The Price of Inertia (The Seven Sins #4) - Lily Zante Page 0,40
His brows aren’t pushed together, and there are no lines on his forehead. No tightened jaw.
He seems almost … sweet.
Calm.
Gentle.
He looks a little thinner, too. I peer closer. He’s trimmed his beard. The thick growth has gone and it was definitely there when we argued last time. Now there is a light dusting of hair on his face.
He looks almost sexy.
I hold my breath as he shifts further on his side, so that he’s almost face down on the couch cushion. I look around for a blanket, or a throw, but find nothing. There’s no ottoman either. I can’t stand here staring at him. I can’t tidy up the room either for fear that he might wake up. Then he’d blame me for interrupting his sleep, and then we’d get into another disagreement.
I also can’t leave him to freeze.
Slipping back to my room, I grab a blanket and rush back, hoping he hasn’t woken up; I’d hate for him to see me do something nice for him.
But he’s still asleep when I return.
I drape the blanket over him gently and pray he doesn’t wake up.
WARD
There’s a knock on the door. I rub my eyes, and wince as I turn. Another knock follows and before I can answer, Mari sticks her head around.
“Jamie’s here. You overslept.”
“What?” What day is it?
“Jamie, he’s here,” she hisses.
It can’t be. I was writing. I’ve been writing. I’ve lost track of time. “What day is it?”
She peers at me. “Monday,” she says slowly, as if I’m an idiot. “Did you sleep here again last night?”
I sit up. A rancid odor reaches my nostrils, making me want to gag. I must stink. Fuck. She can probably smell me. I don’t make a pretty sight either. I run my hand through my hair and find knots.
“Coffee,” I say, wanting her to go, not wanting her to smell my two day old sweat. I’ve spent the entire weekend here. Once Rob gave me that ultimatum, I worked like a fiend. I’ve slept here both nights.
“I need to shower. Can he wait?”
“I’ll tell him, and I’ll have your coffee ready.”
She leaves before I have the chance to say anything. I get up, planting my feet on the floor. Where the hell did this blanket come from? I slept here for two nights and I didn’t leave the room much. Not to shower. Not to work. Not to seek her out.
I scoffed the entire box of donuts I’d ordered, and I worked my way through a mountain of junk food.
But I got lots of writing done. If this is what it takes, then this is what I have to do. Without doubt, and without intending to, I’ve given Mari and her trainer friend plenty more fodder to laugh at me about.
To hell with them.
I need to shower, and then have coffee, and then do a class with Jamie.
Back in my room I lather myself all over, and feel the grime and sweat wash away. My body feels different. It’s not so loose. Not so soft. My arms feel bigger. I like the weights program Jamie has me on. I run my hand over my belly and prod a couple of fingers in it. It’s not as jelly-ish as it was before, but it’s not hard, like steel, either. Standing next to Jamie I would still feel like a rhino.
Is she sleeping with him?
I wash the shampoo out of my hair, try to unravel the knots I find. I need to get this cut. Need to spruce myself up.
I didn’t have a blanket in the study.
She must have put that on me.
Which means she must have come looking for me.
Is she sleeping with him?
The thought taunts me, jabbing at me like a betrayed wife. I wonder what time she got back on Saturday night. I heard her in the kitchen, but I didn’t want to see her face so I slept in my study on Sunday night as well.
She must be sleeping with him.
I slather myself all over again. Picture Mari and Jamie, and then Mari again in her workout clothes.
My cock hardens.
Thinking about her has that effect.
I’m going to have to jerk myself off again, but I try not to think about her as I do it.
It’s creepy.
And wrong.
It’s what almost a year of no sex does to a man.
Chapter 17
MARI
“He overslept and needs to take a shower,” I tell Jamie. “Can you wait?”
“I can wait.”
I pour a cup of coffee for him. “You look cute. Nice apron.” Jamie grins at