Instead, I walk straight to my room.
* * *
But,of course, I have no spine anymore around the man, so exactly sixty-two minutes later, I creep through the door to his bedroom to find him waiting in bed.
“You’re late.” He grins.
I stand before him and elongate my neck. “Ooh, were you counting down the seconds?”
He laughs and moves the duvet to invite me in. “Seconds is maybe a stretch, but I’ll give you a minute or two.”
I don’t hesitate and slowly glide a few steps in the direction of the bed he has kept warm. “We keep meeting here.”
Sliding between the sheets feels like a prize. It’s all the things I enjoy; warmth, sex, and apparently, Spencer.
He lies on his side, quick to trace the lines of my body with his finger while he watches me sink against his mattress. “Why do I see a glimpse of something as pink as a Barbie?”
I laugh under my breath, as he must see my bra strap. I like my choice today; it’s hot-pink and has strings across my cleavage. “Might have dressed for the occasion.”
His mouth nips my shoulder as he sounds his endorsement. “I like the effort.”
I reach up to stroke his face, my thumb rubbing a circle along his stubbled jaw. “Did you have a good day?”
“I did.”
This is us having our moment. Where we check in with one another like two people who care and are attentive to one another before we go back to fulfilling each other's needs.
He combs his fingers into my hair. “I feel like I keep repeating myself and saying thank you a lot lately.”
“It’s called manners,” I retort.
“Is it strange we just kind of gel together?”
“It happens when you live together, even if for a few days. But Hadley knows that I’m just a friend, right?” I double-check.
“I think so.”
I draw a circle on his bare arm that is holding me. “I'll head back to the city at the end of the week, nonetheless. It’s probably better for her.”
He doesn’t answer, but I feel his fingers entwine tighter around my locks.
“For now, I’ll sneak out after you ravish me,” I attempt to lighten the mood.
“Stay the night and sneak out in the morning,” he states.
I peer up at him, and I see it’s what he wants, maybe needs, but most of all, I hear a command, as if I’m his.
I nod in agreement before our lips meet for a kiss that I realize I’ve been craving since the last one.
Because I may not have figured him out, but he managed to peel away the layered walls that I had around him, and right now, I just want to fall asleep in the comfort of his arms after we do the one thing that we’ve always been good at; making each other feel free for a moment.
19
SPENCER
Opening my front door, I beam a smile when I find Hudson standing there with Gracie in a baby carrier on his chest, arms and legs stuck out like a starfish. In true Hudson fashion, he has sunglasses over his eyes and swipes them off with style, and a winning grin is permanent on his face.
The man is in his early forties but is the image of every man’s hope of aging well, down to his lack of gray, not even a strand in his dark hair.
