The last thing I wanted to do was sleep in a bra. Heck, I hated wearing a bra ninety percent of the time. I didn't have small breasts and they weren't huge, but they did like to jiggle when they had a taste of freedom. As I debated whether I should leave the bra on or not, I caught a glimpse of my ultra-bright blue eyes and flushed cheeks in the mirror. I closed my eyes, my fingers trembling as I reached behind me and unhooked the bra. The straps slipped down my arms, and I quickly grabbed the borrowed shirt, slipping it on over my head. It reached just below my thighs, and I'd definitely not be doing any jumping jacks anytime soon.
Before I left the bathroom, I snagged the bobby pins holding my hair up in a twist, and sighed the moment my hair was loose. Curls fell in every direction, and my scalp tingled with happiness. Gathering up my clothes, I opened the bathroom door and came to a complete stop.
Holy fae on fire, Ren was shirtless, standing with his back to me, and I got to see the rest of the tattoo.
He'd changed into loose cotton sleep pants that hung indecently low on his hips, and that was all. His muscled back was on display, and those vines from the front of his chest and arm crept over his shoulder, tangled down the right side of his back. In vivid detail, peering out from the vines was a black panther, its eyes the color of amber, and its mouth open, tongue a crimson red, sharp teeth a brilliant white
All I wanted to do was run over and touch it.
"I was starting to get worried about you in there." Putting the pillow in place, he turned around. "Thought I might . . ." He trailed off, lips parting.
Both of us were staring at each other, and I didn't know what he saw in my expression, but he was gazing back at me like he'd never seen me before. There was such concentrated intensity in his stare that it felt like a physical caress. The tips of my breasts hardened, straining against the shirt.
"God. Damn," he said, voice husky. "Wearing my shirt might not have been one of my brightest ideas."
"I'm . . . sorry?"
He ran his hand through his hair, the muscles in his arm and stomach doing amazing things as he clasped the back of his neck. "You were in a serious relationship before, right? The guy you lost?"
Not knowing how that had anything to do with his shirt, I nodded.
"You were really young," he said quietly. Ren moved toward me, much like I imagined the panther on his back would've if it was stalking prey. Stopping in front of me, he plucked up a curl that brushed my cheek. He tugged it straight as his gaze swept over my face. "It's a good thing—a powerful thing to see a female you like wearing your clothes. I'd forgotten that until now."
Heat traveled down my neck. "Oh."
"Yeah." Letting go of my hair, the curl bounced back into place. "I'm guessing you've never worn a guy's clothes before?"
I shook my head as my gaze dipped to his throat. The leather string of the necklace was entirely too tempting against his golden skin. "Shaun and I . . . we didn't get a chance to get to that point, I guess."
His head tilted to the side as he curved his hand around my cheek. "So that's his name. You've never said it before."
"I haven't?"
With a shake of his head, he trailed his thumb along my cheek. "You really haven't been with anyone since him?"
"No." Why would I lie about that?
He smiled faintly then lowered his head, dropping a kiss against my forehead, eliciting a shaky breath from me. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right out."
He left me standing there as he disappeared into the bathroom, and I tried to make sense of what just happened. All I knew was that the punch-in-the-chest sadness that came whenever I thought of Shaun wasn't there. And I didn't know what to make of that.
Or anything.
Taking a deep breath, I put my clothes on his dresser and all but dashed into the bed, and good Lord, the mattress was comfy! I scooted to the middle and froze, having no idea what side he slept on or if he had a side. I totally had a side—always the furthest away from closet doors because I was a dork. Straightening the shirt out so my undies weren't saying hi to the world, I tugged the blanket up to my hips and lay flat on my back.
I so needed an adult to explain to me what the hell I was supposed to do from this point on.
There wasn't much time to stress over it because Ren returned from the bathroom. His ever-present half grin spread as he saw me. I clutched the blanket, my breath caught in my throat. My heart pounded so fast that I wondered if I was going to have a heart attack, and God, wouldn't that be embarrassing. I swallowed nervously and willed my heart to slow.
Turning off the lamp, shadows fell around Ren, but when he faced me, I could tell that he'd frozen. I couldn't make out his expression as he bent, taking a hold of the covers on his side.
"Ivy?"
"Hmm?"
He slowly edged the covers back from his side and climbed in, and although I couldn't make out his eyes, I knew he was watching me. "I'm happy that you're here."
My fingers eased off the blanket.
As he stretched out beside me, my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, and I could see that he was smiling. "Are you?"
"Yeah," I whispered.
"Good. That's all I wanted to hear."
Wow, the warmth that flooded my chest could've turned me into a puddle of goo in that bed. I waited for him to make a move on me, but seconds ticked by. He seriously was behaving himself. I dared a quick peek at him, and found I could not look away.