Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
“Don’t apologize,” I say, but my voice is hoarse. I want to kiss her so bad I think I might be dying.
But I don’t. Instead, I lean back and let her settle, and within five minutes, her head is right back on my shoulder. Salty has wormed his way between us, content to play chaperone, but he’s not enough of a barrier to keep me from wanting more.
I put my arm along the back of the couch and gently rub circles on her upper back, and her whole body relaxes like I just flipped a switch. She makes a soft noise in the back of her throat, a sound that hits me below the belt and sends my brain into overdrive.
I have to take it slow. I know that. But I want her so bad it’s physically painful.
The movie ends, and she’s sound asleep, snoring softly. I don’t want to wake her up and disturb this moment. But I also don’t want to give up the chance to be this close to her. I grab a blanket off the back of the sofa and wrap it around us. Salty glances up at me sleepily with a look that screams, “Are we really going to sleep on the sofa like peasants?” I tuck his little ass between us on top of the cover and pull Nadia closer. It isn’t the most comfortable position, but I’ll happily wake up a little sore if it means holding her in my arms all night long.
CHAPTER FIVE
NADIA
When I wake up, it takes me a solid ten seconds to remember where the hell I am. When I pry open my eyes, I’m not in my own bed. I’m not even in my own apartment. I’m stretched out across the soft leather sofa with a fleece blanket tangled around me and a hot, hard wall of human at my back. My hair is tangled around my head, and my jeans are bunched around my waist. Salty is sitting on my chest, two inches from my face, staring down at me. The second he sees my eyelids flutter, he launches a full-scale tongue assault, licking my nose, my lips, and, when I try to squirm away, the inside of my left nostril.
“Ahh—okay, okay, I’m up!” I splutter, fighting the world’s most aggressive alarm clock.
Jay shifts behind me and, for one split second, I think he’s still asleep. His face is nuzzled right at the junction of my shoulder and neck, one hand fisted in the hem of my sweater, the other splayed possessively across my ribs.
Then he mumbles something directly into my neck. It’s mostly muffled vowels, but I catch, “—best morning ever,” before he blinks and looks at me with these soft, molten-brown eyes.
Salty, satisfied with his work, climbs off my face and wedges himself between us with a deep, dramatic sigh.
“Good morning,” Jay says, voice still thick with sleep.
I try to laugh, but it comes out as a half-choke, half-giggle. “I can’t believe we slept on your sofa.”
“I wasn’t about to give up the chance to spend the night with you in my arms,” he says, deadpan. Then he tightens his grip like I might try to run.
I wince, knowing how I normally look in the morning. “I’m sure I’m a hot mess right now.”
Jay grins, all sleepy and sinful, and drops a kiss to my temple. “You look perfect.” Then, as if reading my mind, he adds, “Best night of my life. No contest.”
Then, as if on cue, Salty explodes into a paroxysm of morning energy, running laps around the coffee table and whining until Jay drags himself off the couch. “Let me take His Majesty for a walk, then we can have some coffee,” he says, stretching and giving me a full view of the sort of muscles that belong in magazines, or maybe on marble statues.
“I’m going to head to my place to shower and change clothes while you guys go out for a walk.” And brush my teeth. Eww. My breath tastes like I ate some of Salty’s dry dog food. “Then I’ll come back for coffee,” I add, because I really want to spend more time with them.
“We can ride down the elevator together,” Jay tells me as he kneels down to put a harness and leash on Salty.
We leave Jay’s apartment, Salty trotting along like a furry bodyguard. In the elevator, Jay crowds me into the corner and presses his mouth to mine, slow and deep, until I’m dizzy and practically forget my own name. I definitely forget about morning breath and all that.
The elevator stops on my floor, and he follows me off. “You don’t have to walk me to my door,” I tell him, watching as Salty does a very dramatic potty dance.
“Sure, we do.” Jay takes my hand in his and walks side-by-side with me while the little Frenchie leads the way. I unlock my door, barely step inside, and Jay just hauls me right up against him, like he can’t stand to be an inch away. His hands are huge and hot, one braced on my hip, the other sliding up my back. I barely have a second to catch my breath before he crushes his mouth to mine.