Sleep Next To Me
The storm finally quieted sometime after midnight.
Rain still traced softly against the windows, but the thunder had faded into distant echoes somewhere beyond the city.
Inside Adrian's bedroom, everything felt warm.
Too warm.
Too intimate.
Lia stood wrapped in his arms while his forehead rested lightly against hers, both of them breathing slower now after too many confessions and too many kisses that felt impossible to take back.
"You look at me differently now."
The words still lingered between them.
Like a secret Adrian already knew the answer to.
Lia's fingers remained curled lightly against his chest while his hands rested securely at her waist beneath the oversized shirt.
Her shirt now, apparently.
Because Adrian kept looking at her like seeing her wear his clothes physically affected him.
"You're staring again," she whispered softly.
A faint flicker crossed his face.
"You're beautiful."
Heat rushed immediately into her chest.
"You say that every five minutes."
"And I mean it every time."
God.
The honesty would genuinely ruin her someday.
Adrian brushed his nose lightly against hers again, quieter now than before.
Less frantic.
Still intense.
But softer somehow.
Like finally hearing I'm yours settled something restless inside him.
The realization made her chest ache.
"You seem calmer," Lia murmured softly.
Adrian's eyes stayed fixed on hers.
"That's because you stayed."
The simple answer hit harder than it should have.
Because he sounded sincere.
Like her presence alone eased something inside him.
Lia studied him carefully.
Messy dark hair.
Tired eyes.
Shirt wrinkled from her hands.
He looked less untouchable tonight.
Less like the cold, controlled man everyone feared.
And more like someone exhausted from loving too deeply for too long.
Her fingers lifted slowly toward his face again.
Brushing gently along his jaw.
The reaction remained immediate.
Always immediate.
Adrian closed his eyes briefly like even soft affection from her still overwhelmed him.
"You really like when I touch you," she whispered before thinking.
A quiet laugh escaped him.
Low.
Warm.
"You're only noticing that now?"
Heat spread instantly through her chest.
"You act composed most of the time."
"That's because if I reacted honestly to every time you touched me," he murmured softly, "you'd never leave this room."
The roughness in his voice wrapped tightly around her spine.
Because Adrian sounded serious.
Completely serious.
Lia looked away instinctively, overwhelmed again.
Immediately—
his fingers tilted her chin back gently.
"No hiding."
"You make existing stressful."
A faint smile touched his mouth.
"You still stayed."
The words settled warmly inside her chest this time instead of painfully.
Because maybe Adrian needed reassurance constantly.
Maybe loving someone terrified him more than he admitted.
But somehow—
Lia no longer minded giving it to him.
The silence between them softened.
No longer heavy with tension alone.
Now it felt comfortable too.
Dangerously comfortable.
Adrian's thumb brushed lightly beneath her cheek again while he studied her face carefully.
"You're tired."
"So are you."
"I don't care."
The answer came too quickly.
Lia blinked softly.
"You should."
Adrian shook his head slightly.
"Not when you're looking at me like that."
Her pulse stumbled instantly.
"Like what?"
The look he gave her nearly ruined her emotionally.
"Like I matter."
The confession hit quietly.
But somehow—
that made it worse.
Because Adrian Monteverde, who had everything money could buy, still looked stunned whenever someone cared for him gently.
Lia's chest tightened painfully.
Without thinking, she leaned forward and kissed him softly.
Just once.
Small.
Tender.
The reaction in Adrian was immediate.
His hands tightened against her waist while a rough breath escaped him.
When she pulled back, his eyes looked darker somehow.
Not with lust.
Emotion.
Too much emotion.
"You keep doing things that make me want forever with you," he whispered softly.
The honesty nearly broke her.
Because Adrian sounded almost afraid of how deeply he meant it.
Lia smiled faintly despite herself.
"You already wanted forever."
"Yes," Adrian admitted quietly.
His forehead rested lightly against hers again.
"But now I think you might actually give it to me."
The room went silent after that.
Rain whispered softly against the windows.
Their breathing mingled together in the dark.
And for the first time all night—
Adrian's expression softened completely.
No tension.
No possessiveness.
Just exhaustion and affection and something devastatingly sincere.
Then quietly—
almost shy despite everything he was—
"Sleep next to me."
The words wrapped tightly around Lia's chest.
Not demand.
Not seduction.
Something softer.
Need.
She stared at him for several long seconds before finally whispering:
"Okay."
The relief on Adrian's face nearly destroyed her.
Like she'd just given him something far more intimate than a kiss.