New Year Escapes. Leslie Kelly

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СКАЧАТЬ was dark. It was silent. He was probably sound asleep.

      She hoped to God he was. She padded over to the near side of the bed and began to make herself a nest on the floor.

      “What the hell are you doing?”

      So much for him being asleep. She kept right on making her nest. Gunnar came over to see what she was doing. “I’m sleeping here.”

      “On the floor?” George rolled onto his side and peered down through the darkness at her. “Are you out of your mind?”

      “Sam called. He said I’m supposed to stay with you. Keep an eye on you,” she corrected herself immediately.

      “Did he?” George sounded all of a sudden in far better humor. “Good old Sam.”

      Sophy snorted. “Right. Good old Sam.” She sat down on the duvet. It had felt warm and fluffy on top of her on the bed. It felt flat and thin between her and the floor. At least she’d be awake to wake him up.

      “Don’t be an idiot. Get up here and share the bed.”

      “I’m fine.” She wrapped the duvet around her and snuggled down with her head on her pillow. Gunnar stuck his nose down and poked her cheek. She reached out a hand and scratched his ear.

      “Sophy.”

      “I’m fine,” she said.

      “Like I was fine climbing all those damn stairs.”

      “Exactly.” She kept her back turned and snuggled farther down. Damn this floor was hard.

      George said a rude word and Sophy heard the bed creak. She ignored it. She ignored him—until she realized he had got up and was dragging the duvet off his bed and throwing it down on the floor beside her.

      She rolled over and sat up in the darkness to see his white T-shirt in the moonlight as he eased himself off the bed and down onto the floor beside her!

      “What on earth do you think you’re doing?”

      White shoulders shrugged. “Being as stupid as you are.” He stretched out on the crumpled duvet. “Which is pretty damn stupid,” he muttered. “God, this floor is hard.”

      Sophy grunted. “Then get on the bed. You need to be on the bed, George.”

      “It’s up to you,” he said.

      She glared. She grumbled. She wished she could just say, Fine, stay there, and let him be as uncomfortable as she was. But she doubted that was what Sam had had in mind when he’d said to keep an eye on George tonight.

      “And here you are again, making me do what you think is best for me,” she pointed out.

      “And sometimes I’m even right,” he said mildly.

      Which, damn it, was actually true.

      “Fine.” She flung back her duvet and scrambled to her feet, flung her duvet onto his bed and plopped down on top of it to glare at him, which might have been more effective if she could really have seen him and not just the shape of him in the darkness.

      “Ah, sanity rears its ugly head.” George grunted and tried to shove himself up as well. It was harder for him. Served him right, Sophy thought. But then guilt smote her. He was only in this shape because he’d saved a child’s life, because he’d put his own life on the line.

      “Give me your hand.” She offered hers.

      Immediately he gripped it, his long hard fingers wrapping around hers as he tried to lever himself up. It was more complicated that she imagined. He didn’t have his boot on, so had to be careful of his ankle as well as his shoulder.

      “I can’t believe you did this.” She shifted to get a better grip, had to move in to slide an arm around him to get enough leverage to get him to his feet. “Of all the stupid—”

      “Your fault,” he reminded her. But as she could hear the words hissing through clenched teeth, she didn’t think he was enjoying it.

      Neither was she. Having her arm around George’s hard body, being so close she could smell the hospital soap, the disinfectant and something male that she remembered as quintessentially George unnerved her more than she wanted to admit. She shoved, hauled, hoisted.

      And at last he stumbled to his feet.

      “Don’t do that again.” His arm was over her shoulders and hers, still wrapped around him, allowed her to feel the thundering of his heart.

      “I won’t if you won’t,” he said, a catch in his breath.

      She didn’t answer that. It didn’t merit a reply. Wordlessly she edged him over to the bed. He sat. Gunnar put his chin on George’s knee. Sophy picked up his duvet and spread it over the bed, then pulled it back so he could lie down.

      Then, because she knew he’d just do something stupid again if she didn’t get in bed, too, she went around and slid beneath the duvet on the far side. There had to be at least two feet separating them. Plenty as long as they were awake.

      But asleep she didn’t trust herself.

      Like Lily, she had a homing instinct for the nearest warm body. And she didn’t want to wake up and find herself in George’s arms.

      “Told you it was a big bed,” George said gruffly.

      But not big enough, Sophy thought. “Gunnar,” she said. “Here, Gunnar.”

      It didn’t take any urging. In a second she felt the bed move and Gunnar’s black form appeared, looming in the moonlight, looking up at them from the foot of the bed.

      “For God’s sake,” George muttered.

      “You’ve never let him on the bed? Oh, right. Tell me another.” Sophy patted the space between them, and Gunnar instantly obliged, lying down there and heaving a contented sigh.

      George made a disgruntled huffing sound.

      “Just be glad you’re home,” Sophy said. “You could still be in the hospital.”

      “Promises, promises.”

      “If you want to go back, I’ll call Sam.”

      “I’ll bet Sam wouldn’t think much of the dog in my bed.”

      Sophy smiled. “Sam said to do what I had to do. I’m just following instructions. Good night, George. I’ll wake you in a couple of hours. Wake me if you need anything.”

      She rolled onto her side away from him. Away from Gunnar. It was the best she could do. She wondered if she would get a wink of sleep before it was time to wake him again.

      It was a shock the next time she opened her eyes to see that it was morning and worse to discover that the warm body she was snuggled against wasn’t covered with black fur.

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