“Sounds perfect.”
“Yeah, they’re all just so cute,” she muses.
It takes me a second to register her words; I'm too high on her scent and the softness of her skin.
“All?” I ask, confusion tugging at my brows.
“Yeah,” she teases, smiling at me like a little minx. “You know I love all dogs, but these ones are just incredible.”
“Dogs?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she confirms, her smile growing wider. “Why? What did you think I had as my screensaver?”
“Oh, nothing, Whirlwind. Nothing at all.”
I steal her lips in a filthy kiss before she has a chance to say anything else, and I can only hope that by the time I let her up for air, she’s forgotten all about this conversation.
I mean, of course, she doesn’t have a photo of me half-naked as her screensaver. I’m her boss.
I don’t knowhow long we made out for last night, but I do know that it was the best night I’ve had in a very, very long time.
It didn’t matter that we didn’t take it any further. It was perfect.
Just having her in my arms, her curves pressed against my hard planes.
I’m also learning just how much better I sleep with her beside me.
When I wake at dawn the next morning, I feel fresh and relaxed. Okay, sure, I ache like hell. I was so focused on Freya last night that I didn’t ice my knees, and my shoulder is smarting after cutting my session with Parker short with my need to see the girl wearing my jersey.
It’s all worth it, though.
There’s just enough light to allow me to watch Freya sleeping. Her lips are slightly parted, and more than a few locks of her hair are loose and now lie across her cheek. I reach out and tuck the loose strands behind her ear.
The instant I touch her, she whimpers, and her eyelids begin moving.
I freeze—I don’t even breathe for a couple of seconds as I wait to see if I’ve woken her.
Thankfully, I haven’t, and after watching her for a minute or two, I roll out of bed as gently as I can and slip into the bathroom.
Dressing in a pair of athletic shorts and a T-shirt, I pad through to the kitchen for a drink and then head to my gym to see if I can work out the soreness from last night.
I keep an eye on both the time and the door, not that I really think Freya will come back here. I haven’t given her a tour of anything past her bedroom. Maybe she’ll feel brave after our night together, or maybe she’ll slip straight into the kitchen, business as usual.
An idea hits me, and before I know what I’m doing, I’m off my bike. I strap a couple of ice packs to my knees, and I’m heading toward the kitchen.
A quick look into my bedroom confirms that Freya is still fast asleep.
With my cell in hand, I pull up a website and set to work.
46
FREYA
Isit bolt upright in bed, my heart thundering against my chest as the loud bang that woke me fades to nothing.
Glancing at the bed beside me, I find it empty. I can’t say I’m surprised. Cole is almost always up with the sun. I guess that’s why I wasn’t really expecting him to be there that morning at my parents’. But he was. All of him was still there.
Disappointed he’s not still here with me, I swing my legs from the side of the bed, pressing my feet into the thick, soft carpet.
