I’m dead.
This woman just killed me purely with her dirty mind.
“I’ll draw us a bath in a second, just let the old man recover,” I quip, and it causes her to giggle under her breath. “Need anything? What can I get you?” I ask seriously.
Her lips stamp a little kiss on my shoulder. “Nothing. It’s perfect right here. You know, your dirty mouth isn’t unexpected, neither is your need for control, but you pulling the cover over us right now for a cuddle session still surprises me every time.”
I ensure the blanket covers her body. “It’s what I have in my arms that causes me to do it without even asking. You little temptress... Plus, you deserve it.”
I hook her leg over my hip to ensure she can’t escape and rub soothing circles on her back. My mind begins to drift, wondering how this woman can connect with me on so many levels, not just in the bedroom.
It should scare me.
Yet it doesn’t.
Playinga simple tune on the piano, I’m not sure what I’m aimlessly thinking about. Maybe it’s actually nothing. I haven’t had a clear mind in a long time, and I have an idea why suddenly a moment of my life isn’t occupied by work; instead, I’m eased by relaxation.
Savannah.
She’s flipped my life upside down.
A throat clearing causes me to swing my gaze to the bottom of my penthouse stairs, where I see Savannah in one of my shirts that reaches her knees. It’s not even sunrise yet.
“Ah, so you do play piano beyond do-re-mi.”
Opening my arms, I indicate for her to join me on the bench.“Maybe.”
She strides my way with that angelic, closed-mouth half-smile that shows she’s in bliss. “You didn’t know what the ballet was about, but you can play a song from it.”
Clicking my tongue, I use one arm to pull her closer when she sits next to me, and my other hand’s fingers press a few keys. “I pick up notes by sound. I can’t read music. My grandmother was insistent that I learn to play the piano. I hada Swiss teacher I was petrified of. I had to stop when I turned twelve, but it still kind of stuck with me.”
She rests the side of her head against my shoulder. “Ooh, I learned another fact about you.”
“Is it surprising?”
“Yeah. Deep down, you’re a family man who does things for the ones you love, like your grandmother. It only takes one person. It was piano lessons for her that you remember thirty years later.”
Perhaps, but I push it under a rock in my head. I’d rather explain it as honoring my grandmother's memory, and that’s it.
I’ll focus on the other part, and I give her a sideways glare. “Twenty-five years, thank you very much. No need to remind us of the age thing.”
She giggles softly. “It’s fun.”
Kissing the top of her head, I hate that the morning will be here soon when the switch returns of who we are to one another.
“You should be sleeping,” I whisper against her hair.
“Hard to do in an empty bed. Why aren’t you there?” she notes.
I think about it, but my mind draws a blank. “Not sure. I couldn’t sleep, but my head isn’t occupied, either. My body might not be physically used to this. The calm, I mean.”
She hugs my arm close. “Trust me, I never thought I would see you in a… normal and relaxed state? Nor did I think I would have ended up here.”
Simpering a deep chuckle, I have to disagree. “Nah, we both knew we would end up fucking the moment you walked into my office as my new assistant.”
Her grip on me loosens. “Right. Fucking.”
She begins to move, but I reel her back close to me. “Then,” I assure her. “Then. Now is different. You wouldn’t be here in my home at who knows what hour in the morning if we were just fucking. We’re a little more than that.” There is no way to deny it being anything else.
