Lucas couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken up beside a grown woman, not next to a little girl tugging on his arm to wake up and playSorryor make breakfast, but next to a woman who put her arm around his waist, tucked her leg between his, and pressed her lips to his neck before taking a deep breath and saying, “Mhm.”
It was a sound that sank into his gut.
He’d never stayed at Anna’s or spent the morning with her. But shit, if he’d known she would greet him like that in the morning, he might have reconsidered.
He kept his eyes closed because when he was officially awake, he’d have to push her arm away and remind her that they were merely friends. That they could only be friends. So, he continued breathing evenly, drawing her scent deeper into his lungs with each breath, ignoring the fact that he was hard, that Anna’s lips moved as she yawned softly, and her arm tightened around him.
He was silent a lot. He enjoyed silence. And yet he had never felt as calm in his life as he did at this moment.
It’s exactly what I want. And more than enough.
Yes. He knew what she meant.
“Lucas,” she whispered, and he heard the smile in her voice. “I know you’re awake.”
Mhm. His body was probably talking to her. “Mhm?” he said.
“You fell asleep.”
“Mhm.”
“You’ve never fallen asleep, you’ve always left before.”
“You’re in my bed, not me in yours,” he whispered. He loved that he could feel her smile against his jaw, loved that she was smiling at all. And that he felt like she was doing it for him even though he hadn’t even kissed her last night.
“I know. And it’s very comfortable,” she murmured, shifting beside him. Her hand slid under his shirt, which he’d simply dozed off in yesterday.
He should move her away. Try not to get harder as she traced his abs.
But right now, he was bad at doing what he was supposed to.
“What time is it?”
“Just after seven,” she whispered. “You still have time. You can go back to sleep. Coach Gray isn’t expecting you until nine-thirty.”
He didn’t feel like sleeping.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. The room was dim or maybe it only seemed dark because a lot of Anna’s hair was in his face.
“You woke me up just after seven? On playoff-game day?” He swept her hair out of his face, brushing her temple with his fingertips.
“I didn’t wake you.”
“Oh, yeah.” Her sigh and her lips on his neck would have woken any man. It didn’t bother him. He hadn’t slept this long in ages.
He lowered his gaze and peered into Anna’s face, two hands’ widths from his. She was still smiling.
“Well, maybe a little. But like I said, you can still sleep. I can keep myself busy.”
God, the words were innocent, but to his ears, they sounded beyond dirty. He closed his eyes because looking into hers only gave him naughty thoughts.
“Do you ever wake up and have absolutely no desire to play hockey?” Anna whispered after a moment.
“So much for 'you can keep yourself busy'?”
“It’s just a question. You don’t have to answer. Although it would be rude not to.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “Yes. I wake up sometimes and don’t feel like playing hockey.”
