Warm breath dots the skin of my collarbone, a strand of hair lays across my cheek, a small hand lays claim to my abdomen, all five fingers stretched out as if it’s possible to keep me there.
I press my hips upward against her soft body, cupping the bare upper thigh that sits high on my waistline.
We’re wrapped together and yet it still isn’t enough to calm me.
Giselle’s breathing changes, the once rhythmic rise and fall of her ribcage becoming stuttered. She tenses and I hold my own breath, waiting for her to pull away, only for the sheet to rustle and for her to tuck herself further under my chin.
“Morning,” I croak, my voice gritty from sleep.
“Good morning, Hudson.”
“Did you sleep well?”
Giselle nods, two of her fingertips coming up to trace an old tattoo I have inked across my heart space. “Did you?”
“Best sleep I’ve had in a while,” I chuckle, rubbing the pad of my thumb along the inside ligament of her knee. “It’s going to be hard to get rid of me, now I know how comfortable your bed is, Gee.”
Slowly, as if she’s moving through molasses, Giselle props herself up on one elbow to look down at me. Her facial features are schooled much too serious for a Sunday morning.
“This can only be a one-time thing, Hudson.”
I stare back at her, cataloguing the thick lashes framing her electric blue eyes, the thin length of her Romanesque nose, the pretty pout of her lips.
Peeling my hand from her body, I tuck a strand of her unbound hair behind her ear. I don’t want to agree, but Giselle is sure to bolt like a deer staring down the barrel of a gun if I don’t.
“Okay,” I whisper lowly, watching as Giselle’s eyes flutter shut and the beauty mark beneath her lid twitches.
“You want some breakfast?”
A slice of azure blue peers back at me. “I’m not usually a breakfast type of gal.”
I shake my head and click my tongue. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Giselle.”
“I know… but I’d much rather roll around in bed for an hour longer, than be up and making breakfast, wouldn’t you?”
“If I was rolling around in bed with you, then yes.”
Giselle ducks her head but it doesn’t stop me from being able to see the pink blush staining her cheeks. Who knew that under all that hard exterior she portrays, would be something soft that blushes at a simple compliment.
“Can I ask you a question?”
Bending my right arm, I tuck it behind my head, resting the weight of my skull on the meat of my toned bicep. “Sure. Ask away.”
“If you could have anything at all as your birthday wish, what would it be?”
I hardly need to think about my answer. It’s obvious.
“You.”
Giselle’s eyes rise into her hairline. “Me?”
I nod, keeping my eyes locked on hers. “I’d ask for a kiss.”
“A kiss?”
The corners of my lips curl upwards. “Are you just going to repeat everything I say?”
Silently, Giselle shakes her head, her lids falling to half-mast. She flicks her eyes down to my lips and then back up, placing the palm of her hand in the centre of my bare chest.
