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ERIN
Somehow, I managed to keep my hands off Nash for the rest of the night. Then again, I was pretty wiped out — in good ways and bad.Goodwas the blissful exhaustion that came from the best sex of my life.Badwas my constant worry about Harlon. Being with Nash had helped drive that out of my mind for a while, but the moment my alarm rang—
I jerked upright, picturing the worst.
I whacked the alarm off, then sank back down. No Harlon. Whew. Right now, all I had to face was work.
Nash was asleep, but his arms were still looped around me. He smelled as good as ever — like pines and a fresh breeze. I stroked his arm, staring off into the darkness for a while, thinking. Would this change things between us? Did I want it to?
The digits on my clock blinked, changing to three forty-six. I gave myself until three fifty, then quietly slipped out of bed and looked at Nash.
His arms protected the space I’d vacated, and he looked uncharacteristically carefree. A little younger, a little happier. A lot calmer.
A good look, especially with the background being my bed.
My heart panged. I really wouldn’t mind keeping things that way.
I felt my way down the ladder, found my robe, and made coffee for two in the dark. Then I climbed to the top rung and tapped on Nash’s leg.
“Nash. Time to get up.”
He pulled his leg away and tightened his arms around my empty space.
My heart warmed, and I wished I could let him sleep. But it really was time to get going.
“Nash…”
When his arms closed over nothing, he stirred, then shot upright, fists balled.
I gave him a wave to say,I’m right here, everything is okay, and yes, we really did have raging sex last night. I loved it, by the way.
Well, one little wave might not have captured all that, but he got the drift. His body relaxed, and his eyes sparkled at me. Then he rubbed his face, still drowsy.
“Coming.”
Our clothes were strewn all over the floor, which meant that any minute now, six feet of naked, rippled man-flesh would step into view. I licked my lips, imaging that. Then I blushed, because I didn’t have to imagine it. Not now that I’d seen —andkissedandtouched — just about every inch of him.
Still, my heart did a little cha-cha when he came down.
Heat shot to my cheeks, and after five spellbound seconds of gazing into his eyes, I avoided the inevitable awkwardness of a morning-after by pecking his lips — then racing to the bathroom.
“Just taking a quick shower…”
I took my coffee with me, chugging half down before setting it on the bathroom sink. The shower, as usual, ran cold for a painfully long time before going lukewarm. But, heck. Maybe a cold shower was just what I needed to focus on the day ahead.
The door creaked, and the shower curtain billowed outward. It was translucent but printed with enough constellations to distract the eye. Well, most of the time. Now, my eyes went right to Nash’s…um, star attractions.
He set his mug next to mine. “Mind if I join you? Seeing as time is short, I mean.”
Cheap excuse, but a welcome one.
“Sure. Come in,” I said, turning away.
I might have looked and sounded casual, but my heart rate tripled.
The curtain rings rasped over the rod, and the shower heated right up. Not the water. Just the mood.
I passed the bar of soap over my shoulder, then lathered shampoo into my hair.
