He stretches, the movement slow and delicious, and then he sits up, muscles flexing as he drags a hand through his messy hair. For a second, I think he’s staying, that we’ll fall asleep tangled like this. But he tosses the sheet from his body and swings his legs over the edge of the bed.
“I guess our clothes never made it to the room with us, did they?” He laughs.
Panic flickers. Do I invite him to stay? Is that even something you ask after… whatever that was? A hookup? A one-night stand?
Oh God, is this my first one-night stand? With Maddie’s brother!
“Leaving already?” I try for light and teasing. “And here I thought you planned to wreck my entire night.”
He glances over his shoulder, one corner of his mouth lifting before disappearing to the kitchen to grab his clothes. “I’m pretty sure if I tried to fuck you again, I’d wreck you for a lot longer than a night.”
“At least I put the bed together right. That could’ve been a very dangerous situation if it collapsed mid-performance.”
He huffs a quiet laugh, sitting back down on the edge of the mattress once he’s dressed again. For a heartbeat he just studies me. Then his fingers slide through my hair, tucking a strand behind my ear.
The touch is so gentle it hurts because this can’t actually be anything. I stop breathing. Waiting for the part where he ruins it with a speech about this being another bad idea… But he doesn’t.
He cups my face, thumb brushing my cheekbone, and leans in close enough that I can feel the ghost of a smile against my lips.
“Good night, Hailey.”
He kisses me softly, his tongue against mine, and then he’s gone, leaving the scent of him in the sheets and my heart doing somersaults in the dark.
I stare at the ceiling, whispering to no one, “Well, merry freaking Christmas to me.”
CHAPTER 13
Cole
Ihaven’t woken up in this good of a mood in a long damn time. Especially considering I only got about half as much sleep as I normally would. But having the most mind-blowing orgasms of your life will do that to a man.
And it’s been far too long since I’ve even had an orgasm at the hands of anyone that wasn’t me, let alone so many in one night I almost passed out from dehydration on the way home.
The snow is coming down light and lazy, the kind that settles on raw beams like powdered sugar. Normally, I’d be cursing about delays and supply runs. Today? I can’t seem to care. In fact, I’m enjoying the holiday essence the snow adds to the scene. I even catch myself humming along to the Christmas song playing on the radio.
“Boss is in a good mood,” Tyler calls from the ladder, grinning up at me. “You win the lottery or something?”
“Yeah.” I grab the nail gun he’s holding out, ignoring the smirk spreading across his face. “Won the lottery of having employees who don’t screw up a simple header install.”
I’m different today, there’s no denying that. It’s her fault. I can’t get her out my head. I should feel guilty. Hell, I should feel terrified. She’s Maddie’s best friend, the one person I’m prettysure the world all agrees is off-limits. God knows I would have flipped a lid if Maddie had brought home one of my old friends when she was in college.
But when I woke up this morning, my skin still smelled like her. I had to force myself to take a shower, wondering if that’s the only time I’ll ever experience that with her.
I head toward the trailer, shaking snow from my jacket. My phone’s sitting on the counter next to a stack of invoices. I stare at it, wanting to text her. I don’t know what I’d say, that I miss her? That feels weird and a touch creepy… even if it’s kind of true.
I pick up the blueprints for the new development we’re starting up on the ridge. This first house will be the show house, the one I designed to have all of my favorite things in it. Something about it makes me want to show her.
“Screw it,” I mutter. I grab the phone and send her a quick message.
Cole:Sunset is in an hour. Want to see something cool?
I stare at the screen, pulse in my throat. A few seconds later, the bubbles appear, followed by her response.
Hailey:Define “cool.”
A grin pulls at my mouth. Of course she has to have an opinion about it.
Cole:Just be ready in 30, I’m on my way.
