I shake my head. “If he wakes up and you’re not here, there will be hell to pay.”
Corbin lets out a quiet laugh, but I can tell he’s still debating. “I’ll take the couch.”
“You won’t fit on it,” I deadpan. “Come on. Stop being difficult.”
There’s something indecipherable in his face. Something hesitant. Not about being here, but aboutbeing here. In my space.
“We’re closer to him if we’re right across the hall,” I add, giving him the out he seems to need.
A muscle feathers in his jaw, but then, just like that, he caves.
I flick on the bedside lamp, the soft golden light spilling over my room as Corbin steps inside, looking… unsure. It’s almost ridiculous. This man has seen every part of me. Lived with me for years. And yet, here he is, standing in my bedroom like he doesn’t quite know what to do with himself.
The walls are lavender, my white dresser painted with delicate blue and pink flowers. The ceiling is so different from his. It’s not white. I painted it. Splashes of cobalt and crimson and copper. My bed—the one he’s never slept in—is a mess, but I quickly work to straighten out the sheets and comforter.
I point to his crumpled dress clothes. “I might have an oversized tee you can wear.”
His icy blue eyes meet mine, holding. “If you’re okay with it, I was just going to strip down to my briefs.”
My heart stumbles. “Y-yeah.”
That was breathy. Raw. Too much.
And Corbin definitely notices.
I spin toward my dresser and grab my pajamas, barely managing to mutter, “I’ll be right back.”
In the bathroom, I splash cold water on my face, gripping the edges of the sink as I take a steadying breath.Pull it together,Jules.This is just Corbin. The same man I married. The same man I undressed more times than I can count. The same man who kissed his way down my stomach and came apart inside me.
I can handle this.
Except… when I step back into my bedroom, I realize I might not be able to.
Corbin is sitting on the edge of my bed, leaning forward with his elbows braced on his muscular thighs. His very toned, very muscular thighs.
And he’s wearing nothing but black boxer briefs.
Heat floods through me so fast I almost forget how to breathe.
“I didn’t know which side you normally sleep on,” he says, voice thick with exhaustion.
“This side.” I motion to the left and slide into bed.
As Corbin stands, his abs tighten in the low light, casting sharp angles across his stomach. My eyes betray me, dragging down his torso before I can stop them.
And heknowsit.
A slow smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth, but he says nothing. Instead, he grabs his phone off the nightstand, frowns at the screen. “Dead.”
I blink, trying to find my train of thought. “Oh.”
“Can you set an alarm on yours for six?”
“Yeah,” I murmur, turning over to plug my phone in. My fingers tremble slightly as I set the alarm and turn off the lamp, plunging us into darkness.
For a second, it’s quiet. Just the sound of our breathing. Just the awareness of him inches away.
But it does nothing to quell the ache between my thighs.
