Page 22 of Learn For Me

“How long have you been sleepwalking?”

Confused, she frowned. Sleepwalking? That wasn’t something she did. She woke up in her bed every morning, the door still locked against Jared, and nothing out of place in her room. “I don’t do that.”

“Don’t make a habit of chaining a lady to my ankle, girl. Three times last night, twice the night before, I was chasing you around the damn house. Just as soon as your eyes close, you’re up and about, getting’ into mischief.” He gestured to the chain. “You’ll be sleepin’ with this for a while, ‘til we figure out what’s making you so antsy you won’t stay in bed.”

“Uh… we?”

“Hmm. I owe you an apology, Olivia.” His gaze darkened, regret twisting his mouth. “Seems I’ve been carrying a certain note around with me for two years, without realizing it. Apparently, a nurse found it on the floor and tucked it into a section of my wallet I didn’t even know was there.”

She swallowed, dread and hope banging heads in a battle for supremacy. “D-Did you read it?”

“Been up all night, keepin’ an eye on you and readin’ what you wrote.” He stroked his thumb over his lip. “Got a way with words, angel. You still mean ‘em?”

There wasn’t a chance to pretend to hesitate; her head was already nodding. Lying to him, even to protect herself, wasn’t an option. No matter what, she’d never be able to lie about what she felt for him. It was too deep, too intwined with her heart, to deny.

Zeke hummed low in his throat. “I’m sorry, Olivia, for not staying in contact with you since you left. I’m sorry if you believe I abandoned you, and I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you while your mom was sick, and everything that came after. For a year, you kept me alive just as much as the doctors and nurses; I should’ve beenyourrock when you needed me.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it ain’t. We got to be pretty good friends, but I refused to give you the benefit of the doubt. Pride’ll kick you in the balls, angel, you let it get a strong enough hold on you. That’s what I did, and now I’m tryin’ to figure out how to make this right. If I deserve to be forgiven.” When she tried to speak, he gave her a somber look from those serious green eyes. “Gotta admit, angel, I ain’t really treated you right since you got home.”

Olivia blushed and fiddled with the chain. She loved it when he let himself relax and dropped into his ‘casual’ voice, losing theg’s from the end of his words. There was a cadence to it, a calming rhythm that soothed the anxiety bubbling under the surface of her façade. “Well, you know, it was justhorrificwaking up smushed against that tough body yesterday.”

His lips twitched. “Horrific, huh?”

“Mmm-hmm. But waking up without it is monumentally worse.”

Something dark and heated flashed in his gaze before he tamped it down. “Don’t forgive me for my sake, Olivia. Make me earn it.”

She bit her lip. “Do you forgive me for leaving when you were asleep? Not waiting to tell you about my mom in person?”

“Family comes first. You did what you had to, Olivia.”

Circling her fingertip around one of the metal links, she absorbed the wave of sadness. Didn’t he know that she considered him her family too? That the only reason she’d gone to Nevada was because of her mom? There was literally no one else in the world she would abandon him for and now, in her eyes, there was only Zeke.

“I don’t want this between us anymore,” she blurted nervously. “I hate conflict. I don’t want you to feel bad, and I don’t want you to resent me. Can we just… put me to bed?”

Zeke’s eyebrow winged up in surprise as her eyes bugged out in horror.

“It! Can we putitto bed!”

“Are you sure about that?”

Frantically, she nodded, mortification stealing her voice for the rest of eternity. Jesus, could shebeany more… fuck, she didn’t even know the word. Forthcoming? Upfront?Suggestive?

Was she naked under the covers? Heat flared as she yanked them away from her chest, peering down at herself. No, she was in her underwear again, which was bad when she felt all flustered and hot and…

Zeke reached out and snagged the blanket in his big hand, slowly pulling it out of her grasp. One corner of his mouth tipped up when she squeaked in alarm, playing tug of war for a few seconds before he overpowered her with a quiet chuckle. “All right then, Livvy, a clean slate it is.”

Pleasure hummed like a live wire inside her at the use of the nickname. No one ever called her anything but Sonic or Olivia, butLivvysounded so personal, so very… intimate. As the edge of the blanket slid over her breasts, she made a second attempt at pulling it back up to her chin.

“Leave it.” The dominance in his tone shot straight between her legs, intensifying the jolt of bliss. He wasn’t unkind or forceful, but the command was clear—leave the blanket exactly where it was. “I asked you a question yesterday, one that wasn’t answered. I’d like one now, Olivia, if it doesn’t send you into a manic rage again.”

She looked wistfully at the receding blanket as it skimmed over her midriff in slow motion. “It wasn’t a manic rage. I was upset, and working lets me burn off negative emotions. They kept pushing and pushing until I couldn’t think.”

“Did the question upset you that much?” Concern etched into his brow.

“No.” Her lip trembled until her teeth sank into it.