as he said, “I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see you in bed like this again.”
“I didn’t think you would either,” I told him honestly, then patted the half of the bed beside me. “Only if you want though. There’s the guest bedroom too, if you would rather—”
He groaned. “The day I would rather sleep alone than with you….” His arms dropped from the doorway as he took a couple steps inside then paused. “Do you close your door?”
I smiled. “Not unless I have a reason to.”
Those honey-colored eyes settled on me, and I could see his cheeks puff in and out with the breaths he took. “Would you like me to close it?”
Under the blankets, I scrunched my toes. “The day I tell you not to close it….”
Jonah smiled shyly as he took two steps back and quietly closed the door, flipping the lock.
“My nan says hello,” he said as he turned back, those big hands going to the bottom of his long-sleeved T-shirt.
I was watching those hands as I said, “How are your grandparents?”
The shirt was being tugged up, exposing an inch of tanned olive skin, and then another inch, and another…. “They’re well. She was telling me that Granddad hasn’t been feeling well, but he refuses to see his doctor.”
The damn shirt went over his head, revealing that wide, naturally smooth chest that tapered to solid, flat abs. I’d asked him once if he shaved, and he’d laughed and shaken his head, claiming the only hair he could get to grow out was on his face. It’s a family curse, he’d claimed; apparently neither of his grandparents or his dad were hairy. And there was that narrow, trim waist….
“Does anyone live close enough to go check on them?”
His thumbs were flicking at the button and zipper of his jeans as he replied, “No. Not often enough. They live in Hawke’s Bay, it’s a bit south of Auckland.”
I tore my eyes up to his face to find him still watching me, his smile somewhere between shy and smug. I groaned and earned a big smile with a hint of pink blossoming on his cheeks. “Hopefully you can go visit them sooner than later.”
I meant it.
The smile that had been on Jonah’s face mostly melted away as he stood there, fingers tucked over the loops of his jeans. “My agent has started talks with a couple of different teams to see if they even want me.”
I couldn’t see anyone ever not wanting him.
“Talks should go by fairly quickly. I should know in a matter of weeks where I’ll be playing… if I’ll be playing.”
My heart ached, but I still offered him a smile. “You will. I don’t know how you played this last season after your injury, but you’ll go somewhere. I know it.”
Jonah didn’t say anything for so long I almost thought that he changed his mind about bringing this up, but he moved toward me after a moment, half the skin of his beautiful body exposed as he settled in beside me, his butt against the side of my thigh, angled to face me. One of those hands came up to my face, and his thumb stroked across my chin. “Lenny, I—”
We weren’t doing this. He wasn’t doing this.
I turned my head and brushed my nose against the finger closest to my mouth. “Don’t say it, Dimples.”
Those lips pursed, and his index finger moved across the eyebrow closest to him. “I don’t want to….”
Yeah, the idea of him leaving hurt me too.
But…
He had to go. I would never ask him to stay. I reached up for his hand and dragged it over so I could press my lips against his palm.
His hand went to my cheek, and those eyes met mine for a moment, unblinking and so serious, and then he was leaning over and that mouth was on mine. Jonah pulled my top lip into his mouth before releasing it and then sucking the other one. Then it was my turn; his lips parting under mine, and I didn’t hesitate to slip my tongue against his.
His mouth was warm, and his lips were smooth as we brushed tongues. His hand slipped to the back of my loose, wet hair and held my head in place as he deepened the kiss, slanting his mouth even more. I moaned into him as he turned his head and kissed me the other way.
When he pulled back a moment later, the tip of his nose brushing against mine, he