Instead of responding, he dragged her closer and rolled to his side. Coming to his bed wasn’t meant to force him into sleeping with her. Though Shyla wouldn’t complain, being in his bed was bliss.
Her fantasy changed fast when he came back toward her, looming over to join their mouths. Kissing Score changed the hue of her tension. Worry and anxiety became heat and arousal. Moving beneath him, she got as close to him as possible and relished having her hands free. Sliding them down his arms from his shoulders, she stretched her arms up to coil them around his neck.
His tongue retreated from her mouth. She tried to tempt it back, but he broke the kiss. Shyla sighed, disappointed that she’d lost his attention. Her sorrow froze when he reached across to brace himself over her. Raising hopeful brows, she expected him to take things up a notch. Instead, he climbed over to flop down on the bed at her other side. Confused about why he’d gone from the furthest side of the bed to the one closer to the door, Shyla guessed she’d got her answer about his preferred side.
As he lay down on his side, he pulled the sheet up to his waist and tucked it around himself. That made her smile. Protecting his modesty was for her benefit, but drawing her attention to it made her curious.
“Baby…” she murmured, reaching for him.
His stag tattoo was calling to her. That was the only spot on his body, below his neck, that her mouth had tasted.
“No,” he said before she thought about asking a salacious question.
All her worries were gone. Just being near to him had done that.
Relaxed, Shyla breathed out and walked her fingers down his chest. “I like having my hands,” she whispered. “Being able to touch you.”
Closing his eyes, he punched the pillow under his head to bunch it up. “Hands to yourself, Lamb,” he said, though he didn’t go as far as pushing her hands away from him.
“Feels naughty, doesn’t it?”
It did. Lying in the dark in his bedroom was the first time she’d shared a bed with a man who wasn’t her relation. Even then, she could only remember going into Wyatt’s room a couple of times as a kid afraid of her nightmares.
Score opened one eye. “Sleep, Lamb.”
His eye closed, which left her to wonder what he meant. “Here?” she asked. “Here or…”
Again, he reached for her. Pulling her to him, he used his body to get her onto her side so he could tuck her against him as the little spoon. The heat of him was the first thing she noticed. As she wriggled to get comfortable and learn the new position, she became aware of something else. Something that was definitely aware of her.
“Quit moving.”
Wearing a smile, Shyla took the liberty of pushing her ass into his groin. The sheet was between her skin and his, but there was no mistaking what she’d woken up.
“Phoenix—”
“No,” he said. “Ignore it and sleep.”
That was probably a command, but Shyla couldn’t wipe the smile from her face. For the first time, she had a physical connection to his arousal. Curiosity wouldn’t let her eyes close. She wanted to know more, wanted to touch him, wanted to pleasure him.
Keeping her breathing steady took effort. His arm was draped across her body, heavy and reassuring, holding her to him. Listening to both of them breathe, she tried to forget what was going on beneath the sheet. It wasn’t easy. Shyla thought about it for so long that she supposed he’d fallen asleep again. Switching off wasn’t as simple for her. She kept reminding herself that it wouldn’t be right to satisfy her curiosity while he was asleep.
In spite of her own warning to herself, her arm wriggled its way free of his. Sliding her fingertips down her own body, she was careful about easing her hips away from his. Just as she was about to squeeze her hand between their bodies, he grabbed her arm.
Shocked by the sudden move, she gasped. “Phoenix!”
“Don’t know when to quit, Lamb,” he grumbled, rubbing his face in her hair. “I’m not in the mood to be patient or gentle.”
Did that mean if she touched and aroused him, he take her hard and fast? Turning her lips into her mouth, Shyla tried to conceal a shiver of anticipation.
He freed her arm and clamped her close, pulling her so tight against him that she couldn’t breathe right. With his elbow still holding her in place, his forearm moved to slide his hand up her body. A new release of bliss slithered through her when his hand curled around her breast. Even in sleep he could excite her.
Sliding his palm across to the other breast, he squeezed and stroked her until a sigh of arousal slipped from between her lips. An exhale of satisfaction left his mouth at the same time. He knew exactly what he was doing to her; he was proud of it.
Her whole body moved in the shield of his. He’d relaxed his arm enough to let her undulate against him, but still kept her trapped. Shyla whined in disappointment when he took his hand from her chest. She wasn’t ready for it to be over, wasn’t ready to lose the feeling of his ownership settling around her, holding her in his cocoon of safety.
“Phoenix,” she whispered.
She wanted to scream, wanted to beg him to keep touching her. Turned out that there wasn’t any need. He had a plan of his own. Skimming his hand down her body, Score straightened his arm and slid his fingers between her thighs. Lifting one, he pulled it back over his,
