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like she needed to say them back, when he knew she hadn’t had enough time away from Curtis to have any idea of her feelings for him.
    She rested her head against his shoulder, feeling safe for the first time in years. “G’night, Jesse. Thank you.”
    He hated that she thanked him for manipulating her into doing what he wanted. Gathering her closer, he closed his eyes, thankful to finally have her sleeping in his arms, even if he was going to be uncomfortable.
----
    Valerie woke slowly, feeling something heavy weighing her down. She was lying on her side, facing a wall, and her eyes slowly focused on the room around her. She felt no panic, used to waking up in strange places. After a moment it hit her. She was in a hotel room in Vegas. And she was married to Jesse Savoy, the man who set her body on fire.
    Glancing down, she saw his arm around her, and she snuggled backward. He had wrapped his entire body around her tiny frame. She wiggled a little, feeling him pull her even closer against him.
    She could feel his bare chest against her shoulders, and something was poking against her bottom, but she refused to think about that. Why did it feel so safe to be with him this way? She knew any other man would have had her feeling more than a little frightened in the same situation. She trusted Jesse, though. He wouldn’t hurt her.
    She slowly rolled over so she could see his face. She’d never seen him sleeping and wondered how he’d look.
    When she turned to him, she saw that his eyes were wide open and staring into hers. “G’morning,” she whispered, embarrassed.
    His lazy grin transformed his face. “Good morning.” His hand came up to cup her cheek as his lips sought hers.
    After a lazy, tongue-tangling kiss, he stroked her hair away from her face. “Do you want to explore Vegas today?”
    She shrugged. “I’ve been before. It’s not my favorite place in the world.” She truly didn’t care what they did as long as she got to spend time with him and get to know him better as they explored their new relationship.
    “So what do you want to do today?” he asked, his hand drifting down her side.
    She blushed. “Well, how would you feel about staying in and maybe watching some movies. Or we could go to a show. I heard the magic show at the Rio is good.”
    “Staying in and watching movies sounds good to me.”
    Valerie smiled, glad they could come to an agreement so quickly. It was new for her to have a say in what she did. “I’d like that.”
    “I’m sure we can watch something on TV or we can watch Netflix or Amazon Video on your iPad.” Jesse kissed her softly. “I don’t care what we do, as long as we do it together.”
    “Are you real?” she asked softly. “When are you going to turn into a monster and start yelling at me?”
    He shook his head. “Never. I mean, I’m sure we’ll fight on occasion, but hopefully it will be a long time in coming.”
    “I really hope so.” She sat up, dragging the covers to her shoulders. She was more embarrassed about being in just a nightgown with him during the light of day.
    He watched her for a moment, a grin on his face, before he moved to sit beside her, his back against the headboard of the bed. “Do you want to go to Coney Island at New York, New York maybe?”
    She shook her head. “No.”
    “You really just want to stay in?” He’d never known a woman who didn’t want to go out all the time. “You always wanted to go out with Curtis.”
    She shrugged. “He’s been strange. I was afraid to be alone with him.” She looked down at her hands, embarrassed to admit it.
    “Why didn’t you talk to me about it? You know I’d have been there for you.” He hated she’d gone through a hard time alone.
    Her eyes met his. “I did know that. The problem was, I wanted to be there for myself. Sometimes I need to find the strength from inside me, not from others. Does that make any sense at all?”
    “Like that episode where you had to save me?