Page 44 of Big Girl Panties

"If you want," I said quickly, then softer, "I want you to."

His arms tightened around me, just a fraction. "Then I'm not going anywhere."

Something in his voice made me think he wasn't just talking about tonight. I closed my eyes, letting myself believe it.

Matt's arms shifted, tightening around me before he lifted us both from the couch in one fluid motion. I kept my eyes closed as he carried me, trusting him completely, feeling weightless and safe. The familiar creak of my bedroom door, the soft whisper of sheets being pulled back.

We settled into the bed slowly, a careful choreography of limbs finding their place. Matt's chest pressed against my back, and I could feel his breath gradually evening out against my neck, the tension finally leaving his shoulders.

I was drifting off to sleep, Matt's arm wrapped around my waist, when the familiar thud of paws hitting the mattress echoed through the quiet room.

Karen landed with all the grace of a small calico bulldozer, immediately positioning herself between Matt and me like a furry bouncer.

"Seriously?" Matt mumbled into his pillow, his voice thick with sleep.

Karen shot Matt a look that could have melted steel. Her green eyes narrowed to slits, and she let out a low, disgruntled meow that roughly translated to "Move it, human. You're in my spot."

I bit back a laugh. "She was here first, technically."

Karen stepped directly onto Matt's chest, kneading with her claws just enough to make her point. Matt winced.

"Okay, okay, I surrender." Matt reached up and began scratching behind Karen's ears, his fingers working through the soft fur. "There. Happy now, Your Majesty?"

The transformation was immediate. Karen's entire demeanor shifted from offended royalty to a purring puddle of contentment. She melted under Matt's touch, her eyes closing to happy slits as a rumbling purr filled the room.

"Traitor," I whispered to Karen, who was now curling up on Matt's pillow, her tail twitching with satisfaction.

Matt grinned at me in the dim light. "I think we've reached a peace treaty."

Karen stretched one paw to rest on Matt's shoulder, claiming her territory while simultaneously accepting her new bed-mate.

Matt was already closing his eyes, Karen's purr serving as the world's most effective white noise machine.

Chapter 17

Trust Falls and Shower Walls

My eyes eased open, a warmth spreading through my chest as memories of last night flooded forward. I shifted in the bed, reaching out instinctively, fingers meeting cold sheets. My heart clenched, that familiar ache of disappointment seeping in. The other side of the bed was empty.

He was gone.

I knew better than to get my hopes up, but I did.

Rolling over, I tossed my feet off the bed, curling my toes on the cool floor. A cocktail of emotions swirled through my chest as I reached for my t-shirt and pulled it over my head.

It was five in the morning, and I had to be at a café by six-thirty. So, it was time to get up.

Wiping my eyes, I stumbled toward the kitchen, prepared to find Karen destroying something, when I froze in the doorway.

There, standing at the kitchen sink in nothing but gym shorts and a light sheen of sweat, was six feet four inches of pure, ridiculous attractiveness. Matt was not only still here, he was apparently trying to domesticate the coffee maker while looking like he'd stepped out of a fitness magazine. My breath caught, and a surge of warmth flooded through me, part relief, part desire, and an unexpected feeling of rightness that both thrilled and terrified me.

"Please tell me you're not actually a morning person." My voice came out as an attractive croak. "Because if you are, this relationship is doomed."

He looked up, grinning in a way that should have been illegal before sunrise. "Good morning, beautiful."

"Fair warning, I'm much more charming after I've had coffee and convinced myself I'm a functioning adult."

"I thought you were a morning person?"