From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace (Laurinda) novel Chapter 154

She thought maybe Adolphus needed something, so she got out of bed and opened the door. There he stood in his pajamas, hugging a pillow to his chest.

“Can I sleep with you tonight? I swear I won’t try anything. Just want to sleep, that’s all.”

His ears turned a little red as he said it. He might have been working hard to make things official between them, but he’d never actually imagined sharing a bed with her.

He just worried she might not sleep well by herself.

He couldn’t do much, but he wanted to be there for her.

Laurinda leaned against the doorframe, a lazy grin tugging at her lips as she eyed him up and down. “You say you’re all innocent, but look at your ears, Adolphus. They’re bright red. Not very convincing.”

Busted, Adolphus didn’t even try to deny it. Still holding his pillow with one hand, he wrapped his other arm around her, lifted her up so she straddled his waist, and nudged the door shut with his foot. He carried her straight back to the bed.

Their eyes met, and Adolphus could feel the heat coming off her body. He swallowed, his throat tight.

“We should really sleep now. Seriously. If we don’t, I might actually explode.”

He closed his eyes, pulling Laurinda close while she giggled like she didn’t have a care in the world. He tried to keep his mind blank, silently scolding himself for walking right into this situation.

Laurinda rolled over in his arms and sprawled on his chest, her fingers sneaking under his shirt to draw lazy circles on his skin.

The silk pajamas barely kept out the warmth between them. As she felt his body heat climb, she pressed her lips close to his ear and whispered, “You know, I could help you out…”

Her words lit up his brain like fireworks and for a second, he just blanked out completely.

Adolphus forced himself to snap out of it, his voice rough. “You… I… I’ll just go take a cold shower, okay?”

He practically bolted from the room. Laurinda flopped onto the bed, laughing so hard she could barely breathe. He was just too cute like this.

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