I clench my jaw tight. That’s something she will have to decide for herself, once she has all the facts and I’ve come clean.
Because I will...just as soon as she’s safe.
* * *
I wake to the invigorating smell of coffee, the sound of cooking in the kitchen, and I roll over.
Ash’s lingering scent cocoons me, and his quilt is warm and soft against my bare skin. To wake up like this every morning, not to feel alone any more...
I clutch the bedding to myself and smile into the sheets. Perhaps things aren’t as complicated as he initially thought; perhaps he will change his mind about me, about us.
It felt that way when he stopped me from getting in the car last night. When he pulled me back against him and then changed his mind and said we’d talk later...
Only I’d fallen asleep.
I remember him cutting the engine, stirring enough to respond to his voice, and then he carried me here. I wanted to wake up—wanted to tell him what had happened, have him tell me it would be okay, tell me what it was that he’d stopped himself saying in the underground garage. But it was too easy to curl up under his quilt, just like I’m doing now, and let him surround me, comfort me.
And when I woke in the quiet of the night, hot and uncomfortable, still clothed in my bra and thong, I stripped them away, and the instant my naked body curled into his, he stirred. We made love—nothing frantic, no words... Just eyes closed, mouths tasting, touching, all sensation. We savoured one another until we were sated and then let sleep claim us once more. So idyllic, so—
‘Morning, sleepyhead.’
I turn at the sound of his voice—wow!
My mouth opens on a breathy sigh. He’s walking towards me, tray outstretched, and steam is rising from two coffee mugs and a mountain of scrambled eggs. But it’s not the offering that has me gaping—it’s him. His sheer masculine beauty.
He’s naked down to the teasing V at the base of his abs, just a pair of lounge pants hanging low, and he’s barefoot, with a sexy-as-fuck grin that’s as heated as I feel.
‘Morning.’
It’s a little gasp, and his grin widens.
‘You can’t be out of breath already; we haven’t even started on the morning sex yet.’
‘Is morning sex on offer?’
He slides the tray onto the bedside table and looks down at his crotch. I follow his eye and the sight of the tentlike bulge forming has my belly contracting.
‘Guess I needn’t have asked.’
‘Guess I needn’t bother to
answer.’
‘Not with words, at any rate...’ I reach out and take hold of him through his clothing.
‘Jesus, Coco.’
But his body bucks into my grasp, telling me just how welcome my touch is.
‘The food will get cold...’
‘I’m not putting this to waste,’ I say, climbing up onto my knees and slackening the waistband of his pants. They fall to floor and I smile up at him as I wet my lips. ‘Are you going to stop me?’
His eyes flare with anticipation. ‘I can’t say no to you.’
I kiss his very tip and air hisses through his teeth. His curse is fierce as his hands fork through my hair and cup the back of my head.
‘Good,’ I say softly, and then I press him between my lips, take one deep suck.