“Do you really want to get up?”
“No, but if we don’t, we’re going to be zombies tomorrow.” He kissed his way back up. “Maybe we should sit out of the drive tomorrow.”
I groaned as his lips teased mine again. They ached a little, but I definitely did not want him to stop. “I can’t sit out the drive tomorrow. I already missed today.”
“Mmm, yes, you did. You naughty girl.”
I laughed as Alex tried to kiss me, making him laugh too. “Do you have a naughty girl fantasy?”
“I have ayoufantasy.”
“Yeah?” I tilted my head, looking up at him.
Alex propped himself up on his elbows, relieving me of most of his weight—except where it really mattered. I squirmed against his erection. He shifted back, and I whimpered.
The corner of his lips tilted up, but his eyes stayed serious. “Nikki, you’re beautiful, kind, and funny. I’ve always had a thing for you.” We stared at each other for a moment before Alex blinked. “Come on, let’s actually get some sleep.”
He pushed off the bed and helped me up too. We brushed our teeth, side by side, watching each other in the mirror and trying not to laugh. I spilt foam down onto my top.
As we tapped our toothbrushes and rinsed, Alex caught my eye again. “I really should shower.”
“Me too. You go first.”
I slipped out and sat on the bed, fidgeting as I listened to Alex undress and start up the shower. Without his body over mine, his lips on me, the cold seeped in, and by the time he was out, I was shivering under the covers.
He walked out in nothing but a towel, and I was momentarily distracted by the expanse of goosepimple-covered skin, but shook it off. My shower was quick and hot, and I dressed, again, turned off the lights, and slipped under the covers.
And Alex found me, his lips landing on mine like they’d missed me as much as mine had missed his.
“So much for getting to bed,” I said into the dark between kisses.
Alex’s chuckle skimmed across my lips. “Sleeping is overrated.”
11
Oh,that five a.m. wake-up drumming was the worst. At least this time, I hadn’t woken up to Alex jerking away from me. Instead, he’d had an arm around my waist, his body hard and pressed against me as we started to stretch and grumble.
We had stumbled around, getting our gear ready for the ride and drinking our hot tea. Once I’d had a few sips and moved around enough to wake up, I looked back at Alex, and he gave me a shy smile. It was like a dream. Had that all really happened?
And then he leaned over and kissed me again, and yes, yes it had.
Bundled up in the back of the Jeep, I fell asleep against Alex as we drove into the morning. He carefully nudged me awake when we had our first sighting.
After we snapped photos and Thomas moved us on, Alex leaned toward me, his breath against my ear making me shiver. “Do you think we need to hide this? From everyone else?”
I pushed my lips to the side, thinking. “I don’t see any reason to. I mean, these people are only going to be in our lives for a few more days.”
“Ah, well, I meant when we get back home.”
“Oh.Oh. Oh my god, our mothers are going to be unbearable.”
Alex chuckled next to me. “What, you mean they’ll be proved right and we’ll never hear the end of it for the rest of our lives?”
“Exactly.”
We bounced along quietly for a moment, before I spoke what was on my mind. “I mean…what is this?”
Alex twisted in his seat to look at me fully. “I want to take you on a date when we get back home.”
