I want to wrap her in my arms and fall asleep with her right here on the couch. But she’s exhausted, for one thing, and probably is in desperate need of a good night’s sleep in a real bed.

For another, I don’t trust myself not to wake her up and fuck her five ways to Sunday.

That can’t happen. For a lot of reasons.

A new one that wasn’t there before. I like Julia. Like her. What if I show her my dark side—what if I tell her the truth about what I did—and she hates me for it? Judges me? I don’t want to lose her.

What if she sees the real me and runs?

So I reach for the iPad, careful not to move her, and turn it off. I slip one arm under her torso, the other underneath her knees. Bending my legs so I don’t lift with my back, I stand, cradling her against my chest.

Julia makes a noise, eyes fluttering open.

“Shit, did I fall asleep? I’m sorry. I’ll go home. Wait, Greyson, are you—”

“Carrying you up to my bed? Yes.”

Her lips curl into a sly, sleepy little smile. “Are you going to have your way with me? How villainous.”

“Nah. Thought I’d play the hero tonight and let you have your rest. I’ll sleep down here.”

Julia lifts a brow. “See? Villain in one story, hero in another.”

“Don’t tempt me,” I grunt, climbing the stairs. “If you knew what is going through my mind right now, you wouldn’t be saying that.”

“Heroes are allowed to have dirty minds.” She loops her arms around my neck, resting her head against my chest. “I actually prefer them that way.”

Sweet baby Jesus.

As if I couldn’t want this woman more.

“Help yourself to anything you need,” I say as I carefully maneuver Julia into my bedroom. “Bathroom’s right in there, and I’ve got plenty of clothes in the closet if you’d like to change. Usually I enforce a strict no-clothes policy in my bed, but I’ll make an exception tonight. If you get hungry, just come get me and I’ll whip something up for you. There’s plenty of leftovers, and I’ve got some Greek yogurt in the fridge, too. I was reading that pregnant women should have some protein in their snacks, so…”

But Julia is asleep again, arms falling from around my neck.

I tuck her in, careful not to wake her. Grin when she lets out a contented sigh as I pull the covers up to her chin. I turn the heat down at night, so I don’t want her getting cold.

I want to climb into bed with her. God, do I want that. But I have no illusions about what will go down if that happens. Plus, I don’t want her waking up in the middle of the night next to a dude she doesn’t remember falling asleep with.

So I leave the hall light on and head back downstairs.