Page 90 of Close to Heaven

Twenty-Six

Avery stretched her arms overhead and cracked open her eyes. The blinds were closed, but a sliver of sunshine poked through the slats, indicating that it was daytime. She reached over and patted the space beside her, expecting to feel a hard male body, but instead, all she felt was a pile of rumpled covers. The illuminated numbers on the alarm clock caught her attention, and as she bolted upright, the sheet fell away from her bare breasts, reminding her she was still naked.

It was past eight o’clock in the morning, which surprised her because she rarely slept past seven. Of course, all the physical activities from last night had probably worn her out in the best possible way.

She inhaled deeply and smelled the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. “Yay!” She pushed off the covers and climbed out of bed. “Brrr…cold.”

Shivering, she padded across the wood floor and frantically searched for her clothes. The first thing she found was Jax’s discarded flannel shirt from last night, so she plucked it off the floor, put it on, and hastily buttoned it up.

“Where are my clothes?” Then nature called, and she hurried into the bathroom. While she was there, she noticed a pair of his boxer shorts folded neatly on the bathroom counter. Had he left them there for her? They weren’t the ones he’d worn last night, so she slipped them on and tucked the flannel shirt inside the waistband to help keep them up.

She glanced at herself in the mirror and laughed at the mismatched, disheveled woman staring back at her. Since she had no idea where her clothes were and she hadn’t brought an overnight bag with her, this would have to do. Besides, the aroma of coffee was too alluring to waste any more time.

A few minutes later, she entered the kitchen and was rewarded with a magnificent sight. Jax was at the stove with his back to her, shirtless and scrambling eggs in a pan. He obviously hadn’t heard her come in, and she took the opportunity to soak him in (as if she hadn’t already done that all night long).

Her gaze traveled down his muscular back to his tapered waist, pausing at the sexy indents just above the waistband of his boxer shorts. She followed the curve of his tight buns, down the back of his thighs, and landed on his bare feet. As her gaze traveled back up, he cleared his throat, and she jerked her head up and met his eyes.

“Morning,” he said, looking amused.

“Morning.”

Then it was his turn to peruse her, and he grinned at the sight of her wearing his clothes.

“I couldn’t find my clothes,” she said as she moved further into the kitchen.

He set down the spatula and pulled her into his arms. “Who needs clothes? They just get in the way.”

She looped her arms around his neck and pressed her body closer, soaking up his warmth and masculine scent. Then she peered over his shoulder at the eggs.

“Are those going to burn?”

“Crap!” He let her go and turned back to the stove.

Giggling, she took a mug off the wooden holder and poured herself a cup of coffee. “Need any help?”

“Nope. I’ve got it all under control. Have a seat.”

“Where’s Smoky?” she asked as she sat down at the kitchen table.

“Outside, wandering around. He’ll be back as soon as he smells breakfast.”

She sipped her coffee while Jax came to the table, balancing two plates of eggs and toast and his coffee mug.

“Wow. Impressive,” she said.

“I used to wait tables,” he said and sat down beside her.

“You did?”

“Yep. That was my job while I was in college.”

“I bet you got a lot of tips, especially from the ladies.” She wriggled her brows at him, though the thought of it made her jealous.

“I did okay,” he said, smirking at her over his coffee mug.

Now that she had a plate of food in front of her, she realized how hungry she was. At some point last night, they’d taken a break from lovemaking, gone downstairs, and eaten some snacks, but they hadn’t officially eaten dinner.

“Did you happen to see my clothes this morning?” she asked in between bites.