Page 153 of Lost Trust

I nod.

Something changes in his expression. He doesn’t ask anything else. He pulls off his shirt, jeans, and boots, leaving himself in his boxer briefs, before climbing into bed beside me.

I turn toward him, settling against his chest, and his arms come around me.

The weight of the day begins to melt away. All of it fades beneath the steady warmth of his body and the slow rhythm of his breathing.

I close my eyes.

And let go.

I wake up to the sound of a phone vibrating against the nightstand. I reach over without opening my eyes and feel around for it, but all I find is smooth wood.

Royce stirs beside me, and I sit up, blinking against the light drifting in through the window above my dresser. The vibrating finally stops, and I realize it was coming from his jeans, which are tossed over the chair by the door.

I take advantage of him being asleep and let my eyes wander over him. His hair is sticking up in every direction, a dark sprinkle of stubble covers his jaw, and his bare chest rises and falls with each breath.

It should be illegal to look that damn good first thing in the morning.

I run my fingers over the rippling muscles that vanish beneath the sheet covering his hips. His hand comes up and grabs my wrist.

“Good morning,” he mutters, his voice gravelly from sleep.

“Morning. Do you know how I ended up in bed with you last night?” I ask.

He pops one eye open. “You begged me to stay.”

“I begged?” I say. “Hmm, I don’t remember that at all.”

His lips twitch as I tug my hand from his grip and trace one of his nipples with my fingernail.

I reach down and tug my shorts off before sliding a leg over his waist, sitting astride him, and planting my hands on his chest.

He’s fully awake now.

“Nice shirt,” he says as it falls off one shoulder. He brushes a finger over the exposed skin.

“Should I take it off?” I ask, grabbing the hem of the tee.

“Careful, baby,” he warns. “It’s the morning.”

I rock my hips, my bare sex sliding over his stomach and my bare ass grazing the erection that’s currently straining against his cotton boxer briefs.

He sits up, resting his back on the headboard, causing me to fall forward.

Fisting a hand into my hair, he pulls my mouth to his, and I gasp in surprise. He glides his tongue between my lips, claiming me with a deep, hungry kiss.

I cup his face, and my palms brush over the stubble on his cheeks as I kiss him back. Not giving a damn that I haven’t brushed my teeth.

A moan rises in my throat, and he tears his mouth from mine.

“Fuuuuuck,” he groans as I sink my teeth into his bottom lip.

He lets his head fall back, giving me full access as I lick and nip my way down his throat and across his collarbone. Raking my teeth over his right nipple before flicking it with my tongue.

His cock is lying thick and heavy against his stomach beneath me, and I bear down on it as I continue nibbling at his chest.

He hooks a finger under my chin and guides my eyes up to his.