Reaching across the table, he tugged on her bowl. “Then, I’ll take some of your soup. I told you I like it.”
They took turns eating each other’s soup, and Carli had to wonder that he wasn’t bothered by sharing. Several of the guys she’d dated didn’t even like her stealing a fry from their plate. Considering he was a doctor, she’d have expected him to be neurotic about germs.
When they cleaned up, she asked him about it.
After drying his hands on a dish rag, he cupped her cheeks saying, “We do this.” The kiss he gave her sent every nerve fluttering from her head to her toes. He teased with his tongue and licked along her top lip, then kissed her even deeper. Good thing he was holding her because her legs had turned to jelly.
Stroking his thumb down her cheek, he waited until she could focus again. “It’s not much different.”
“Mmm,” was about all she could get out. The things this man could do to her, make her feel. “I can’t believe you still want to kiss me while I’m wearing your sweats and flannel.”
His eyebrows went up and down. “You have no idea how turned on I get seeing you in my clothes. Now, I think we talked about a nap.”
“I was hoping to crash in front of the fireplace. Is that okay?”
Cocking his head, he said, “Only if you don’t mind sharing.”
Was he serious? They’d just swapped spit; she could manage sharing a couch.
“Let’s try this.”
He rested on his side along the back of the couch, then pulled her in front of him, his arms circled firmly around her. This felt so incredible. His heart beat a steady pattern at her back, and his chest rose and fell in rhythm.
His lips tickled her ear, and a breath caressed her cheek. In her mind, he was whispering loving endearments. The reds and orange of the fire flickered and danced, mesmerizing her, lulling her into a peaceful dream world where Blake was always with her.
Chapter seventeen
The cool air above Blake contrasted with the warmth snuggled in front of him. When he opened his eyes, the room was darker than expected with only the glow of the gas fire illuminating it. As he glanced at the window, the waning light told him the sun was on its way out. But the kitchen lights were also off. Hadn’t he left those on?
Carli’s lashes rested peacefully on her cheeks, and her shoulders rose and fell in rhythm. Still asleep. It was to be expected after the extra time they’d put in at BGH. They’d been lucky to get maybe three or four hours of sleep each night. He was used to that from his residency days, but doubtful Carli got by on that little sleep.
The temperature in the room was definitely chillier. The gas fire was pleasant but more ornamental than functional. Had something happened to the furnace in the building? He hated to wake her up, but he needed to make sure everything was working.
After pressing a kiss to her cheek, he wiggled in attempt to get off the couch without disturbing her. No dice. A soft sound drifted from her throat, and she stretched like a contented cat.
“Wow, we slept a while. Must have been tired. What time is it?”
“Almost four.”
“Wait. I didn’t get that.” She narrowed her eyes
He’d forgotten she had taken out her CIs, and naturally the light was so low in here she most likely wouldn’t be able to see his lips. Instead, he held up four fingers.
Nodding, she scooted off the couch and moved in front of the fire. “It got chilly in here.”
Marching to the kitchen, he tried the light switches. Nothing. The time on the microwave wasn’t showing and neither was the coffee maker. Darn, they must’ve lost power.
When Carli looked at him for an answer, he flipped the switch off and on again and shrugged.
“No power? I wonder what happened.”
How did he explain? Drawing on his limited signing skills, he said, “I’ll find out.”
His phone sat on the counter, and he slid his finger over the screen. Full battery, good. After a bit of scrolling and texting, he had the answer.
Once he’d pulled open the drawer in the hutch, he scooped up a few candles, set them in holders, and lit them. He left one on the kitchen counter and brought the other two to the living room and placed them on the coffee table. Hopefully, Carli could see him enough to read his lips, because he didn’t know the signs for most of what he had to say.
“There was a car accident a few streets over. Knocked down a transformer, causing an outage for most all of Back Bay and a few other neighborhoods.”
