No Reservations by Stephanie Rose

Author:Stephanie Rose [Rose , Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-07-09T16:00:00+00:00

24

Thea

I woke up to a sheen of sweat draped over most of my body, my pajamas sticking to every inch of me when I stretched out my arms and legs.

Relief flooded through me, since this usually meant the worst of the stupid infection was over, but then my sleepy eyes fell on the arm around my waist.

Dominic was fast asleep on top of the sheets, his grip on me still tight as I tried to slip from his hold. That seemed to be our theme this summer.

Instead of getting up, I rested my head on his shoulder, brushing the matted hair off of his forehead with the tip of my finger. Whatever he used to slick it back had worn off as his hair stuck up every which way around his head. The top button of his polo shirt was open, offering a teasing glimpse of the dusting of hair on his chest.

The urge to cuddle into him and press my lips to that tiny spot right before I reached inside his shirt and skimmed my fingertips down his torso, as I’d done countless times, almost overpowered me as I still didn’t have the energy to fight it.

Rather than lament my lapse in judgment and ignoring the knee jerk reaction to push him away again, I didn’t regret a damn thing. I nestled into his side and breathed him in, thankfully with somewhat clearer nostrils, enjoying it without worrying about what it all meant.

A growly moan vibrated against my cheek.

“It’s not very polite to ogle someone as they sleep.” His arm tightened around my waist before he kissed the top of my head.

I didn’t attempt a feeble denial, only smiled when his eyes opened and met mine.

“Good morning, beautiful.”

My teeth sank into my bottom lip, the too familiar greeting both slicing me open and causing my heart to swell.

“Good morning to you, too. Thank you for staying and for, for everything.”

He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his other hand.

“No need to thank me, I’m happy to be here. You look a lot better, how are you feeling?” His fingers threaded through my still-damp tangles.

“Much better. Antibiotics usually work fast.”

And the sweet, tender loving care my stubborn self was able to accept for a change.

We laid together for a moment, not saying anything or acknowledging how we were in the same bed, almost draped over each other like the lovers we used to be. I didn’t want to get up and stop the blissful game of pretend.

“I’d offer you some breakfast, but I guess you have to get to work. I’m sorry if I made you late.”

He shook his head. “You didn’t make me late. And living right upstairs means I can get ready in no time.”

I nodded and rolled off of him to sit up on the bed.

Craning my head over my shoulder, I watched as he slipped on his sneakers and stuffed his phone into his pocket. A strange wave of separation anxiety washed over me, and I didn’t want him to leave.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.