Chapter 9
Rayna
She wasn’t the only one jolted awake.
Through heavy lashes, she saw a giant body of bronzed skin and dark blue flinch before bolting upright.
Dominic.
Not quite convinced she was seeing correctly, Rayna ignored the bleeping noise of the clock and eyed him as he switched on the lamp at his side before his head flew around in frantic search.
She hadn’t forgotten the events of the previous day.
That was kind of impossible when everything was vividly burned into her memory.
But after catching him trying to explore the downstairs of the farmhouse when she’d told him not to, she was sure she’d sent him back to his room like a grounded child.
She’d fallen asleep almost immediately after that in her own room. But she had no recollection of being awoken by Dominic’s entrance.
Yet there he was, taking up the entire left side of the king-sized bed, dressed in the pyjamas he made look sexy, with his eyes glazed from interrupted sleep and hair mussed in a way that made her want to reach out and comb her hand through it.
Was there any need to look that good first thing in the morning?
“What the bloody deuces is that noise?” Dominic rasped.
And the sexy, sleepy voice is back. Fuck.
Rolling onto her back, Rayna fumbled for the digital clock on the rustic bedside cabinet and jabbed the off button. The loud beeping stopped, throwing the dim room into a ringing silence. Slivers of light snuck in from the sides of the long, dark cream curtains.
Her bedroom was slightly bigger than Dominic’s, but not by much.
The wooden-framed bed was situated in the middle of the shared wall with his bedroom, two warm wood cabinets flanked on either side.
The door was on the left, and along the right were two windows.
There was an alcove cupboard that gave access to the ensuite too, just like in Dominic’s room, but she had a large stand-alone mirror next to the chest of drawers against the bathroom wall.
“My alarm,” she muttered, plopping her arms over the fluffy cream blanket as she stretched her legs out. “What are you doing here?”
As he slumped with a heavy sigh and scrubbed a hand over his face, Rayna realised he wasn’t under the blanket. But rather on top of it, letting it act as a barrier between their bodies. Almost as if he were giving her a level of respect and privacy.
What was all that bloody danger bullshit for then? Idiot.
“As in an alarm bell? What they used on battlefields to alert the soldiers?” He threw a grumpy frown across his shoulder. “Why on damned Neves do you require an alarm bell to rouse you?”
“So that I wake up on time.”
“I suggest you use a sound that isn’t meant to frighten a man witless,” he grumbled and let himself fall backwards. He sank into the pillow with an inaudible mutter and threw an arm over his face like a distressed maiden, resting his other hand on his abdomen.
She rolled her eyes at his dramatic display. “What are you doing here?”
Quiet breaths lifted his broad chest steadily. “Your door was open.”
“So?”
“I came in.”
“When? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“I do not recall when. And you were fast asleep. I did not wish to wake you.”
“The point of leaving my door open was for you to come in and wake me if there was a problem. Not for you to walk in and sleep next to me.”
“There was a problem. I was bored senseless and could not sleep. I came in with the intention of sitting with you while I read the manual. I must have fallen asleep.”
He didn’t sound like he was lying. She also didn’t see why he would. As she pushed herself upright, she spotted the ring binder manual on the cabinet behind him, next to the lamp.
“That’s fine,” she said. “But you need to wake me up when you come in. And you can’t make a habit of this. You have your own room to sleep in.”
Sliding his arm up to his forehead, he peeked at her with a little smirky smile. “But I would much rather sleep with a beauty by my side than in a cold, empty bed by myself.”
“Tough. I prefer sleeping in a cold bed by myself.”
He growled through a light chuckle. “Little witch.”
Smirking to herself, she pushed the duvet back and scooched her legs off the edge of the bed. She combed two hands through her tangled, wavy strands and let out a long, silent yawn.
“Come on, get up,” she said, slipping her feet into a pair of white flipflops scattered on the latte-coloured carpet. There was movement behind her as she shoved herself up. “There’s a lot I’ve got to explain to you today and—”
Dominic’s sharp inhale cut through her sentence and sent her flying around to face him.
“What?” she asked, scanning him for injury. “What happened?”
Oh…oh fuck. Shit.
Shorts. Fuck, she’d forgotten.
She was wearing pyjama shorts that were a little tight around her arse with a matching, fitted T-shirt. The way Dominic was looking at her though...she might as well have been naked.
Leaning up on his hand, visceral heat charred over his wide eyes, making the glaze that already coated them turn dark and heady. He was entirely unmoving, didn’t even look like he was breathing, all except for his gaze as it slipped up her naked legs and to her round breasts.
Her braless breasts.
Glancing down, she almost swore aloud.
For fuck’s sake, her nipples were on full display too, poking against the thin fabric and announcing their presence as loudly as her alarm had sung through the room only moments ago. Great!
She wasn’t ashamed of her body, but Dominic wasn’t used to women dressing like so, and considering how he felt towards her, it was probably way too much stimulation in one go.
Lifting her chin, Rayna laid one arm over her chest to hide her nipples from him.
His lashes snapped up and captured her in a burning tornado of lust. Her stomach did a somersault, sending a flutter of reciprocating warmth through her.
Nope, uh-uh.
A blush nipped at her cheeks. “What?” she said stiffly, almost sharply.
His jaw locked as he gulped. “Where are the rest of your clothes?” The depth of his voice laid a heavy kiss against the base of her spine.
She tightened her arm around herself. “This is what I wear at night when it’s summer.” His brows dipped and rose within a second. “I’m going to teach you about clothing after breakfast, so it won’t seem as scandalous after.”
Dominic let out a gruff sound. “Scandalous is not the word I am thinking of, sweetheart.”
Voracious male pheromones radiated off him in thick waves as he licked her up from head to toe again. Waves that teased across her skin, brushed over her lips, caressed down her neck, and shaped her thighs, leaving blooms of prickles all over.
She shivered but gritted her teeth, trying to contain the enticing sensation. “Stop that.” She failed to make it sound like a warning. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“I’m trying. I am.” His chest rose and deflated on a shaky breath. “But I am merely a red-blooded man, Rayna. What do I do? You are temptation I did not know I longed for.”
This time, her heart flipped in sync with her stomach. But her mind immediately raised a battalion of rationale, and she stiffened her shoulders. “Leave. Now.”
For once, he didn’t argue.
Dominic lowered his gaze and all but threw himself off the edge of the bed, shoving his feet into a pair of black slippers. Rayna whipped her head away, but by then it was already too late.
With the lamplight illuminating him more than the morning sun behind the curtains, she got a full side view of a very distinct tent in his trousers.
He was hard.
And she hadn’t even touched him.
Not that she was going to touch him. No. Gosh, no. She wouldn’t.
Writing that across her brain in big, red, binding letters, she forced herself to face him just before he left. “I’m going to get ready, then I’ll come to your room.”
He hummed roughly, and then he was gone, shutting the door behind him.
As the echoing clack rang through her room, Rayna dropped her arm and sighed up at the ceiling.
What a great start to the day that had been.