That was how closely she followed me.
“You don’t trust me, yet you’ll lower your guard to ask to sleep here?”
“No. Yes. Dammit. It’s my only option.”
I scoffed, continuing into my room and doing my best to dismiss the slight contact of her crashing into me. She’d pushed her hand on my back, and I swore the burn of her touch wouldn’t fade for a long time. “Then take it or leave it.” I grabbed my favorite pillow, held up the blankets I’d just slipped out from, and lay down on one half.
“You’re serious,” she stated, staring down at me.
“Yeah. And I’m seriously tired.” I rolled over, getting my pillow in position.
“No touching,” she warned.
“Not touching,” I agreed.
The bed dipped with her climbing on. I felt every movement, each dip and bounce. I imagined what she looked like, crawling up here and getting under the covers. It was impossible to feel sleepy now. Not only was I unused to someone else being in a bed with me, but I also wondered if we could manage this.
No touching. Nothing. Just an offer of a horizontal surface for her to sleep on since she had no way to get into her place.
That was it.
That was all it was supposed to be.
Yet, the pressure to turn and see her in my bed gnawed at me.
I lay still, willing my body to relax and just go to sleep, but I couldn’t. Insomnia plagued me on many nights, and I prayed it wasn’t a sign I was really getting old. But right now? With Heather next to me?
I was super aware of her inches away. I heard her breaths, soft and steady. And her smell. Damn, the scent of vanilla and sugar teased my nose.
Hours had to have passed before I struggled with the urge to get up. To pee. To pace. To get a drink of water. Anything other than lying here tense and too alert of the stranger next to me.
“I can’t sleep.”
She state it bluntly, cutting through the quiet.
“No shit.”
“Sorry to keep you up,” she said.
“Eh, I don’t sleep well anyway,” I lied. It was her. It was the temptation of her so close. The lure of her body heat radiating toward me even though we weren’t touching.
“Why not?”
I shrugged, but I doubted she’d see it. Rolling onto my back, I caved to the need to see her. I turned my head on the pillow and caught her staring at me. In the darkness, she seemed calmer. More serene. Softer.
“Who knows.”
She nodded, lowering her gaze. Her eyes got stuck on my shoulder.
“Why’d you come here?”
I raised my brows. “To Burton? To work at the ranch.”
“Have you always been working on a ranch?”
I nodded.
“Where are you from?”
Damn, woman. This was like an interrogation with the rapid fire questions.
“Texas.”
“What about—”
She didn’t let me finish. “How long are you going to live here?”
Okay. This isn’t twenty questions. She was nervous. Scared, even. The idea of opening up to me would place too much trust in me. She didn’t trust me with the facts about her.
“Not sure.” I cleared my throat, waiting for more.
“Why ranching?”
I smiled, humored that she’d pick that topic. The one I could ramble about for hours. “To start with, I can’t get enough of the outdoors. The fresh air, the open sky, sunshine warming my face. I’m best suited to be outside.”
A slight yawn left her lips, and I smiled, knowing it was working. I was tiring her out.
“I’ve always been a horse lover, so that plays a part too. Rodeos were never my thing. But working on a ranch, with the land and the animals, that’s where I belong.”
Rambling about my career choice wasn’t a scintillating topic, not for a fancy city girl displaced here in a small town that was no more than a dot on the map. And that was why it worked so well.
I bored her to sleep.
Eventually, I went quiet and rolled my head on my pillow again.
She was out. Her lashes lay in thick, dark crescents on her cheeks. That soft glow hadn’t gone yet. It was so dark in here, but my eyes had acclimated so I could make out every delicate detail of her face.
Don’t be a creep. It was invasive to stare at someone when they were unconscious. I wasn’t going to be a stalker or weirdo, gawking at her. But I couldn’t look away just yet. Indulging myself, watching her sleep, I became mesmerized by the serenity on her beautiful face.
Why are you scared? Are you scared? Or just nervous?
Gavin hadn’t told me much in-depth about her, and now, I was struck with a need to know. I could ask him again. I could approach Eric at the ranch, too, and inquire—loosely—about this raven-haired woman who hated to ask me for help tonight. It was impossible to miss how much she’d struggled with it, but I admired that she’d toughed it out.
I had to know more. I wanted...more.
How the mighty have fallen.
I rolled my eyes and faced the ceiling, peeved that no matter how many times I was reminded of keeping my life free of drama, I wasn’t free from this sneaking intrigue about Heather. But just asking around about her wouldn’t be breaking my cardinal rule about not getting involved with another woman.
Right?