Cuddle Bear by Ki Brightly

Author:Ki Brightly [Brightly, Ki]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Brightly Books
Published: 2022-10-27T18:30:00+00:00

11

WICK

The ceiling wasn’t the one in my house. I stared at the white wood, illuminated by the lantern, for a while before I remembered I was in Maurice’s shotgun home. I took stock of the things I hadn’t taken the time to notice last night. The color scheme inside seemed to match the one on the exterior—teal and yellow—but I couldn’t be sure without real light. I’d woken up before my alarm, and I’d intended to get out of the bed, but with Maurice beside me on the soft sheets, that wasn’t an attractive prospect. I studied him and ran a finger along his jaw.

Why did he want to keep our new relationship a secret? I frowned. He hadn’t sounded happy about his last boyfriend doing something similar, so why suggest it for us? Was he worried we wouldn’t last? Did he think it wasn’t worth the disruption at work?

I blew out a long breath.

Maybe I needed to prove to him I was going to be more than a summer fling. I slid closer and kissed his nose, and his brow furrowed in his sleep. I would just try extra hard to be good to him and eventually he would come around. Today I would start letting him know exactly how serious I was. With that decided, I kissed all over his face and jostled the mattress. “Maurice.”

“Hmm?” He turned his face away, and I blew into his ear. He waved his hand in my direction and shook his head.

“Maurice. Wake up.”

“Huh?” His eyelids cracked open.

“Come on. We need to get to my house.” I rubbed a hand over his chest and one of his powerful shoulders. “Mrs. Riggins will have breakfast ready soon. It also doesn’t seem like the electricity is back on here, so you’ll want to shower over at my place.”

“Breakfast? She will? How do you know?” He sat up and blinked at me, confusion written on his face.

“Because she always does. We need showers. I know I’m sticky. Come on.”

He grunted. “Ugh. I’m all gross with sweat.” He sniffed his armpit and wrinkled his nose, and I lost the battle to stay serious, laughing until I felt drunk. The lantern was still going strong—we’d forgotten to turn the light off last night, but I was glad because I wouldn’t have wanted to miss the expression on his face.

“Not a morning person? I thought you were.” I tried to hide my grin, but he pouted in my direction, so maybe I failed.

He groped around on the nightstand and snagged his glasses. With a huff, he plopped the frames on his nose. “You always see me post-coffee.” I tried to kiss his lips, but he turned away, grumbling, “Morning breath.”

With a snort, I pecked a loud smooch on his cheek instead. “Come on. Grab your stuff. Do you have a suit bag? You can borrow anything I own, just take the things you don’t want to share with me.”

“Razor. Toothbrush,” he mumbled, listing them off on his fingers. Maurice really was adorable this early in the morning.

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