“No,” I murmur. “Just woke up disoriented, and my mind’s a little jumbled. I thought you’d be gone.”
“I said I’d stay.”
Now, I remember begging him not to leave. Heat floods my face. “Sorry.”
“For what?”
“For being such a bother.”
“As you should be,” he says with his usual playful humor. “It’s a real hardship having a beautiful woman cuddled up against me.”
I smile into his side, my head nestled in the crook of his broad shoulder. My legs are draped sideways over his lap, my hand resting on his chest. He’s stroking the curve of my hip with a lazy rhythm, and I feel the steady beat of his heart beneath my palm.
He smells so good, earthy and warm, like coffee, sandalwood, and cinnamon—reminding me of autumn, my favorite season. I lean into his large, husky body that feels comforting and protective. Safe and exciting all at once.
“How long was I out?” I ask.
“Just a couple of hours. How’s your head?”
“Better.” The idle caress of his fingertips is hypnotic. “Thank you for all you did.”
“I’m glad I could help.”
“Sorry about our movie night.”
“It’s fine, Lex. They’ll be others.”
“Chaz?”
“Hm?”
Maybe it’s the cover of darkness, maybe I’m still groggy from sleep, or maybe I just think,fuck it. Whatever the reason, I lift my mouth to his—seeking.
He stills me with fingers to my chin. “As much as I want to, you’ve had a rough night. You were sick and taking medication; you just woke up?—”
“I’m aware of what I’m doing,” I interject, cutting off his concerns. “I want this.”
“What? Tell me.”
He’s right here, smelling and feeling divine. And I’m all melty and needy and unafraid. “I want to kiss you, and I really want you to kiss me.”
And then his mouth is on mine, tender and warm, just like last time. But in the next second, he cups the back of my neck, and sends me reeling. As if denied too long, there’s no restraint in the way he consumes me. Hot, wet, and demanding. I had known there was something more primitive, more dangerous beneath the laidback, affable surface. And I find it all too thrilling.
My pulse leaps to a roar. I circle my arms around his neck, but the side angle is restrictive. We can’t get close enough. Chaz grabs me underneath both thighs and swings me around to straddle him. I snake my hands into his hair, gripping his dense curls for balance as he all but devours me. His tongue delves repeatedly between my lips, and I feel him, hard and virile, through the opening of my robe, only separated by a layer of denim. His hands cup my ass, his mouth moving wildly over mine, stealing my breath and all my caution.
Pleasure infuses my chest, tightening my nipples and twisting downward like a cyclone low in my belly and between my thighs. I didn’t think I could become so aroused that I wouldn’t even know which way was up. My body aches, my corethrobbing with a heartbeat of its own. I dig my knees into the couch and rock against him.
“Lexie, fuck,” he groans, eating me up with kisses. “Can I touch you?”
My mind blank to everything else, I shrug off the top of my robe in answer and suck in a breath when I feel the heat of his hands on my bare skin, fondling the curves of my breasts.
“Beautiful,” he murmurs even though he can’t see me. “You feel amazing.”
I flick his tongue with mine, and his thumbs circle my nipples.
The windowpanes shake from the wind like a storm is brewing. But the storm is right here—in me—between us. His mouth inches down, nipping at my jaw, sliding along the side of my neck, sucking on my skin.
“Tell me what you want, Blue. What you need.”
