Dani woke slowly, feeling warm, comfortable, and safe. For one blissful second, she didn’t remember why, until she felt the steady weight of Jonnas’s arm around her waist and the slow rise and fall of his chest against her back. Her entire body softened instantly.
The room was still dark except for the faint glow of city lights bleeding through the massive windows across the bedroom. Everything felt quiet and still in a way Dani wasn’t used to. Usually, after having sex with someone, she went home to sleep, ready to leave before things got weird. She’d feel awkward the next morning—tense even. But now, she didn’t want to move at all because she felt safe in Jonnas’s bed, and in his arms.
Jonnas made a soft sound behind her before tightening his arm around her slightly like he sensed her waking. “Morning, baby girl,” he murmured sleepily against her hair. Her stomach flipped immediately. How was his voice sexy even when he was half asleep? It felt unfair that everything about the man was dripping in sex.
“You’re awake,” she whispered.
“Mmhm,” he hummed.
“You were drooling on me,” she said.
A low laugh rumbled behind her. “Liar.” Dani smiled before she could stop herself. The smile faded almost immediately when she realized something terrifying—she felt happy, and honestly, that scared her more than anything else. Jonnas shifted behind her, pressing a soft kiss to her shoulder through the shirt she still wore.
“You’re thinking too hard again,” he said.
“How do you always know?” she asked.
“Because you tense up,” he explained. The fact that he already noticed little things like that made her chest ache. Dani turned slowly in his arms until she faced him, and Jonnas looked unfairly attractive for someone who had just woken up. His dark hair was messy, his eyes still heavy with sleep, strong arms wrapped around her like it was the most natural thing in the world. And God help her, she liked being there. It was almost all too much.
His gaze drifted slowly over her face. “You okay?” The concern in his voice made emotion tighten in her throat instantly. No one had ever checked on her this much before.
Dani nodded slowly. “I think so.”
“You think so?” he asked.
“I’m not used to—” She gestured vaguely between them.
“This?”
“Yes,” she breathed. Jonnas studied her quietly for a long moment before brushing his fingers softly along her jaw.
“You waiting for me to get weird about it?” Maybe she was, just a little bit. Okay, maybe she was expecting that to happen rather than hoping that it didn’t. Dani looked away instead of answering.
Jonnas sighed softly. “Baby girl.” Hearing the rasp in his voice made her want to crawl even closer to him.
“I don’t know how to trust easily,” she admitted quietly. Something flickered across his expression—sadness maybe, or understanding.
“Who said this has to be hard to be real?” he asked. The question hit her directly in the chest because that was exactly what scared her. Nothing about this felt difficult. Being around Jonnas felt easy in a way nothing else ever had before. Talking to him, touching him, sleeping beside him, and even letting him care for her all felt terrifyingly natural. And Dani didn’t know what to do with that.
Jonnas brushed his thumb beneath her eye softly. “Talk to me.”
“I keep waiting for the catch.”
“There isn’t one,” he simply said.
“How do you know?” she asked. His expression turned serious then.
“Because I already know what I want,” he said. Her pulse jumped instantly.
“Jonnas, don’t say something that you’ll want to take back later,” she warned.
“You.” The answer came immediately. “I want you, and I won’t change my mind later, Dani.” Emotion climbed painfully into her throat.
“No one’s ever said that to me like they meant it before.” His entire face changed at that. Something fierce and protective flashed through his eyes so quickly it stole her breath.
“That’s their failure,” he said quietly. “Not yours.” A tear slipped free before she could stop it.
“You really need to stop making me cry,” she said.