“I know,” he rasped. “It’s okay. I know.”
We didn’t voicewhatit was that we knew exactly. In that moment, whatever we thought this would be, just became so muchmore.
The morning light bathed my skin, rousing me from sleep. I blinked, my muscles slightly sore as I stretched my arms over my head, feeling more satisfied than I’d felt in ages. I glanced over at Preston’s side of the bed, my smile falling when I found it empty.
Sitting up, I surveyed the room, my terrible eyesight still adjusting to the morning. I still hadn’t gotten my contacts. I usually wore them, but mostly because my mother hated my glasses.
Dropping the sheet from my naked body, I searched the rumpled sheets for his jersey. After he kissed my tears away, he tore it off me, then curled around my naked body, waking only to press soft kisses to my skin every few hours. I pulled the garment down over my head before I climbed off his bed in search of my glasses. They’d come off when I crawled onto the bed last night, and he must have moved them aside at some point.
I found them on his dresser, so I slid them on before I snuck into his en-suite bathroom. I needed to pee and see if the train wreck that I knew was my hair could be tamed.
After a quick fresh-up, I tiptoed down the hallway, following the sound of clattering dishes. When I rounded the corner, the sight had me stopping dead in my tracks. Preston stood at the island, shirtless, in nothing but a pair of gray joggers.Gray.He was a sight to behold. All lean and masculine.And that tattoo.He placed two bagels on a plate, then scooped up some cream cheese on a knife.
“Morning,” he said gruffly before glancing up at me with a smile. “Hungry? There’s coffee.”
“Morning.” I smiled back, letting my bare feet carry me across the cool floors.
He watched me approach, his eyes dipping to my legs before he met my amused smirk. Instead of landing on a stool, I moved in behind him and wrapped my arms around his back. I leaned my cheek against his skin. “Thank you.”
When I let go, he dropped the knife, catching me around the waist with his arm.
He leaned in, sealing his lips over mine with a quick but knee-buckling kiss. “Sleep okay?”
I nodded. “Better than ever.”
He grinned, dropping another kiss on my temple before he turned back to the bagels.
I reached for an empty mug and filled it with coffee before taking a seat in front of him.
He cleared his throat as he slid over a plate. “I need to apologize.”
I frowned, picking up the delicious pastry. “For what?”
“We didn’t use a condom.” He ran a hand through his hair, his own brows furrowing. “I saw you in my jersey and I just…” He dropped his hand to the counter. “I lost my head. I should haveasked. But I promise you, baby, I’m clean. I haven’t been with anyone in a while.”
His concern made my stomach flip, and a thread of guilt wove through me that I hadn’t even thought about it either. I was too in the moment.
I placed the bagel back on the plate. “It’s okay. I know you wouldn’t put me at risk. And I’m clean too. It’s been a really long time for me. And I have an IUD.” My cheeks heated as I said the words.
Admitting no one had wanted to sleep with me in years was not my ideal breakfast conversation. Especially to a man like him.
“I’ve never been with anyone without a condom. I want you to know that,” he said quietly.
There goes that flip again. “Me neither.”
His phone buzzed on the counter, and he stepped aside to reach it, his muscles flexing. He swiped the screen, then a smile spread across his face.
He glanced up at me. “Do you have plans today?”
I shook my head. “Not really. There are some great deals on pork chops and canned goods today on my coupon app.”
He leaned back against the counter, a smile ghosting his lips. “Go somewhere with me?”
I didn’t think I could tell this man no even if I wanted to.
So I smiled. “Okay.”
43
