me awake, but sleep was pulling at me pretty damned insistently. I saw his lips move but didn’t hear his words as I drifted into the best sleep I’d had in years.
14
Kit
I woke when my phone started buzzing on the nightstand next to me.
It took me a moment to work out what felt strange. As one hand flailed around for my phone, I opened a bleary eye and saw the reason with her damned beautiful hair splayed out all over my pillow and my arm. I was smiling before I’d fully registered everything that was going through my head.
I’d never woken up with a woman before that wasn’t part of a job. I’d never wanted to. I’d also never had a woman in my bed since I was about eighteen. It made for an easier getaway when you were at theirs. Let them fall asleep, then slip out without any awkward discussion about repeat performances or number swapping. Some people called it cowardly, some called it a dick move, and I called it tactical.
But I’d watched Amber fall asleep the night before and felt nothing but warmth and happiness. I’d had no inclination to get her to her bed or to leave her there in mine. I’d wanted to hold her close and feel her heartbeat against mine as I let myself fall asleep. So, I’d done exactly that.
And now, watching her wrinkle her nose in her sleep, I had no inclination to leave her. But it was past nine and I needed to go to work. I needed to get to work and I was conflicted; I didn’t want to disturb her but I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye either.
I managed to slide out of bed without waking her up – she just made my heart hitch in my chest at the way she snuggled down into my bed like she belonged there. I showered with a smile on my face and, when I was finished, she was still asleep. I carefully moved around my room as I got dressed, keeping my eye on the sleeping beauty in my bed. And I couldn’t wipe the goofy smile off my face the whole damned time.
After I pulled on my jacket, I leant over and kissed her temple. “Have a good day, gorgeous,” I whispered.
She didn’t seem to wake properly, but she smiled and mumbled, “You too.”
I had to stop myself skipping out the door like the grown arse man I was.
“Good morning, Donald,” I said as I stepped into the lift.
“Morning, Mr Grayson. You’re in a good mood for a Monday.”
I smiled at him. “I am.”
I don’t want to admit it, but I’m pretty sure I had to stop myself dancing a little on the way to my SUV and I just had to hope the security cameras hadn’t picked up my uncharacteristic behaviour.
As I drove to work, I wondered why the hell I felt so good.
Yes, I’d been somewhat deprived of sex lately and it felt good to release all that pent-up energy. But it was more than that; I hadn’t been this excited about sex since I’d lost my virginity.
It had to be Amber. It was something about that absolutely gorgeous little geek that had me smiling like an idiot. Something about that funny, sassy, beautiful woman that just made me crazy about her.
“Your best mate’s little sister,” I reminded myself, and felt like I’d been dunked in another icy lake. “Fuck.”
I punched the steering wheel as I pulled into my parking spot.
“Fuck!” I leant on the steering wheel and shook my head. “What the fuck have you done, you idiot?”
I took a deep breath and forced myself to relax.
“He’s just going to have to deal. No. Better yet. He doesn’t have to know,” I muttered to myself as I got out of the car. “Talk to Amber tonight, then work out if Hawk does or doesn’t need to know.”
I had no idea what I was going to say to Amber, what our conversation would involve, but just at the thought of her I was grinning again.
“You are fucked,” I told myself as I took the lift up to the office.
I was the first one in, unsurprisingly. But that was good because I caught myself humming along to the radio a couple of times. I didn’t realise I was singing along with ‘Original Prankster’ until I heard a noise behind me.
I whirled, my hand instinctively going to my back, to find Rollie and Hawk standing at