“Well…yes,” Melinda admitted in a soft voice. “But how did you know?”
“It’s written all over your face.” Liosh brushed away another tear. “It’s all right, Talli—you can cry if you want,” he added, seeing she was trying to hold back more tears from falling.
Melinda buried her face in his chest for a moment, as though she was trying to get control of herself. Finally, she looked up at him and sniffed. She wasn’t sobbing but her eyes were certainly red, Liosh thought, feeling his heart twist for her pain. What a worthless bastard her father had been to push her and the rest of his family away just because he had a sexual interest in another female! It was clear he had wounded Melinda deeply—possibly affecting her ability to trust a male ever again.
“Thank you,” she said at last, giving Liosh a trembling little smile. “I know we’re just practicing pretending we’re a couple but you’re one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever met.”
“I’m glad you feel that way. I find you to be very sweet as well,” Liosh murmured. On impulse, he gave her a brief, tight squeeze and kissed her gently on the forehead. “Thank you for letting me cuddle you. Melinda,” he said.
“Oh…” She put a hand to her forehead uncertainly, her eyes going wide for a minute, then she kissed him back—her soft lips like butterfly wings against his cheek.
That soft, tentative kiss did as much or more for Liosh than an erotic or passionate embrace would have done for another male. He felt his heart twist again and a deep need to protect and care for the girl in his arms washed over him.
Gods, he was gone on her—completely gone. He hoped he could convince her that they belonged together and they ought to bond. It was the only way he could keep caring for her like this for the rest of their lives, which was all that he wanted.
For a moment they looked into each other’s eyes and Liosh almost kissed her more directly. Her pink lips looked so soft and inviting it was all he could do to hold himself back from tasting them. His fangs longed to pierce her flesh and inject the essence he could feel building up in them—marking her as his and Claiming her forever.
Only the very strong feeling Liosh had, that rushing this situation would be a bad idea, kept him from kissing and then biting her.
He knew a little of her past now and thought he understood why she was so hungry to be cuddled, but he suspected there was more—some other pain she hadn’t shared with him yet. Some reason he needed to be wary and take things very slowly.
So instead of kissing her, he murmured,
“It’s getting late, Melinda. Should I put you to bed and tuck you in now?”
Her blue eyes widened.
“If…if you don’t mind,” she said softly.
“Of course I don’t.” Liosh smiled and rose easily from the loveseat, still holding her in his arms.
“Oh!” Melinda gave a little gasp at the sudden upward trajectory and put her arms around his neck to hold on.
Still smiling, Liosh carried her the few feet from the small loveseat into the dormitory’s bedroom.
“Which bed is yours?” he asked, looking at the two sleeping platforms there. One was somewhat larger than the other but both had colorful quilts and blue sheets on them.
“Oh, I usually sleep in the full bed—that’s the bigger one,” Melinda explained. “But you’re so much bigger than me—you take it and I’ll sleep in the twin—that’s the little one,” she added.
Liosh frowned. “I do not wish to turn you out of your own bed.”
What he actually wanted was to have Melinda sleep with him, curled up against his side as warm and trusting as she had been on the couch. But of course, he couldn’t ask for that. She had to come to him on her own—had to trust him enough to be vulnerable even in her sleep.
“I don’t mind,” Melinda told him. “Oh…” She bit her lip. “The only thing is, I haven’t changed the sheets yet this week. And I’m afraid my spare set is in the dirty clothes hamper—along with most of my clothes.” She made a face. “I really have to do a load of laundry.”
“It doesn’t bother me sleeping in sheets you’ve slept in,” Liosh told her. In fact, quite the opposite. If he couldn’t hold her, the next best thing would be smelling her sweet scent on the pillows and sheets around him all night.
“Well…if you really don’t mind.” Melinda looked troubled. “My mom would skin me alive—she always said you have to offer a guest a nice clean room when they come to stay.”
“But you didn’t know you would be having a guest,” Liosh pointed out. “Truly, Melinda—I don’t mind. Now here—let’s get you tucked in.”
Stooping down with her still in his arms, he helped her slide between the sheets of the smaller bed and then tugged the colorful quilt up to her chin.
“There,” he said, smiling down at her. “All tucked in.”
“Yes, I am.” She smiled back at him sleepily and yawned. “Thank you, Liosh—this has been the nicest night I can remember.”
“I feel the same way,” Liosh murmured. On impulse, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead again. “May your sleep be sweet and your dreams be beautiful,” he told her. “Never fear in the night for I am near.”
Her smile widened, showing that distracting little dimple again.
“I like that—where did you hear it?”
“My mother used to say it to me when she put me to bed when I was little,” Liosh told her. “I went through a period where I had night terrors that woke me up. But
