I push myself up to sitting and wipe my watery eyes as I look over at him.
He’s flopped back against the pillows, watching me in a state of shocked euphoria.
“Fucking hell. Best blow job I’ve ever had. Christ.” He’s breathing heavy, and his voice comes out as a ragged rasp that makes the hair on the back of my neck prickle.
He’s looking at me in awe, and I grin proudly.
“Honestly, I’m not kidding. I think my soul left my body there for a few seconds.”
I burst out laughing and crawl up his body, settling myself against him. His arm slips around me, his thumb drawing lazy patterns on my back as he cuddles me. He smells amazing, raw, sexual, and I press my face into his neck, snuggling into him as he pulls the sheets up around us.
I’m so relaxed and satiated that my brain is already turning off.
“So, what are you like then? What kind of sleeper are you?” he asks, turning his head and planting a soft kiss on my forehead.
“Stage five clinger,” I joke.
He laughs, a deep rumble that I feel against my body. He stretches one arm over the side of the bed, and I think he’s about to turn off the light, but instead, he picks up his phone.
I watch as he goes into his Clock app and sets an alarm for five thirty.
“So early,” I grumble. “Who schedules meetings for six thirty?”
“My days are long sometimes. It’s chaos at the moment with this merger. I promise I’ll try not to wake you when I get up.”
He turns his head and kisses me. I sigh contentedly when I pull away and nuzzle into his neck, my eyes fluttering closed.
Seconds later, I hear the click of a camera. I groan and try to cover my face, but he’s already got what he wanted. He shows me the screen, and I simper when I look at the photo he took. It’s him, grinning up at the camera and me snuggled into his neck. You can’t really make out my face, but you can see a small, satisfied smile on my mouth. It’s tasteful, and it doesn’t show anything inappropriate other than my naked back and his naked chest. It’s so intimate that I feel my face flush.
“New screen saver. That’ll get me through some long workdays.”
He pushes his phone onto the bedside table and switches off the light before turning towards me, pulling my body closer to his as he tangles our legs. It’s so comfortable that I already know I’ll hate sleeping alone from now on. His naked skin on mine is all I can think about as I descend into sleep, wrapped securely in his arms.
seven
I wake before the alarm even has a chance to go off. Somehow, I know I’m alone. I roll onto my back, stretching so hard that my legs shake. A satiated grin slips onto my face. My muscles ache in a delightful way they haven’t in a long, long time. I can smell him on the bedclothes and on me. I smile wider.
Best. Night’s. Sleep. Ever.
Rolling, I check the time to see it’s still ten minutes before my alarm is due. A piece of folded paper next to my lamp catches my eye. It has my name written on the front.
I reach for it and sit up, clutching the sheets against my naked chest. Jared’s handwriting is a small, neat print.
Amy,
I didn’t want to wake you.
Call me when you get up.
Jared x
I grin and flop back against the pillow, letting out a little squeal of delight as my teeth sink into my bottom lip. Last night was everything I’d dreamed it would be and more.
I clutch the note to my chest as events from last night play out in my head—his taste, his touch, his smell. Excitement bubbles in my tummy at the thought of speaking to him. Swinging my legs out of the bed, I grab my dressing gown from the chair and pull it on, knowing I need to start my morning routine before I call. As usual, I have just over an hour to get ready before I have to leave for work, and after last night, my hair is sure to be a wild sex knot at the back of my head, so I need to allow extra time for that.
After a quick stop in the bathroom to pee, I head to the kitchen and pick up the kettle, filling it and turning it on.
I can’t wait any longer. I need to speak to him.
I dial his number and lean against the counter, chewing on my lip, hoping he’ll suggest another date because if he blows me off after last night, I’m going to be devastated.
He answers on the second ring. There’s a heated discussion going on in the background as he says, “Good morning, Amy. Would you hold one moment, please?”
His voice is professional and curt, and I don’t know why, but it turns me on even more. I feel a shiver tickle down my spine as I remember that voice purring dirty things to me last night.
“Sure.”
“Gentlemen, would you excuse me, please? I have to step out and take this,” Jared says off the phone.
I wince when I realise he’s still in his morning meeting he mentioned. Awkward.
There are muffled voices and murmurs of agreement and then sounds of a door closing.
Then, he’s back on the line. “Hi. Sorry about that.”
“You’re still in your meeting? Sorry. I should have texted instead of calling. I got your note, so …”
“No problem. I was waiting for your call anyway. Did I wake you when I did my walk of shame this morning?”
I chuckle. “No, I sleep like the dead.”
“That’s good. I tried to be as quiet as I could. Though, I must admit, I was kind of hoping you would wake up. Do you have any idea how hard that was for me, leaving you naked and unravaged in the bed like that?”
I close my eyes at his seductive tone and grin. “How hard?” I flirt.
“Rock hard.” He blows out a big breath that crackles on the line. “I had a great time last night.” His voice drops an octave, and I can tell he’s thinking back to our naughty exploits.
I swallow and feel the blush heat my cheeks. “Me too,” I admit, reaching up to grab a mug as the kettle starts to boil.
As I pluck out a mug, I notice the plates in my kitchen cupboard have been reorganised, stacked neatly according to size—smallest to largest. I frown and then notice that my kitchen looks different from how I left it last night. The plates and glasses we used for dinner are gone from the sink. My gaze flicks back to the cupboard, and there they are—washed, dried, and put away in an orderly little stack. Even the empty pizza box is missing from the side.
“Jared, did you tidy my kitchen?” I glance around, seeing he even wiped the sides and folded my tea towel, hanging it from one of the drawer handles.
He clears his throat. “Uh, yeah. I just washed up the stuff we used last night. I didn’t want you to have to wake up to it.”
I blanch, my scalp prickling from the sweetness of that gesture. My hand tightens on the handle of the kettle as I pour hot water over my tea bag. “That’s super cute,” I gush, grinning.
He just laughs, and I can imagine the twinkle of his eye and shrug of his shoulders.
“How’s your meeting going?” I ask.
He groans. “Not good. I think we’ll be here a while.”
“Ah, hopefully not a day like yesterday where you don’t have time to eat,” I reply, straining the tea bag on the side of my mug and stepping on the pedal of the bin.
As the lid lifts and I’m half a second from dropping my tea bag, I notice there’s no bag inside the bin. My heart clenches. He even emptied my bin and took it and the used pizza box out for me.