I couldn’t hold in my chuckle. “Are those unicorns on your pjs?”
Tessa looked down. “Yes…”
I laughed harder. “How old are you?”
She huffed. “Oh, shut it.”
I grinned. “Come on, time for sleep.”
Tessa shuffled towards the bed. “You gonna be nice and not make fun of my super awesome jammies?”
“Only if you never call them jammies again.” There was something so refreshing about Tessa. Most girls in my world would have come to bed in their most revealing lingerie, and here Tessa was with flannel pajamas practically buttoned up to her neck. She sat on the bed, placing Trouble in the middle of the mattress.
I looked from the kitten to Tessa and back again. “You let him sleep with you?”
“Of course. He’s so tiny, and he needs lots of cuddles after his rough start in life.” Tessa pulled the covers up around her, and Trouble curled into her side.
I bit back a laugh. “You’re going to spoil him.”
Her gaze met mine as she reached over to turn out the light. “He deserves to be spoiled.” She clicked off the light, darkness engulfing the room. Silence filled the space. Nothing but the sound of Trouble’s soft purrs. I thought she might have fallen asleep. “Thank you for everything you did today.”
My words reached out in the darkness the way I couldn’t yet with my body. “Always.”
25
Tessa
Iawoke to the sound of a muttered curse. For the briefest moment, I panicked, thinking I was back in DC. Back withhim. When I heard a meow and a grumbled “Trouble,” I released my death grip on the covers.It’s just Liam. I’m safe.I took slow and steady breaths.
My muscles released, and a sense of calm washed over me. Usually, a trigger like that would have sent me into a full-blown panic attack, but yesterday aside, I was getting better at talking myself through these moments, at identifying something as a trigger and not a true threat. Hope filled my chest. Maybe I could do this with Liam. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I wanted to try.
“Your cat is a terror,” a voice griped from the other side of the room.
I pushed up in bed, trying to get a peek at what was going on. Liam lay on the couch, muscled chest bare. I swallowed hard. It took me a few seconds to tear my eyes away from those broad shoulders and notice that Trouble had perched himself on Liam’s pillow and was batting at his face. I let out a snort of laughter. “You might want to stop that, Trouble. It sounds like Liam is a bit of a grump in the morning.”
Liam grunted. “That cat is disturbing my beauty sleep.”
“He wants to play with you.”
Trouble popped Liam right on the nose, and Liam growled, swinging Trouble into his arms and sitting up. “I guess there’s no more beauty sleep for me.”
My lips pressed together as I resisted a smile. “I think you’re plenty pretty enough already.”
Liam pushed to his feet and prowled towards me. “Oh, really?” I nodded, my breath catching. Liam leaned forward, dropping Trouble on the mattress and nuzzling my neck. “You smell amazing.”
I shuddered, a pleasant chill skittering over my skin. My lower belly clenched. My body was at war with itself. One part of me was dying for Liam to touch me everywhere, the other was terrified out of my mind.
He placed a gentle kiss on my neck. “We’re not going there until you’re one hundred percent sure.”
I was surprised by the overwhelming flood of disappointment. Sure, there was a little relief since I was unsure if I was ready for sex with Liam. But there was so much more disappointment. “Okay.” The word came out as a whisper.
He placed a gentle kiss to my temple. “We’ll get there. Give us time.”
My muscles relaxed. God, I hoped so. I wanted this little bit of living my life to the fullest. This tiny slice of normality. Meeting a guy, the butterflies of those first encounters, maybe even falling in love.
Liam straightened. “What time do you have to be at work?”
I stroked Trouble’s fur. “It’s actually my day off.”
