37. Tyson
THIRTY-SEVEN
TYSON
I lift Josie from the counter. I could set her feet back on the ground, but that’d mean having to miss the warmth of her body, and I don’t want that.
She lets out the most adorable giggle when she realizes I don’t have any intentions of putting her down. Her legs wrap around my middle as she begins to pepper kisses along my jaw.
I leave my bathroom and step into my bedroom. Luckily, this part of the house hasn’t been touched by renovations yet. I asked Winnie to leave my room for last; that way, things didn’t feel too chaotic.
I walk over to the nightstand closest to us and flip on the lamp. The soft light fills the space as I set her down on the bed.
She sinks into the mattress, her hands still wrapped tight around my neck like she’s not ready to let go.
I don’t move right away.
I can’t.
Not when she’s looking up at me the way she is right now—soft and a little dazed. Her cheeks are still flushed from the orgasm—or maybe it’s something else. Either way, I soak in how beautiful she is in the low light of my bedroom.
I plant my hands on either side of her, caging her in, even though I know I probably shouldn’t. I’m the one who put things on hold between us for the evening, not her.
My gaze drops to her mouth before I force it back up.
Slow.
I demanded we take it slow. I meant it too. It’s just hard to remember why in this moment because of how desperately I want her.
“Want me to get you some different clothes?” I ask, nodding toward the dress she has on.
Josie looks down before meeting my gaze. “Yeah, this might not be the most comfortable to sleep in.”
I nod, although most of the reason I need her in different clothes is so I don’t have to sleep next to her knowing how easy it’d be to slip my hand under the fabric of her dress and say to hell with taking things slow.
“Anything of mine will be too big, but I can try to find something that’ll work.”
“I’ll survive,” she responds, shifting her weight on the mattress as she gives me a smile.
I nod and walk over to my dresser. I don’t have a ton of clothes here, but I manage to find a T-shirt and a pair of my boxer briefs, hoping those will even remotely fit her.
“How about these?” I ask, holding them up for her to see.
“Those will work,” she responds, her voice quiet.
I close the distance to her and hand them over. I don’t know if I should turn around and let her get changed or what the protocol is here. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable by standing here, but I don’t want to just throw the clothes at her and run either.
She stares at the shirt and briefs in her lap for a moment before looking back at me. There’s a timid smile on her lips as I realize we both might be thinking the same thing.
“How about I let you get dressed, and you can do anything you need while I get the kitchen cleaned up?”
She sets the clothes down on the mattress next to her. “I can help you clean up.”
I shake my head and stop her from getting up immediately. “No. I can do it. It won’t take me long at all. You can get dressed and brush your teeth and do whatever you need to get ready for bed, and I’ll be back in a few.”
“But I don’t have a toothbrush.”
I can’t help but smile. “My mouth was just on your pussy. I promise I don’t mind if you use my toothbrush.”
Josie’s eyes go wide for a moment before she rips them from my gaze.
A low rumble leaves my chest at her bashfulness.
I wonder if I should offer for her to go back to her house to get ready for bed before coming back here.
She’s my neighbor. It wouldn’t take her long at all, but I don’t like the idea.
I’m scared that if she goes back home, she won’t come back, and something inside me desperately wants to spend the night lying next to her and wake up next to her in the morning.
Wanting to crawl into bed with her as soon as possible, I press a kiss to her forehead before backing away and heading to the kitchen.
I leave my room before I’m tempted to stay there. The moment I’m out of her view, I drag my hand over my face as I make my way to the kitchen.
This isn’t how I usually do things. I don’t really invite people into my space, let alone suggest that they spend the night. It’s always been at their place or hotels…anywhere but my own personal space.
But it’s different with Josie. It doesn’t feel like something I need to control. Instead, it feels like something I don’t want to mess up.
I hurry to clean the kitchen up, not wanting to miss out on spending time with her but also wanting to give her enough time to get ready for bed.
The entire time, I try not to think too deeply about how effortless it was to invite her to stay the night.
I didn’t think twice about it. The desperate need to have her sleep next to me, and to do just that—sleep—is completely new territory to me, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about that.
My steps are large and quick as I make my way back down the hallway to my bedroom. I’m wondering if I should knock on the door or just walk in, opting to softly knock once before pushing the door open.
I find Josie walking out of the bathroom at the same moment I step in.
And whatever I was worrying about before I stepped into my room is lost.
She’s wearing my clothes.
My shirt hangs loose on her. The hem goes all the way to her thighs, and the neckline slips slightly.
My shirt’s so big on her that I can’t even see the boxer briefs underneath.
The sight of her in my shirt does something to me that I don’t even want to begin to unpack right now.
I force my gaze to meet hers before it lingers too long anywhere else.
“Do they fit?” I ask, just trying to make conversation.
“Barely,” she notes, tugging lightly at the fabric to show that she’s had to roll the waistband of the briefs a few times to get them to stay on her hips.
“I warned you,” I point out, my lips twitching with the hint of a smile.
She shrugs before walking toward the bed, her fingers running over the duvet cover as if she doesn’t know if she should get in bed or not. She thinks about it for a few moments before climbing in.
“Do you have a side?” she asks, her gaze meeting mine.
I shake my head, too struck by the sight of her in my bed to say anything else.
Taking my answer as enough, she climbs in and pulls the covers over her body like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
I stand at the edge of my mattress for a few moments, just soaking in the sight of her. I don’t know how long I stand there, but eventually, I let out a long sigh before cocking my head in the direction of the bathroom.
“I’m going to get ready for bed real quick.”
Josie nods as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. “Sounds good.”
I quickly grab a fresh pair of boxer briefs from the drawer and head to the bathroom.
I can’t help but smile when I notice she did, in fact, use my toothbrush.
The control freak in me should probably be grossed out by it, but I’m not.
I rush to get ready and leave the bathroom, finding her in the same spot I left her.
The moment I step out of the bathroom, she groans. “Are you kidding me?” she asks, her voice coming out shocked.
Her words take me by such surprise that I stop. “What’s wrong?”
Josie lifts her arms and waves them between us. “The fact that you’ve been hiding that many abs from me. Dear God, Tyson, how am I supposed to sleep next to you tonight after seeing those?”
I swear my cheeks get pink as I glance down. I hadn’t thought twice about what I wore to bed tonight, moving on autopilot. Every night, I sleep shirtless, in just my briefs. Tonight is no different.
I round the mattress before climbing into bed next to her with a smile.
The mattress dips under my weight as I get comfortable, pulling the blanket up my body as well, but leaving it at my hips so she can still get a view of the abs she can’t stop admiring.
“Well, hopefully, you like what you see, then.”
She lets out a loud sigh. “Oh, I do.”
A silence settles between us as her words linger in the air. There’s a little space between us, but not much.
It’s just enough for me to feel the distance. Enough to want to close it.
I turn onto my side and face her.
A second passes by.
And then another.
She stares at me before her lips twitch with the hint of a smile.
She shifts closer and closes the distance between us herself.
It’s only now that I realize she’s washed off all the makeup from her face. Her skin is clear of it, and I can’t help but think how beautiful she is. It’s hard not to picture many more moments with her just like this—crawling into bed next to her. I want it more than I should.
I slip my hand under the blanket, letting it move across the mattress until it finds hers under the covers. My fingers intertwine with hers on instinct.
“You overthinking this yet?” I ask, unable to stop myself from asking the question.
This makes Josie giggle. It’s soft, something between a sigh and a laugh. It’s incredibly adorable and does things to my chest. “Always. What about you?”
I smile before squeezing her hand. “Oh, absolutely.”
She lets out another laugh but doesn’t respond. We both soak each other in for a moment. I’m wondering if she’s just as shocked to find herself in my bed like this as I am.
Silence settles between us—but it isn’t empty.
It’s easy.
And that realization throws me. This kind of silence would not normally feel easy to me if it were with anyone else. I’m not used to easy.
“Can I ask you something?” Her question interrupts my internal psychoanalyzing.
“Of course.”
“Why me?” she fires off immediately, like she had to get the question out before she could think twice about it.
My head tilts to the side as the weight of her question sinks in.
For a moment, I just look at her as I think about what she asked.