another feeling worming its way through my chest. Something I didn’t recognize. Whatever it was, it made me want to hold her tighter. I rested my cheek on her head, trying to push it aside, and just enjoy the feeling of her in my arms, her warm body pressed against mine.
She lifted herself up, resting her head in her hand. “I should probably get going.”
Damn, that was disappointing. “Oh, okay. Do you have something else going on today?”
“No, I just need to get some writing done. The book is coming along, but I hit a snag.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
She smiled. “You’ve already done so much. I don’t know if I would have written anything without you helping me get started. But I think I just need to push through. It’s not so much that I’m blocked, I’m just struggling a bit with how to make this section of the story work. It’s like I can’t quite picture it.”
I touched her face and tucked her hair behind her ear. “All right. I can take you home.”
“Thanks.”
She got up to get dressed and I tamped down the flare of disappointment. And there was that feeling again. Was I worried about her? I didn’t know why I would be. She was writing again, which was great for her. And we were totally cool. We had fun together—fun of various kinds. We’d just had some epic sex. What could possibly be wrong with any of that?
Maybe I was just hungry or something. That didn’t really ring true, but I didn’t know what else it could be.
I got up and got dressed, thinking about Skylar’s writing snag. I’d just had another idea. It wasn’t as good as tying her to my headboard—what would be, honestly—but it was pretty fucking awesome.
Two kick ass ideas in one day. It was good to be back.
30
Skylar
The house was quiet when I got up. I stretched my arms overhead and took a deep breath. The redness around my wrists had faded quickly, but I was still pleasantly sore between my legs. That was a first for me. I’d never been fucked so hard I could actually feel it the next day. In fact, I’d always thought that was a myth.
Not so when you’d been tied to a bed by Gavin Bailey.
That had also been a first. I didn’t want to compare Gavin to Cullen—especially because I wasn’t actually dating Gavin—but it was hard not to. Cullen had never even suggested something like rope in the bedroom. Not that I would have gone for it—not with him. Which was an eye-opening realization. I never would have trusted Cullen enough to be that vulnerable with him.
With Gavin, it was so easy.
It had been exhilarating and fun. I’d loved the feeling of being in his control. It had been different, and even though different often gave me anxiety, it hadn’t.
I went down the hall to use the bathroom and my mom’s bedroom door caught my eye. It was open. I paused and glanced in. The bed was made already. That was odd. Unlike me, Mom wasn’t a morning person. I was usually up before her.
Had she even slept there last night?
She and my dad had both been home yesterday evening. I’d gone up to my room early, and as far as I knew, neither of them had left.
Her empty bedroom was odd. Where was she?
After taking a shower, I got dressed and went down to the kitchen. I flipped on the light and got out the coffee. Apparently Dad wasn’t up either.
The scent of coffee filled the air and I took a seat at the kitchen table while it brewed. Mom had left a book she’d been reading sitting out, so I idly thumbed through the pages.
When the coffee had just about finished brewing, Dad came downstairs, whistling.
“Morning, sweetheart,” he said with a smile.
“Morning.”
He moved around the kitchen and I swear, he had a spring in his step. He seemed lighter, somehow, his spine straight, shoulders back.
“You’re in a good mood,” I said. “Do you have an unexpected day off or something?”
“No, I have to be at the firehouse at eight.” He opened the cupboard and pulled out a travel mug. “Mind if I have a cup of coffee?”
“Help yourself.”
He smiled at me. No, he grinned at me, there was no other way to describe it. He filled his mug with coffee, then poured a cup for me.
“Thanks. Do you know where Mom went?”
“She’s still in bed.”
I glanced up