chest flat against his, my face buried in his neck. I inhaled his scent, dizzy with it.
Griffin was silent and still but for the motion of his chest as he breathed. I thought he might have fallen asleep, but then I felt his hands begin to stroke my back.
“You’re still awake,” I whispered.
“Barely.”
“How was the show?”
“Best I’ve ever seen.”
I smiled. “Really?”
“Yeah. Do you do encore performances?”
“Already?” I asked, the shock evident in my voice.
He chuckled. “No. I need an intermission.”
“Good. My contract says I get a nap between performances.” Dropping a kiss on his collarbone, I peeled myself off him and rolled to the other side of the bed.
He kissed my shoulder. “I’ll be right back. Are you thirsty?”
“Yes.”
“Me too. I’ll get you some water.”
“Thanks.”
He went into the bathroom, and when he came out and headed for the kitchen, I slipped out of bed and used the bathroom too. When I came out, he was already beneath the covers. “Here,” he said, grabbing one of two bottles of water on his nightstand and offering one to me.
“Thanks.” Kneeling on the mattress, I took the cold bottle of water from him, uncapped it, and downed the entire thing.
“You were thirsty,” he said, taking the empty bottle. “Must have been all that talking.”
“Admit it.” I poked his shoulder. “This was one occasion where you actually wanted me to keep talking.”
“Okay, fine. I admit it. That was the best bedtime story I have ever had.”
“Good.” Although I wanted to snuggle up, I slipped between the sheets, rolled over and faced away from him, remembering that he wasn’t one to cuddle.
Which is why it surprised me when I felt him press against my back, nestling the curve of my spine against his body. “I want another one tomorrow night.”
I smiled in the dark. “Is that allowed?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Well, I don’t know. Don’t you have a rule against it or something?”
“Normally, yes. But nothing about this situation is normal.”
“True. What about our deal?”
“What deal?”
“The deal we made saying this thing with us ends tonight since tomorrow you’ll officially be my boss.”
“Hmm. Well, breaking a deal isn’t like breaking a promise, right? I mean, if both parties agree to . . . renegotiate the terms, I think it’s fair.”
“I think so too.”
“So we agree.”
“We agree.”
He wrapped a hand around one breast and kissed my shoulder again. “Renegotiations start at the end of the workday tomorrow.” He paused. “Assuming I can wait that long.”
I laughed. “I’ll try not to tempt you.”
“That’s the problem, princess,” he said. “You tempt me without even trying.”
For once, I had no desire to keep a conversation going. I drifted off to sleep with his arms around me, his words even better than a dream.
Nine
Griffin
When I woke up, she was gone.
For a moment, I’d forgotten she was ever there, but one deep breath and I could still smell her shampoo or soap or whatever that sweet, mouth-watering scent was clinging to the sheets.
Shamelessly I buried my face in her pillow and allowed myself one more long, slow inhale. Fucking delicious. Then I lay back for a minute, hands behind my head, contemplating everything that had happened.
I’d definitely broken some rules.
And, if memory served, I’d asked Blair for a repeat performance.
How worried did I need to be that any of those broken rules would come back to haunt me? Despite the fact that we’d spent the last thirty-six hours together, how well did I really know her? How well could you know anyone after only a day and a half, even if you’d spent some of those hours naked?
But damn, those hours had been good. Better than good. Fucking incredible. She’d surprised me, and very few people did. On the outside, she was all sweetness and light. Politeness and polish. But get her alone in the dark and she was eager and aggressive, loud and feisty. And if I occasionally got annoyed with how much she could talk during the day, I fucking loved it in bed.
I’d stayed fairly quiet, even though filthy things had been on the tip of my tongue the entire time. I still wasn’t sure how dirty or rough she liked it, so I’d pretty much let her set the tone and followed her lead.
Maybe tonight I’d push the boundaries a little farther.
My dick, already growing hard from the scent of her lingering on the bedding, shot to full mast. Groaning, I flipped the sheets aside and got out of bed.
Work before play—that was a rule I could not