I was breathing so hard, we both were, as I lowered my now boneless body over her, taking her lips in a kiss so sweet.
And that one, special word began to reverberate in my head.
Mine.
TWENTY-TWO
HARPER
Phoenix and I showered together in the bathroom, and that nervousness I’d felt at being naked in front of him vanished. The spray was so refreshing, and I noticed the way Nix stared as it rained over my breasts and down my stomach, his eyes hooded, attempting to give nothing away.
Watching the water as it poured over his chest and ran in rivulets past his abs made me horny again. Especially when I saw his cock was hard. I loved how his body couldn’t lie. As I looked up, he gave me one of those incredibly sexy grins that wreaked havoc on my heart.
“Don’t get any ideas, I’m exhausted,” he explained with a commanding air that made my sex flutter.
I gave him a look to say, ‘Would I?’
Nix then got to work, sponging me down and washing my hair. He was extremely thorough, like he had done it a million times. I washed his back, biting my lips as I took in his strong buttocks.
After turning off the shower and toweling each other dry, we then got dressed in our nightclothes.
I wore a striped navy and white pajama shorts set, and Nix tugged on gym shorts. As I left him in the bathroom so he could brush his teeth, I padded barefoot back to my room. I felt so tired, the sex between us had been frantic and uncaged, and I decided I was going to tell him how I felt.
As I closed my closet door, I turned at the sound of Nix coming into my room.
“Will you sleep here tonight?” I asked, and he glanced up from his cell.
“Baby, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Biting back an ooh of pleasure, I smiled and walked over to the bed, climbing onto one side. I had changed the sheets so they were fresh and free from the evidence of our frantic coupling.
Phoenix placed his cell on my nightstand as I asked. “Is everything OK?”
“Yeah. Molly and Hudson just got back. Reed is with them. It’s all good.”
We both climbed under the comforter and sat up against the pillows, briefly talking about his looming visit with his father. Nix said he was more than ready to see him, whether that was to give the guy a chance or to shoot him down; he explained he wasn’t sure.
After around an hour, I turned the lamps off and nestled back against Phoenix as he spooned me. “You smell like a wet dream,” he whispered against my neck.
I sighed, allowing him to wrap his strong arms around me, my body delicate in all my most intimate places.
Once his breathing became deeper, signalling sleep, I wrapped my fingers around his arm and confessed.
“I love you.”
*****
The first thing I noticed when I started to come around was that I was alone. Slowly opening my eyes, I slid my arm over to the other side of the bed, feeling that it was cold and empty. Again.
Damn it. What was it about Phoenix and his disappearing act? I had been looking forward to waking up in his arms. I liked cuddles, at least, I did when they were Phoenix-shaped. I clearly had to work harder on encouraging smooches in bed with my boyfriend. Checking the clock on my wall, it was past noon.
As I rolled over and pushed up into a sitting position, Nix was sitting at the bottom of the bed with his head in his hands, and panic washed up through my chest.
“Hey,” I began, moving the covers and shuffling down the mattress to place my hand on his shoulder. “You should have woken me.” He was probably dreading the meeting with his old man later that day.
“Did you sleep OK?”
“Yeah, not bad. You?”
