written that had practically told themselves in the first draft, I got where Presley was coming from.
“I have an idea,” she said, her hand sliding over my stomach.
“If it requires me to make you come again, I’m game.”
She chuckled softly, but that was quickly stifled by a yawn.
Knowing she was too tired for another round at the moment, I adjusted her in my arms and pressed a kiss to her lips. “What’s your idea?”
“How long is your book supposed to be?”
“As long as it needs to be,” I told her, not sure where she was going with this. I had always aimed for a word goal, but every book was different, every story was different, and this one, I hadn’t yet determined how long it would need to be.
“Okay, then how about for every chapter you write, we’ll … do that again.”
I was only half acting when I pretended to move out of the bed, but Presley quickly pulled me back. My mind was already laying the groundwork for the next chapter.
“Starting in the morning,” she added, her head dropping onto my chest once again.
“You drive a hard bargain, you know that?”
“So I’ve been told.”
Apparently she was exhausted, because within seconds, Presley’s breathing had slowed and her body had gone lax. Lying there in the dark, I continued to hold her, thinking about all that had happened since we’d met. How we’d ended up in this place.
For a moment, fear seized me. Or was that hope?
I wasn’t sure since I’d never felt anything like it. With Presley, things were different. And the honest-to-God truth was that I never thought I’d be the one to think something like that.
Was I ready for something like this? Something serious? Perhaps permanent?
It had been a long time since I’d been in a relationship. Years, in fact. But the worst part of it all was that I didn’t have good memories of relationships to compare to. My mother had been married nine times, my sister had married her high school boyfriend shortly after she’d gotten pregnant with Abby; however, they’d divorced within the first year. And I … well, I’d never intended to settle down, figuring what was the point.
Not that I was jumping the gun. I was not ready to get that far into it, to think that far into the future. Or was I? I couldn’t deny that what was happening between Presley and me was significantly different than anything I’d felt before.
She made me feel things that I’d never expected to feel. I would even go so far as to say that my emotions were relatively level when I was with her, not like the boat was sinking and I was scrounging for a life vest, hoping to be rescued. With her, I wanted to stay where I was, sinking or not. As long as she was with me, I felt safe.
And then there was the sex.
Holy. Fucking. Hell.
Sex with Presley was definitely the most intense thing I’d ever experienced. There was a connection there and I was looking forward to exploring that further.
But first, she needed sleep.
And I … well, I needed to write.
So, being as quiet as I could, I slipped out of bed, grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants from my suitcase, then snuck downstairs.
After all, she had told me for every chapter I wrote, we would do that again.
And I fully intended to pick up where we left off, just as soon as she woke up.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Jake
One chapter, that was all I needed, so the moment Presley was fast asleep, I had slipped out of her bed and made my way downstairs. After grabbing my pen and notebook, I dropped onto the couch, trying to be as quiet as possible so that I wouldn’t wake her.
Then, with Cat snoozing on the cushion beside me, the fire having burned itself almost out, I stared at the page…
And knew right where this was going.
Kora hadn’t been home long when her cell phone rang. She knew it was her mother before she even fished it out of her purse.
“Hello,” she greeted, hoping she sounded sick.
“Kora? Are you okay?”
“Not feeling well,” she lied.
“Did you go home?”
“Yeah. Figured if I came down with something, y’all wouldn’t want Trina to get it.”
“No, definitely not,” her mother agreed. “Is it a stomach bug?”
“I think so.” It definitely wasn’t her stomach that hurt. This pain was coming from her chest and she had no idea why it was there. She should’ve been walking on