Page 70 of Chasing the Sun

He smiled and patted the mattress. “Climb in.”

She made quite a show of climbing onto the bed, the curve of her backside peeking out from under the T-shirt. He almost regretted giving it to her, wishing she were still naked instead, but he hadn’t wanted to seem presumptuous or greedy.

She snuggled under the covers, her hair fanned out on the pillow, and he paused for a moment, overtaken by her beauty.

“Aren’t you getting in?”

“Yeah.” He crawled in next to her, and she immediately laid her head on his shoulder and wound a bare leg between his.

“I didn’t really need the T-shirt, but it was a nice gesture.”

He gave her a squeeze. “I didn’t want to assume anything.”

“So, you don’t want us to have sex again tonight?”

“I didn’t say that.”

She giggled and placed a sweet kiss in the middle of his chest. “I guess we should try to get some sleep, but I can’t promise I won’t wake you up in the middle of the night.”

“I might wake you up first.”

She lit up the room with her smile. “Good night, Bryce.”

This was the first time she’d said those words and hadn’t left to go upstairs. She was in his bed, under his skin, and seeping into his heart. She might end up breaking it too, but for now, he drew her close, kissed the top of her head, and whispered, “Good night, Chloe.”

Chapter 23

Chloe awoke the next morning to the smell of bacon, one of her favorite scents next to her new favorite—Bryce. She stretched her arms overhead and was surprised at how sore they were, and then her face flushed when she remembered why. She’d woken him up in the middle of the night, though he said he hadn’t really been sleeping, and they’d spent a couple of hours stretching their sexual muscles, muscles she hadn’t used in quite some time.

She glanced at the bedside clock, saw it was almost nine, and remembered Molly was due home at eleven. She shoved off the covers, grabbed the Florida Gators T-shirt from off the floor, and slipped it over her head. Then she hurriedly used the bathroom, ran her fingers through her messy hair, and padded into the kitchen.

Bryce was at the stove, scrambling eggs in a pan, wearing only his plaid sleep pants. He looked deep in thought, and she felt a flicker of worry until he glanced up and smiled.

“Well, good morning, sleeping beauty.”

“Good morning, Prince Charming.” She enjoyed playful Bryce and wished he were like this more often. He was a lot of fun when he decided to let his guard down.

He chuckled. “Mind pouring the juice?”

“Not at all.”

On her way past him to the refrigerator, he surprised her by turning away from the stove and holding out his arms. “How about a kiss first?”

She went into his embrace but shook her head.

“No?”

“Morning breath,” she muttered through clenched teeth.

He dropped a quick kiss on her lips anyway and then let her go.

“You, of anyone, should know about bad breath!”

“Excuse me?”

“Because you’re a dentist, not because you have it.”

He laughed. “Yes, I’m very familiar with simple chronic halitosis.”