Just One Thing (The Alexanders 6)

She looked over to the other side of the bed where Bennett slept on his stomach, one arm thrown over his head. Katie withheld a sigh of appreciation. The muscles in his back were a truly fine sight to wake up to. It had been a long time since she’d shared her bed and she’d never had this kind of eye candy to look at before. It was tempting to take this opportunity to run her hands over that insanely sculpted body but she didn’t want to wake him up. He was clearly exhausted and no wonder. The man had put in quite a performance last night.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up, hoping she could brush her teeth and fix her hair before he saw her looking so awful. First she had to deal with the fact that she was stark naked. Katie blushed and immediately went to her dresser to find a long T-shirt. She wasn’t the type who could walk around naked without being self-conscious. She hadn’t been comfortable with that even when she’d actually had a flat stomach and perky boobs.

Once she got to the bathroom, she closed the door as quietly as she could and then turned the light on. Then she made the mistake of looking in the mirror.

“Oh shit!”

Katie clapped a hand over her mouth, hoping she hadn’t woken Bennett. Because she definitely didn’t want him to see her looking like this.

The image staring back at her from the mirror looked like the victim of a natural disaster. She hadn’t washed her makeup off the night before so she had black smudges around both eyes and her skin looked blotchy and chapped, the dried makeup having settled into every one of the fine lines on her face.

She went to work, scrubbing her face several times with cleanser and then brushing her teeth. Once she slathered her face with moisturizer, she felt slightly more human. She rubbed her hands over her hair and tried to tame the wayward curls that stuck out in every direction. Katie sighed. Nothing short of hopping in the shower was going to fix her hair, so she would just have to make do with extreme bedhead.

When she left the bathroom, Bennett was sitting up against the headboard. She skidded to a halt outside the door.

“Hi. You’re awake.”

He looked rumpled and sexy and completely focused on her.

“Good morning,” he rumbled in the sexiest, deepest morning voice she’d ever heard.

Suddenly she felt awkward as hell. Was he regretting what they’d done last night? The man was an absolute Adonis and seeing him all naked and growly only drove the point home

. All her parts warmed at the sight of him like they were hoping for more attention.

Not that she could handle more attention. She tried not to wince as she walked but it was becoming more obvious just how sore she was. It probably hadn’t been great to jump into a sex marathon after being celibate for so long. She walked back over and got in bed, pulling the covers up over her bare legs.

It was weird waking up and not having to worry about the kids. Ridley would be calling in a few hours so she could go pick them up. But what if she didn’t call and just brought them over instead? They would see Bennett or at least see his car out front.

If Hunter was confused by the idea of her kissing another man, how strange would it be for him to find a man in the house in the early hours? On one level, Katie knew she was being ridiculous. Even Ridley wouldn’t be so devious as to show up in the early morning without calling first, but she still couldn’t stop the full-scale panic attack that had come over her. She put a hand over her chest trying to calm her racing heart.

“Are you okay? You’re breathing so fast.” Bennett rubbed her back in gentle circles. Under any other circumstances it would have been comforting but it only made her feel worse.

He was being so nice and what if he wanted to have sex again? She was sore and freaking out and all she wanted was to pull the covers over her head and go back to her boring routine.

“I think you should go,” she blurted.

His hand stopped moving on her back. Katie immediately felt awful.

“Um, not because I didn’t have a great time. I did. I really did. It’s just the kids will be home soon and they’ve never seen me with another man, you know?”

Bennett nodded slowly. “I understand. Let me just get dressed.”

Katie averted her eyes as he climbed out of bed but it was impossible to ignore six feet four inches of pure male hotness. Her core clenched as his abs flexed when he stepped into his pants. Certain parts of her wouldn’t mind going for a second round despite being sore, clearly.

Once he was dressed, he hesitated next to the bed. Finally, he knelt and kissed her cheek.

“I had fun. I’ll let myself out so you can get a little more sleep before the kids get home.”

Katie sighed. He was always so considerate. It made her feel even worse.

“Thank you, Bennett. I had fun, too.”

She bit her lip as he walked out of the room. His footsteps faded as he went downstairs and then a few seconds later, she heard the front door close behind him as he left.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

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