Blame It on the Bikini - By Natalie Anderson Page 0,54

get more sustenance there too. But what the woman needed was some sleep. She needed to take better care of herself. He needed to take better care of her. He hated how hard she worked. And he hated how it had been his fault she’d had so little sleep last night—and not from energetic bedroom games but talking. Off-loading all his troubles about Gage. He didn’t feel comfortable about that either. It was time to ease back a bit, get them back into the playful groove. Lighten it up the way he liked it. But his mood was bleak—worried about Gage, worried about Mya, and, frankly, worried about himself and his ability to handle it all.

Eventually he heard her arrive, her heels clipping along the hallway. He rolled onto his stomach and closed his eyes, feigning deep sleep—too late to switch the light off.

‘Brad?’

A stage whisper that he ignored. He counted his breathing, trying to keep it deep and regular.

She touched his shoulder, and he braced to stop the flinch as her fingertips stroked. She had a soft touch, but not shy. He made the counting in his head louder so he wouldn’t smile. The thing she needed most right now was sleep, not an hour getting physical with him.

‘Brad?’

He was asleep; hadn’t she got that already?

She sighed. The edge of disappointment nearly broke his resolve. He’d make it up to her tomorrow. He’d disable her alarm and let her sleep late. Then he’d wake her slow—morning sex was the way to start the day, and they’d never yet managed it in any kind of leisurely fashion. And Christmas morning meant the café would be closed.

She walked a couple of paces away. He carefully opened his eyes and saw her back was to him. He could see the weariness in her shoulders, in the way she rubbed her forehead as if there was a residual ache there before she began to undress. He wished she wouldn’t work as hard as she did. He wished she’d damn well let him help her out. She could drop one of her jobs; he’d see to it that she didn’t starve.

He was so busy thinking he didn’t notice that she’d turned around. Or that he was supposed to be out like a light.

‘You’re awake.’

He snapped his eyes shut but he knew it was too late.

‘Brad!’

Busted. ‘I was asleep.’

‘You were pretending to be asleep!’ She sounded outraged. ‘Why were you pretending to be asleep?’ She supplied the answer before he could even open his mouth. ‘You didn’t want to have to perform tonight? You’re lying there feigning sleep like some unfulfilled spouse trying to avoid duty sex?’

‘Mya—’

‘Are you bored already?’

It was the hurt behind the indignance that got him moving. He shot out of bed. ‘Does it look like I’m bored?’

His erection was so hard it hurt, his skin pulled tighter than ever before. All he wanted to do was bury himself deep in her heat and find the release. He wanted those sensations that only she could give, to steal away all the thoughts that tormented him, to be as close as they’d been last night with nothing between them.

‘If you didn’t want me to come tonight, all you had to do is tell me.’ She ignored his evidential display.

‘I want you to come.’ And yes, he meant that in the teenage double-entendre way.

‘Then what are you doing pretending you’re asleep?’ Arms folded, foot tapping, she waited.

He sighed. He was a condemned man. His answer would annoy her but she wouldn’t let him get away with not explaining himself to her. ‘I thought you needed some sleep.’

Her jaw dropped.

‘Look at you,’ he said. ‘You’re exhausted.’

‘The shadows beneath my eyes are a turn-off, is that it?’ she queried—not hiding the hint of hurt. ‘You’re not doing a lot for my ego here.’

‘Mya,’ he said coaxingly and reached for her.

She pulled back out of reach. Totally put out. ‘I work two jobs and study on top of that, so exhaustion is normal. I’m sorry if I can’t live up to the high-gloss appearance of your usual lovers. Maybe you need to stick to ladies of leisure.’

‘Mya.’ He tried to laugh it off, gesturing at his erection. ‘It’s perfectly clear your appearance is still lethal for me.’

She wasn’t buying it. ‘You can’t tell me you didn’t pull some all-nighters when you were studying. It’s normal student behaviour.’

‘Not every assignment, I didn’t.’

‘Well, bully for you for being more organised than me.’

‘No one can be more organised than you.