I'll have to play it careful, feel this out slowly.
She stirs in my arms, and I bite back a groan as her hand drifts down, skimming the surface of my abs as she turns me into a human body pillow. She scoots closer against me, if that's even possible, and sighs contentedly when my free arm, which ispropped behind my head to serve as a pillow, comes down and bands around her waist.
And then that searching hand stops, moves to her hip, where my second hand now rests, and she feels her way over each of my fingers in turn, mapping them out as her face contorts in confusion.
Watching her process her situation with her eyes closed in real time is honestly hilarious. She fights the truth, chews on the inside of her cheek, licks her lips and clears her throat. Her whole body tenses. She tries to hold herself apart from me, and fails, because I've got her wrapped up in my embrace. Denali, my littlekara,isn't going anywhere, not without'waking'me.
She knows it, too. Those searching fingers stop mapping my hand and rise to my shoulder, the one she's not lying on, and she shoves it gently, trying to wake me. This is the moment where I could pretend to wake up, give her what she needs, or what she's aiming for, at least. But I just lay there, pretending still, scrunching my face up a little as she re-evaluates and murmurs under her breath at my still form.
"Dammit, Kai, why do you have to sleep so heavily?"
Her voice isn't meant to wake me, it's a whispered plea, a complaint I'm not meant to hear. Ialmostblow my own cover and sass her right back, only catching myself at the last second before I slip up.
"Damn, damn, damn damn." Her hand reaches down and tugs at the hem of her skirt as she lifts her leg off of mine, and the cold that rushes in makes me scowl. I miss her warmth already, and she's only taken away a fraction of it. It's not looking good for my future down here on the rug. "Just stay asleep, Kai, stay right there asleep while I detangle us and save my dignity and yours."
It's too bad she doesn't know her dignity and mine left the building last night when we had a contest to see who was moredrunk, involving our fingers, noses, and a straight line. Or that it was nonexistent from the minute she and I decided to spin the bottle and start kissing inanimate objects after the drama on TV got boring.
She nudges my arm off her shoulder, and I let it fall, giving her this moment of triumph as she lifts herself gingerly off of my torso and inches away. I don't have to open my eyes to feel her searing gaze still glued to my body, though. The heat on my skin is enough to tell me she's drinking her fill.
So I let her, because in all the time I've known I'm attracted to her, I've been sneaking more peeks than I dare say she's had the opportunity to reciprocate.
"Jesus," she swears softly, her voice full of awe. "Where the hell does heputthat thing in those pants they put him in on stage?"
My dick. She's talking about my dick.
The air leaves my lungs; breathing is a struggle. I have to force air into my body to keep from choking and passing out at the revelation that Denali is staring at mydick.
She called it big.
That brings a smile to my lips, one I'm not fast enough to prevent. And damn it all, she sees it.
And swears.
"Dammit, Kai, you're awake, aren't you?"
Oops.
"Maybe?" I peek one eye open and grin wider at the blush working its' way over her cheeks, up her throat, coating her pretty, tan skin in a flushed shade of pink. "Thanks for the compliment, by the way. And the answer to your question—tape. Special tape and a lot of prayers that it'll hold."
Her blush deepens. "You know, some trade secrets should probablystaytrade secrets."
I shrug and sit up, which puts me at eye level with her thighs, a dangerous place to be. "Yeah, well, you're not going to go telling anyone, are you?" When she shakes her head, I nod mine back and stand up, dusting my pants off with a wince as I brush the front of my dick and it jumps in response. "Besides—it's a totally normal question to have. I used to ask the same one. And I'm sure you've seen a dick at least once in your life, right?"
She hesitates. And now I'm worried that I may have hired a virgin.
"Denali?Right?"
Please tell me she's seen a dick in her life. And then please maybe tell me she hasn't, so I don't have to think about her touching or looking at or playing with another man like I want her to do to me?—
"OfcourseI've seen a dick, Kai, I'm in my late twenties, after all," she huffs, like it was an insult to her character to assume she might be a blushing virgin. "I have the internet, too, in case you've forgotten. I see more than I want to on there."
I nod, dragging a hand over my face to try and regain my composure. "Right. Ah, yeah, right, of course." My eyes flick to the kitchenette area, searching the wall for the clock. "Is noon too late in the day for coffee?"
"Noon?" Her gaze joins mine, and then she squints, like that's going to change a thing. "Noon, noon, was there something I needed to do at noon today? What was it . . . "
I watch her scramble for her phone on the rug, and damn, but when she bends over on her knees in that dress, I can see clean up the back.
Hot pink. Her fucking panties are hot pink.
