We got into my rental and I turned the heat up. It was six in the morning and I’d had less than three hours of sleep. I couldn’t wait to get back to the bed and breakfast and stretch out on a real bed. Three more hours would be plenty. The only question was whether or not I could get Noelle to come with me. I wasn’t even particularly interested in sex at this early juncture, but cuddling with her, spending a little time alone would be nice. She was always running off somewhere to do something, and for once, I wanted to just hang out.
“Sorry I had to tell him you were my boyfriend,” she said once we were on the road. “It was the easiest way to diffuse the situation.”
“No worries. That’s what I figured.” I reached across the center console for her hand. “So, since we’re a couple now, I have a question.”
“Hmm?” She was half asleep.
“Want to come back to my place with me and take a nap? I’m serious about the nap too. This isn’t some half-assed ploy to get you into bed, because if that was the case, I’d just say that’s what I wanted. And let me be clear—I would very much like to get you into bed, just not when we’re both dead on our feet like we are now.”
“I’m twenty-seven,” she said, gazing over at me. “This would not be the first time I’ve slept with a guy without having sex. I’ll also be honest and say that I would very much like to see you naked at some point, but you’re right, not when we’re both exhausted like this. The way I feel right now, I think I’d sleep through it.”
“Trust me, sweetheart. If and when that happens, you’re not going to sleep through any of it.”
“I have no doubt.” Her eyes fluttered closed but there was a smile on her lips as she leaned back in the seat.
We slept more than three hours. It was almost seven-thirty before we finally got into bed and the next time I looked at my phone, it was noon. Noelle was still fast asleep, snoring softly, and I took a moment to drink in the sight of her in my bed. She looked so young when she slept, her face devoid of makeup and buried in the side of her pillow. She was striking, though, even with those beautiful green eyes closed. Her pink lips were parted softly, and they were curved into the tiniest smile, as if she were dreaming about something nice.
Desire rippled through me.
I really wanted to touch her but even though she’d slept beside me willingly, I’d never assume anything about a woman I was interested in having sex with. Until she was awake enough to give me a green light, I’d have to be happy just watching her sleep. She was sleeping hard, too, as if she didn’t sleep enough. I thought she was gorgeous, but there was no mistaking the faint dark circles under her eyes or the wariness in her eyes when I asked her things like where her gloves were. I sensed she didn’t have any, but she was cagey about those types of things.
She wasn’t letting on how broke she was, but since I wanted to sleep with her, any exchange of money would make that weird. Maybe not in the grand scheme of things since guys gave their girlfriends money all the time, but this was different. She wasn’t my real girlfriend and I was leaving town soon.
I was contemplating my next move when she shifted, her eyes fluttering open as she squinted at me.
“Morning,” I said softly. “Did I wake you?”
“No.” She muffled a yawn and turned onto her back. “What time is it?”
“Just after noon.”
“Wow. I never sleep this late.”
“You looked like you needed it.”
“I don’t sleep well in general, so I probably did.” She sat up and looked around. “I barely remember getting here.”
“Me either. You hungry?”
“I could eat.”
“I texted Rudy, the owner here, when I woke up and explained we’d had a family emergency last night, so he agreed to make us breakfast when we got up. What do you think?”
“Sounds awesome. I could use a shower, though.”
“Go ahead and take one. I’ll take mine later.”
“Thank you.” She flashed me a sweet smile, grabbed her jeans off the floor and disappeared into the bathroom.
God, I could only imagine what she looked like in there. Naked. Water glistening on her skin. My dick immediately stiffened behind my sweats, and I sighed, forcing myself to think about other things. I’d been too tired to think about seducing her last night but now that we were awake and she was walking around my room, I couldn’t think of anything else.
I pulled on jeans and a T-shirt, lamenting the fact that I’d only brought enough clothes for a few days and now I needed to do laundry. Hopefully, I could throw Rudy a few bucks and he’d take care of it for me. Just like he’d agreed to make us a late breakfast after I told him to add whatever he thought was fair to my bill.
Suddenly, I had an idea. I needed clothes and if I asked her to take me shopping then I could find a way to buy her a few things too. It was a half-assed plan that might backfire, but I had to try. Besides, it was the holidays, and I liked doing things for others. It was usually more in the form of charitable donations, but one-on-one was a nice change of pace. I wanted to do something more to help Connie too, and I brought it up at breakfast.
“How bad are things for Connie and Craig?” I asked her once we had steaming plates of eggs and bacon in front of us.
She sighed. “Pretty bad. Craig lost his job when Connie was pregnant and hasn’t done much of anything to get back on his feet. They live in subsidized housing, of course, but it’s not enough and the last thing they needed was another kid. I mean, Alexander isn’t his—Connie had him with her ex—but they shouldn’t have had a baby. Craig is one of those guys I just want to shake. I don’t know what she sees in him.”
“It takes two to tango,” he pointed out.
“Absolutely, and Connie has the worst taste in men. Always has. Craig was good with Alexander at first, so she thought she’d finally found the one, and to be fair, he’s a nice guy. He’s generally kind and gentle with her and the kids, he doesn’t hit her or anything—and Alex’s father did, so that’s a step up—but he can’t keep a job and, frankly, any guy who whines about wearing a condom, well, that just pisses me off.”
I grimaced. “Really? Unwanted pregnancies and potential diseases are better than wearing a condom?”
She shrugged, popping a piece of biscuit in her mouth before saying, “Seems that way.”
“The bare skin type condoms are good,” I said, taking a sip of coffee. “I mean, actually bare is better, but not by a ton. And frankly, I can go for a long time with a condom—which is always better for the woman.”
Her eyes met mine over the rim of her coffee cup. “How long is a long time?” she asked in a slightly raspy voice.
Christ.
My cock sprang to attention and I was glad that the tablecloth covered most of my lap.
“Long enough to get you off twice,” I responded, despite promising myself I wouldn’t go this route with her. “Maybe three times.”
A smile played on her lips. “I’ll probably have to see it to believe it.”
God dammit. She was hard-core flirting now, practically begging me to take her to bed, and I wanted to take her shopping instead. There was something very wrong with this picture, but I had to be strong.