And hell, he could admit it, at least to himself, that he wanted everything about Juliet to become used to him being there, not just her subconscious.
Evan gently shifted her feet off his lap. He got up and turned off the lights, except for the hallway one, which he left on so Juliet wouldn’t feel disoriented if she woke in the middle of the night. He walked back over to the couch and looked down at her sleeping form. No fear or worry seemed to surround her now. She had rolled onto her side and tucked one arm under her head.
Evan removed his shoes, then eased himself into the space between her and the back cushions of the couch. She stirred but didn’t wake up.
Evan longed to pull her against him, but knew she might feel restrained if she woke up with arms around her. But he had to put his arm somewhere, so rested it on her hip. Juliet relaxed back against him and Evan fell asleep thinking he’d rather be on this cramped couch with her than alone on the largest, most comfortable bed.
* * *
JULIET WOKE UP with a start, unsure where she was. Not in her own home, that much she knew with certainty. Her back wasn’t against the corner wall where she always slept in her house. Was she in her office?
Juliet wasn’t in a panic. Odd. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d woken up and wasn’t in at least a little panic.
It didn’t take long to remember where she was. Evan’s house. In his wonderfully decorated living room, on his cozy couch.
And, based on the arm flung over her hip, Evan lay on the cozy couch with her.
Juliet waited in the dark for the fear to come. In the nest she had made for herself at home, the fear always came, stealing away any chance of falling back to sleep. Four or five hours of sleep had become the norm, although often she was able to take a nap on the sofa in her office.
But the fear wasn’t coming now. Juliet relaxed slightly against Evan’s sleeping form.
From where she lay, she could just see the window at the front of his town house. The sun was beginning to creep up. With a sense of shock, Juliet realized she had slept the entire night, not waking up once.
No nightmares. No screaming. No fighting nonexistent monsters in the darkness.
She shifted so she was lying on her back and could see Evan a little better in the dim light. He looked so relaxed and peaceful in his sleep. His brown hair fell slightly over his forehead. The growth on his cheeks was hours past a five o’clock shadow.
That tiny dimple was still there on his chin.
Juliet was amazed at how good it felt to just lie here. How right it felt. She wanted to stay here forever.
Beautiful hazel eyes slowly blinked open and looked at her. The smile that followed caused her heart to skip a beat.
“Hi,” Evan murmured, his voice deep with sleep.
Juliet just stared at him for a long moment. Evan had been a source of strength for so long, a good friend, but always something more than that. And here she was, lying in his arms, fear nowhere to be found.
She was so very tired of being afraid.
Juliet closed the small distance between their bodies and kissed him. She didn’t let herself think about it, just let herself feel.
Then Evan kissed her back and all she could do was feel. He teased her lips apart and drew her closer, rolling onto his back so she was half lying on top of him. She felt one of his hands on her waist, the other cupping her neck to keep her close.
Juliet remembered their kiss in front of the lighthouse, how intense it had been. But she didn’t remember this heat, this electricity, running through her. She just wanted to get closer to Evan, and stay here forever.
But after a long moment he eased back, then sat up, bringing her with him.
“Wow,” he murmured. He kept an arm around her and smiled at her tenderly.
“Yeah, wow,” Juliet echoed. But she didn’t want to talk about how good the kiss was, she just wanted to kiss some more. She started to reach for him again, but stopped at his words.
“That sort of thing ought to definitely convince Vince Cady and his group that we’re happily married.”
Her arm froze in midair, then dropped back to her side.
This was all just undercover practice for Evan, of course. Duh.
That hadn’t been a real kiss for him, and especially hadn’t been real emotion. It had just been practice for the roles they were playing. The heat had obviously been only one-sided.
“Yep.” Juliet popped the p, trying to sound casual. She slid away from him on the couch. “We’re definitely getting closer to being ready.”
He pulled her back. “You’re doing great, Jules.” She could feel him kiss the side of her head. “It’s all going to work.”
Juliet thought of the drone override codes Cady planned to sell, and the damage those could do. Yeah, Evan was right to keep his focus on the job at hand. She needed to do the same.
And she needed to remember that nothing Evan did, despite how good it might make her feel, was real in any way. He wasn’t attracted to her; this was the job.
Juliet’s phone buzzed from the coffee table. She picked it up, cringing as she saw the screen. Lisa Sinclair had received another email.
Sweetheart, I’m so worried about you. You should be mine, no one else’s. We’ll be together soon.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Evan watched as Juliet all but threw her phone across the table.
