Craving My Ruthless Ceo novel Chapter 36

Chapter 36: I Can’t Sleep Alone Tonight

Anna’s POV

Roman’s face hardened as the rest spilled out of me. A curse slipped from him under his breath, rough and low, meant only for Drago.

“That bastard.”

His hand lifted to my hair, slow and gentle, fingers sliding through the strands. The touch made my chest ache. He pulled me closer until my forehead brushed his shoulder.

“Anna.” His voice dropped. “Look at me.”

I didn’t want to, but my eyes lifted anyway.

His hands framed my face, thumbs brushing my cheeks. His gaze held mine.

“You’re safe. You’re in my house. The most secure place in this city. He can’t get in here. He never will.”

My breath came fast as he kept talking.

“There’s security everywhere. Inside. Outside. No one steps near you without me knowing. No one touches you. Ever.”

I nodded, my head moving without thought.

“I won’t let anything happen to you. Not tonight. Not ever.”

My hands curled into his shirt again as the emotions slowly loosened. I leaned into him, breathing him in, the warmth of him seeping into places that had gone cold.

He held me like that for a while. No rush. No pressure.

When I finally pulled back, it was only a little. Enough to look at him.

I didn’t want to go back to that room.

“Can I sleep here tonight?”

“Of course.” He stood immediately, pulling back the covers. “You can have the bed. I’ll take the guest room.”

“No.” My hand shot out, fingers closing around his wrist. “I don’t want you to go. I need to know you’re here. That somebody’s here with me.” My voice dropped. “I don’t want to be alone.”

He paused, studying my face. “Okay. I’ll take the sofa.”

I nodded ‘slowly.

He helped me into bed, adjusting the pillows behind me.

“Mr. Blackwood?”

He paused, looked down at our hands, then back at my face.

“I saw you were working earlier. I’m sorry I interrupted.”

“Don’t be.”

“I’ll probably get back to work anyway. You don’t need to apologize.”

He reached for the sheets, pulling them up and tucking them around my shoulders. When he was satisfied I was properly covered, his hand lifted to my face.

His thumb brushed across my cheek. The touch was brief, but it left heat spreading through my skin. “Oet some sleep.”

I watched as he pulled away and crossed to the sofa.

My ruthless CEO who commanded entire boardrooms with a single look. And here he was, tucking me into bed like I was made of glass. The tenderness caught me off guard, made my heart expand in ways I didn’t expect.

3

Successfully unlocked!

1/4

Chapter 36: I Can’t Sleep Alone Tonight

I sank deeper into the mattress and closed my eyes. Roman reached over, his fingers brushing the switch, and the bedside lamp clicked off.

The moment darkness took over, a chill went up my spine. Drago’s scent, cigarettes and cheap cologne, invaded my senses. My eyes flew open, my heart pounding.

I turned my head toward Roman. He was already at his desk, hunched over his laptop, fingers flying across the keys.

How could he work at this hour? After everything that had happened?

He looked completely unfazed, as if the fight had barely touched him, even though I knew it couldn’t be true. Some part of his body had to be aching, bruised, sore. That was why I didn’t want to disturb him.

I shut my eyes again and tried to breathe. Tried to push Drago out of my head.

But he was there. In every corner of my mind.

I sat up, completely frustrated.

The movement pulled his attention. He turned from his laptop, his brow creasing.

“Is everything all right?”

I shook my head. Words wouldn’t come.

He set the laptop aside and stood, crossing toward me. “What’s wrong? Another nightmare?”

“No.” I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold the pieces together. “I just… I can’t sleep.”

He came closer, his eyes searching my face. “Do you want the lights on?”

“No. That’s not it.”

He didn’t respond, but he reached past me and switched the light on anyway, a soft glow filling the room.

“Do you need anything?” he asked, concerned. “Water? Tea?”

“No, I…” My fingers twisted in the blanket. Heat crept up my neck at what I was about to ask. “I want you to come sleep here. On the bed. Beside me.”

His eyebrows shot up.

“Anna…”

“Please.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He let out a disbelieving breath.

“Why not?”

He dragged a hand through his hair, and I watched the muscles in his arms shift beneath his shirt. His gaze moved away from mine. “After everything that happened tonight, I thought you’d want space. Distance. Having a man that close… I assumed that would be the last thing you’d want right now.”

“You’re not just any man.”

His eyes flashed with an intensity I couldn’t read.

“It makes a difference that you’re the one who saved me.”

“Anna…”

“I know what I’m asking. I know it’s crossing a line. But I can’t sleep alone right now. I need to know someone’s here. That you’re here.”

Every muscle in his body went taut. I could see the battle raging behind his eyes, the way his hands flexed at his sides like he was physically restraining himself.

“Please, Mr. Blackwood.”

His jaw clenched at the use of his name. A muscle jumped in his cheek.

Then he exhaled, long and slow.

2/4

Chapter 36: I Can’t Sleep Alone Tonight

“I’m only doing this because it’s what you need.”

He moved to the other side of the bed, pulled back the duvet, and slid in beside me. The mattress dipped beneath his weight as he settled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling, leaving a huge space between us.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

But even with the distance, I could feel him. The warmth of his body. The heat radiating from him, impossible to ignore.

Minutes passed.

I tried to close my eyes and let sleep claim me, but my mind wouldn’t slow. My body refused to relax.

My eyes shot open.

His breathing was uneven, not the rhythm of sleep.

Guilt washed over me. I’d ruined his entire night. Forced him into this awkward situation when he should be resting.

And yet, here he was. In bed beside me. When he could have sent me away. When he could have refused.

“You’re still not able to sleep.”

His voice cut through the darkness and my thoughts.

I turned my head toward him. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to, but I can’t help it.”

He shifted onto his side, propping himself up on one elbow to look at me. The worry in his eyes was obvious.

“I understand.”

“Do you?”

“When the body experiences trauma, the nervous system goes into overdrive. It stays on high alert, scanning for threats even when there are none. Your mind knows you’re safe, but your body hasn’t caught up yet. It’s still in fight or flight mode.”

I blinked at him. “That’s… oddly specific.”

“I’ve seen it before. Dealt with it myself.” He paused. “Talking can sometimes help. Distracts the mind enough to let the body relax.”

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Tell me about you. Not the employee. Not the assistant. You. Tell me one thing I don’t know that would probably surprise me.”

I stared at him, caught off guard. “One thing?”

“Anything.”

My heart pounded. He wanted to know me. Not Anna the assistant who filed his reports and brought him coffee. But the real me.

Being an assistant wasn’t the job I wanted. It was the job I had to take when my mom kicked me out and I needed money fast. What I really wanted was to write full time, to live in the worlds I created instead of filing expense reports.

But I couldn’t tell him all that. Couldn’t admit that every time he thought I was distracted at work, I was actually writing. About him.

I let out a breath. “I like to read romance novels. And I’m a writer.”

His eyebrows lifted, and something like fascination flashed across his face. “You write?”

Did he think I wasn’t capable of it? That I was just some assistant with no dreams of my own?

“Is that so surprising?”

“I would never have pegged you for a romance writer.”

E

3/4