Floored - Karla Sorensen Page 0,37

its way along the back of the couch, my fingers draped just to the outside of her shoulder, and the length of her hair tickled my arm. "No," I murmured. "I reckon I wouldn't as long as you look that happy."

Lia finished chewing another bite, swallowed delicately before she set the plate down. "Are you giving me flirty eyes, Jude McAllister?"

"You tell me," I murmured.

Instead of answering, she took another bite, lips curled in a smile.

My fingers tugged lightly on her hair. "I don't quite know what to do with you, Lia Ward, and that's the truth."

Her cheeks flushed a lovely soft pink, and I took the moment of quiet to snatch the rest of her chip butty off the plate.

"Oh, you ass!" She laughed, leaning forward to grab it. I was too quick, though, devouring the rest of the sandwich with one massive bite. Before she could resume her original position, I tugged on her arm as I fell backward on the couch.

Quite naturally, she landed tucked against my side with my arm curled around her shoulder. Her head fit perfectly into the crook of my neck, and I inhaled a deep lungful of her clean, wonderful scent. There was no change to Lia's body, it was far too early for that, and maybe this type of thing was the worst bloody idea I'd ever had, but it felt right.

"We went from hypothetical flirty eyes to cuddling very quickly," she said, finger tracing circles on my chest.

"That we did." I closed my eyes. When was the last time I'd felt this bone-deep sense of rightness anywhere other than the pitch? I was always moving, always going, always driving myself forward to fix or do or work.

Rarely did I get quiet moments of peace. The thought of ending this particular one seemed like a crime.

I barely knew her. She didn't know me any better. Yet we'd agreed we could make our own rules. And why shouldn't we?

I wasn't going to ignore how singularly perfect it felt, doing something as simple as lying on the couch with her. Admitting that, though, seemed too fast. Like she could travel along with the strange thread of my thoughts, Lia set her chin on my chest and pinned me with those eyes. Did she even realize what a weapon they were? What damage they were capable of?

My free hand traced the line of her jaw, the edge of my thumb lightly glancing along the bottom edge of her lip. What would she do if I tugged her closer and sipped at those perfectly soft, perfectly pink lips? In the growing warmth I could see on her cheeks, I had my answer. In the reaction of my body, I had clear proof of my desire. And it would be easy, wouldn't it?

But this ... I'd let her edge her toe over the line if she wanted to cross it.

That was when she inhaled shakily and set her face back down on my chest.

Right then.

I closed my eyes and willed the lower half of my body to get the fuck on board.

Voice light and easy, I tried my very best to play it off. "My body is far too tired to move you off me, though, if that's all right with you."

She sighed, her rib cage expanding underneath my palm and spread fingers.

In that sigh, I felt her hesitation to ask any further questions, and truth be told, I wasn't sure I'd know how to answer.

"I could take a nap." With that, her finger stopped its movement, and when I glanced down, I saw the fan of her long, black lashes fall closed.

Settling further into that sense of rightness, paired with a refusal to look too far into what we were doing, I allowed myself to do the same.

Chapter Twelve

Lia

Have you ever woken up with deja vu?

I've done this before.

Not the sleeping on Jude's couch part. My back ached, and his couldn't be any better, but there we were.

Sprawled on top of his insane body, as the sun crept into the sky, I once again woke up with all my important bits touching all of his.

My leg hitched up over the top of his thigh, like I’d unconsciously tried to hump him in my sleep.

My hand had crept underneath the hem of his shirt, and I couldn't help but smile at the placement of my fingers. Apparently, embedded underneath the skin of my fingertips was a homing beacon for his happy trail because that line of