My eyes blink open to sunlight pouring through the tent, creating a red haze around me. My chest is heavy. In fact, my entire body feels weighed down.
Once my vision fully returns, I realize it’s because a human is sprawled on top of me, a nest of red curls covering my face. I spit out a few strands that occupy my mouth before gently combing Lorelei’s hair away from my eyes. Biting back a laugh, I bend my neck to look around her head. Her head rests just below my chin, her chest on my stomach, and her legs tangled with mine.
She’s literally on top of me.
And how in the world did I sleep throughthathappening?
I lay my head back down and revel in the fact that Lorelei not only said she liked me and is willing to try things with me, but also that somewhere in the middle of the night, she (consciously or subconsciously, I don’t know for certain) felt the need to crawlon topof me.
The woman who boasted that she sleeps alone. Who doesn’t like physical contact with people. Who keeps to herself…
Is. On. Top. Of. Me.
I resist the urge to pump my fists, though I couldn’t if I tried from the way she has me pinned down. I know everyone is thinking that this is highly inappropriate and wrong, but I’d like to suggest that their mind is in the gutter because, honestly, this is the most adorable image. Cuter than babies being christened in the palace or, or… puppies.
She feels safe. She feels protected. She feels seen.
By me.
Which is the only reason she’d fall asleep.
On top of me…
I breathe in disbelief, but as I suck in more air, too much flows through the pipes, and a raging cough spews from somewhere deep within my chest.
Lorelei flails and scrambles to her feet, her hands pressing into my chest as she uses me as push-off. She trips on my feet as she goes to move away, and as she falls down, I’m too immobilized to catch her.
But have no fear…
She tumbles down and down, right back into her starting position on top of me.
I grunt in pain as her head slams into my chin, her body sinking into mine as I lay on the hard ground of the tent. A Korsan curse slips through my lips.
“Are you okay, Lorelei?” I wrap my arms around her to move her off me, gently placing her to my side as I shove down the musclepain and the possibility of an entirely bruised body. I sit on my knees and examine her, her messy hair covering her face and her shirt riding up enough so that the pale skin of her stomach shows through.
She has freckles on her stomach.
How blasted adorable.
Boisterous laughter rips my attention from that sliver of skin, and Lorelei is starfished out on the ground, heaving and coughing with laughter.
“I can’t believe that just happened,” she exclaims, dragging her hands to cover her face. She mumbles through her laughter about Lucy getting story fuel from this scenario. “So embarrassing.”
Giving her one last look over to make sure she’s okay, I allow myself to laugh at the situation, too. And once I start, I can’t stop. The joy is immense. I mimic her pose and starfish out on the ground, my hand finding hers like it's my lighthouse on the ocean. We laugh and laugh until we’re facing each other, clutching our stomachs, with tears streaming down our face.
Her hazel eyes are bright, her cheeks pink, as I trail a finger down the side of her face and catch a tear. “Good morning, bae,” I finally manage to say as my laughter dies down.
She sucks in a breath and whispers, “Good morning. Did you know that saying good morning is a wish that one’s day would actually be a positive and eventful one? It’s not simply a nicety.”
I grin. “Then I wish you the best of mornings. I hope your morning is positively the best one you ever experience, despite how we awoke.”
“I think because of how we awoke, this will be the best morning I’ve experienced.” She beams before schooling her expression.
“Even better than Christmas morning?”
“Hm…” She lifts a finger to her chin. “Yes. I think so. I’ve never laughed so hard. Oh!” She sits up on her knees, suddenly alert and inquisitive. “Are you okay? I must have hurt you.”
I rise to my knees and shake my head. “I’m perfectly okay. Waking up with you sprawled on top of me was… something.”
