alternated between skipping, skidding to a halt, and damn near exploding from my chest each time we kissed, touched, or when I heard his musical laugh.
After washing and relaxing long enough for the water to get cold, we dried off and returned to his bed. The time on my phone said it was five until midnight. Reed snuggled under the covers and looked like a puffy burrito as I sat on the edge of the mattress.
“Aren’t you gonna join me?” he asked with a hopeful smile. “It’s nice and toasty under here.”
“It’s late,” I answered in a regretful tone. “I should get home.”
“Oh.”
I smoothed the hair from his forehead. “Please don’t be upset.”
“I’m not upset.”
I arched a brow at him. His bottom lip trembled, and he looked away.
I did a mental calculation of how early I’d need to wake up in order to drive home, get dressed, and make it to work on time for my meeting first thing in the morning. I guess it was a good thing I worked well with little sleep.
“Fine,” I said, turning off the bedside lamp and getting under the covers with him. “I’ll stay.”
“You don’t have to.” Yet, he scooted closer as he said it.
“I want to.” My heart warmed as I slipped an arm around him.
“Good. ’Cause I want you to too.” Reed laid his head on my chest, hooked one leg around mine, and held on to my side. I had missed sleeping with him. He clung onto me like a little monkey.
With him in my arms, I felt more relaxed than I’d been in over a week. Well, since I’d last been in bed with him anyway. I fell asleep quickly and woke at five thirty in the morning to the alarm on my phone.
Reed sighed in his sleep and turned away from me. I kissed his bare shoulder before sliding out of bed and getting dressed.
“Daniel?” a voice croaked from behind me as I finished with the last button on my shirt. “What time is it?”
“Time for you to go back to sleep.” I went over and knelt down to kiss him. “I’ll see you later.”
“I’ll get up and go into work with you,” he said before yawning. He was so damn adorable in the morning.
“No, it’s okay. Rest for a bit longer.” I kissed him softly on the mouth before standing and heading for the door.
My shoes, belt, suit jacket, and my coat were strung all throughout the hallway and into the living room. I smiled as I retrieved them all, put them on, and walked outside. The chilly morning air made me miss Reed’s warmth, and the urge to crawl back into bed with him was intense.
I lived on the other side of town from him, but with it being so early in the morning, most businesses were closed and people were still asleep, so the roads were pretty much empty apart from a few cars here and there. Once home, I changed into a fresh suit, styled my hair, and then sat down for a quick cup of coffee. My eyes were heavy, and I fought to keep them open.
But the night with Reed had been worth it.
The shareholder meeting was set for seven thirty, so I arrived around six forty-five to refresh myself on the notes. The meeting objective was to go over the reports from past campaigns, discuss the results, and implement any needed changes. Our profit margins had been lower the previous week, but we were still ahead for the month. Plus, the work with Vivian Parks had bumped us in sales as we had started working with her more on advertising her upcoming business venture, talking strategy over the phone and emailing ideas and design concepts back and forth since we weren’t close enough to do it in person.
All in all, I expected a positive outcome for the meeting.
I headed to the conference room five minutes early and set everything up. The meeting went as I assumed it would—much to my relief—and it ended around eight. As I was walking back to my office, Reed came around the corner carrying a cup of coffee in each hand and a takeout bag from the café under his arm.
“Sorry!” he said, then beamed when he saw it was me. “Oh. It’s you.”
“Is that for me?” I asked, nodding to the coffee that had nonfat, add vanilla written on the side of the cup.
“Maybe. But it’ll cost ya.”
I glanced around the office. Jennifer walked out