Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
But all of those thoughts left her mind as he placed his arm over her. His eyes were closed. He looked so tired. Poor guy. That earlier nap didn’t seem to have cut through his fatigue.
“I need to get up and leave,” he murmured.
“Sure you do. You can get up in a minute.” She ran her fingers through his hair. He looked so different like this.
Before, she’d just sat and watched him sleep, pretending to work on an outfit. Having him like this . . . well, it was as good as the sex.
Gradually, his breath evened out. He was likely going to be peeved that he’d fallen asleep again.
But she’d worry about that in the morning. She slid from the bed and got cleaned up before pulling the covers up.
He rolled over, facing away from her. “I don’t sleep with women. Ever.”
She froze. Okay. She didn’t know how she felt about that. Did he mean that he didn’t want her to get into bed with him?
But it was her bed!
Or did he mean she was special because he was sleeping with her? She liked that. Too much.
It won’t be that, silly girl.
And yeah, she knew he was mostly asleep and wasn’t really expecting her to say anything.
When he was definitely asleep, she settled back on her side of the bed.
Screw it. If he didn’t want to be in the bed with her, then he could get up and sleep on the couch.
But it did take her forever to fall asleep. She was just too aware of him lying beside her, and his soft breathing filled the room.
Maybe it was insane of her to have him sleeping in her apartment. She barely knew him. But she liked him.
More than she should.
He might be a grump. And blunt. And only into her for the sex.
But she still liked him.
He rolled over, his arm flying out and whacking across her chest. Ouch. Shit. Didn’t he know she was here?
But then . . . maybe he really hadn’t slept with anyone else before.
She fell asleep with a smile on her face at that thought.
13
Gray woke up to the smell of bacon cooking.
Stiffening, he tried to remember what had happened last night. He hated waking up and not knowing where he was. That had happened too much in his childhood.
Now, he liked his own space with his own things.
And he didn’t like anyone else in that space.
So, who the fuck was here, and where’d they get the bacon from?
Sitting, he looked around, on alert. It hit him that he was in a dingy room on a bed that had a horrible mattress. His back was going to bitch at him all day.
And that the bacon was burning.
“Oh shit! Crap! I forgot about the bacon!” A tiny woman raced past him from out of the bathroom.
Maeve.
He was at Maeve’s. She started scooping bacon from an electric frying pan onto a plate.
“Ouch! Ouch! Fuck!”
“Maeve!” he barked as she grabbed a towel and started flicking it around. What the fuck was she doing? And why the hell had he fallen asleep and stayed here all night? What was he thinking?
He never did that.
She climbed onto the table, which rocked as she flicked the towel back and forth.
What the fuck!
Oh, hell no!
“Girl, what are you doing?” he roared, jumping out of bed. He rushed over to her, lifting her down.
“No, wait! I can’t let the smoke get to the smoke alarm.”
“There’s barely any smoke. Why the fuck isn’t there a proper fan?” He set her down, scowling at her.
She attempted to climb back onto the table. What the hell? Did she really think he was going to let her get back up there?
“What are you doing? Stay off that. You’ll fall and break your neck.”
“No, I won’t. I’ve done it before. If I’m caught cooking in here, I’ll get into trouble.”
He grabbed her as she climbed up again, lifting her down. He set her on the bed. He snatched the towel out of her hand as she opened her mouth to argue. Then he used the towel to disperse the smoke. She got up and opened a couple of windows. Cold air breezed through. Not what this already chilly room needed. But it was getting rid of the smoke.
“Whew,” she said. “I think the crisis has been averted.”
He turned to her, setting his hands on his hips. Her gaze took him in, and that’s when he realized he was naked.
Thank fuck they weren’t in a ground-level apartment.
“Well, good morning, Mr. Wood.”
He sighed and palmed his dick, squeezing it. “Girl, don’t talk to my dick.”
“Why not?”
“It’s weird.”
“Oh. Sure. Sorry.” She curved in on herself and it took him by surprise. Normally, she could give as good as she got. Oh, she had some insecurities about her body. But with everything else . . . she would happily snark back at him. Not letting him get away with shit.