"Why?" I asked without meaning to. “I mean… that seems pretty…”Impressive, my brain supplied. Thenhot. Then I finally found the word I wanted. “Extreme.”
"You're the shrink," he replied, making no move to cover himself. "You tell me."
"Historically, such modifications suggest a desire to enhance a partner's pleasure at the cost of one's own comfort," I said, retreating into academic analysis because the alternative was admitting how my body was responding. "An external manifestation of internal priorities."
He laughed, the sound surprisingly genuine. "Or maybe I just like how it feels. Not everything needs psychoanalysis, doc."
"Why are you naked?" I asked finally, fighting to keep my voice steady.
"Because that's how I sleep," he replied with an elegant shrug that rippled through his muscles. "Why? How do you sleep?"
"In clothes! With privacy! In my own bed!" My voice rose with each word. "Where exactly do you think you're sleeping tonight?"
His brow furrowed. "This is the only bed."
"What?" I glanced around frantically, as if a second bed might materialize from the walls.
"One bedroom, one bed." He gestured to the king-sized mattress I was currently occupying. "Didn't think it needed clarification."
I stared in disbelief, suddenly acutely aware of my vulnerability. "You're not sleeping here. Not with me. Not like... that." I gestured vaguely toward his nakedness.
"Where else am I supposed to sleep? The couch? After getting stabbed, shot at, and breaking a fever to save your life?" He gestured to his bruised body, which only drew attention to parts I was desperately trying to ignore. "Besides, it's king-sized. We won't even touch."
Guilt twisted inside me. He had saved my life. Had killed his mentor for me. Those bruises darkening across his torso were the price he'd paid for my continued existence.
"I need to stay close anyway," he added, voice dropping its playfulness. "Sanctuary rules only protect us from direct contract completion. There are still... gray areas that could be exploited."
"I thought you said we were safe here?" I asked, clinging to any topic that didn't involve his continued nakedness.
"Mostly safe," he clarified. "But in my line of work, paranoia is a survival skill." His eyes gleamed with sudden mischief. "Plus, there might be evil spiders."
"Evil spiders?" Despite everything, a smile tugged at my lips.
"Absolutely. Deadliest kind." His face remained completely straight. "They only target therapists with perfect bubble butts. Very specific predatory pattern. Scientific fact."
A startled laugh escaped me. "That's ridiculous."
"I'd never joke about arachnid threats, doc." He pressed a hand to his heart in mock solemnity. "Your safety is my primary concern."
"Fine," I conceded, the day's exhaustion finally winning out against my better judgment. "But clothes stay on. Non-negotiable."
"You drive a hard bargain," he sighed, making a show of reluctantly retrieving a pair of black boxer briefs from a drawer. He slid them on slowly, the fabric clinging to his hips in a way that was hardly more modest than complete nakedness. "Happy now?"
"Ecstatic," I replied dryly, trying to ignore the way my pulse jumped as he approached the bed. Ridiculous. I was a grown man, a professional with multiple degrees. I shouldn't be reacting like a teenager with his first crush.
He slid between the sheets, keeping to his side of the mattress, but still close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his body. The king-sized bed suddenly felt impossibly small, the distance between us charged with an invisible current.
I lay rigid, every muscle tensed, hyperaware of his presence. The scent of soap and something uniquely him filled my senses, making my heart race traitorously.
"Relax, Vince," he murmured, voice rougher in the darkness. "I don't bite… unless you’re into that?"
"Don't flatter yourself," I replied, turning away from him before he could see the effect his words had on me. "And stay on your side. I don't care how many people you've killed, I'll push you onto the floor if you cross the middle."
"So demanding," he said, amusement evident in his voice. "I like that in a man. Especially one who thinks he can give me orders."
"Just go to sleep," I said, attempting to sound stern but landing somewhere closer to flustered.
"Your concern is touching," he replied, and I could hear the smile in his voice even without seeing it.
