Page 121 of The Grand Duel

“It’s late. We should get some sleep.”

I nod. “I’ll shower and join you.” I smooth my hand over his bicep as I pass him, knowing he’s already in a tailspin. “Will you warm up my side of the bed for me?”

I can’t help but find it a little funny. The man who, when I met him, could barely look at me, didn’t care to look at me, and now look at us.

He can’t take his eyes off of me.

The shower is powerful, and I make quick work of washing my body, ensuring I don’t catch my hair under the spray. When I climb out, I dry off and remove my makeup with the mini products provided by the hotel and then slide into the shirt Charles lent me.

As the soft material sheathes me, my eyes close, my neck twisting so that my nose can run along the collar.

I frown, my mind chasing a memory attached to that smell.

It’s right there, but I can’t…I open my eyes and stare at myself in the mirror.

It’s like my body can pinpoint it, but I can’t. My nipples are erect, eyes darkened.

I’m turned on.

By Charles?

By the smell of him?

Scooping up my dress, I open the door and walk back out into the bedroom. Charles is lying in the bed under the covers, his arm covering half his face.

“You sleeping on me already, Aldridge?”

“Not yet.”

I smile and step up onto the bed, standing on the mattress at his feet. “You’re on my side.”

He moves his arm, looking up at me from his prone position. I can’t help the blush that paints my cheeks, and with my makeup washed away, there’s no way he misses it.

Not with the way he’s looking at me.

“I sleep on the left side.” He clears his throat.

“So do I. Move.”

“No,” he tries.

“Charles.”

He huffs and scoots across the bed.

“Thank you, sweetie,” I tell him, toeing back the covers and sinking down on the left side. “My husband has left it lovely and warm.”

“Don’t push me.”

I side-eye him as he fluffs around with his pillow. “I’m not.”

“I can promise you, you are.”

I roll my eyes when he’s not looking, gathering the covers to pull them over my legs. “By what, simply existing?”

“Yes. By simply existing, Lissie.”

My eyes widen, lips twitching up as I pause. “What?” I chuckle. “Charles, that’s horrible.”