Her eyes narrowed. “I’m yours because we had sex?”
“No, you’re mine because that’s what you were always meant to be.” I ground my hips against her. “The sex is a smoking hot bonus.”
She snorted and shook her head. “My orgasms were a heck of a bonus.”
“Consider them a perk of being mine,” I offered as I reluctantly crawled off the mattress when the doorbell went off again. “We can have the condom conversation when Whit leaves, but I’ve never gone bare before, and now that I’ve been inside you without one, I’m addicted to the feeling.”
Mel’s hand dropped to her stomach. “But I’m not on anything.”
I bent down to drop a kiss on the top of her hand. “If we made a baby last night, the pregnancy would speed up our relationship. But have no doubt, we’ll still end up in the same place later anyway.”
Mel squeezed her eyes shut, holding her palms up facing me. “Okay, I know I was super bold last night, but I must be more myself this morning because that’s a lot to take in.”
“I’m a decisive man, sweetheart, but I’ll try to be patient while you catch up.” Her eyes popped open as she gasped, and I winked at her. “In the meantime, I’ll grab you something frommy closet. Less temptation for Whit so he doesn’t try to steal you from me. I’d hate to have to kill one of my closest friends.”
She heaved a deep sigh, shaking her head. “Borrowing some of your clothes sounds like a good plan to me. Not only am I not in the mood to wear something dirty from my bag, but I’m just not up for murder and mayhem this morning.”
“Hooah.” I strode into my closet, tossed on a shirt and shorts, and grabbed a sweatshirt and pair of athletic shorts for Mel. After I tossed them at her, I headed into the living room because Whit pushed the bell a-fucking-gain.
When I yanked the door open, he ignored my glare and shouldered past me. “Took you long enough. Are you already losing your edge now that you’ve claimed a woman?”
“Shut the fuck up and go make some coffee. I need some damn caffeine if I have to deal with you this early in the morning,” I growled.
“You’re awfully grouchy for a guy who—” He stopped midsentence when I took a threatening step toward him. Then he made a tsk-ing sound and shook his head. “I wasn’t going to say anything bad about your girl. Not after you made it crystal clear that she's the one for you.”
“Damn straight she is.” I followed him into the kitchen, keeping an ear out for Mel. I didn’t want her to start her morning with the grisly details of her break-in. Hell, if I could help it, she never needed to know the extent of what the bastard had done.
I leaned against the counter while Whit went to work creating masterpieces on the high-end machine that he’d talked me into buying. The damn thing made the best coffee I’d ever tasted, but I still hadn’t gotten the hang of using it like he had.
“What is it about our team and all the drama that happens when one of us has wifed up?” Whit let out a low whistle and shook his head. “First, Brecken falls for Hadley when we’re in the middle of a K&R mission down in the jungles of Nicaragua.Then the best quarterback to have ever played the game turned his fake relationship with Sera into the real thing. And now you paid good money to play white knight to a damsel in distress only for her to end up with a stalker after you solved her original problem.”
I pushed away from the counter as Mel padded into the room, murmuring, “I’m not sure about those other situations, but I blame my sister for this one. My life was very quiet until she auctioned me off on the internet.”
“Yeah, but you got me out of the deal, so you can’t be too mad at Ana.” I flung my arm around her shoulder when she got close enough and pulled her against my side.
“Yeah, yeah. I get it. You don’t need to go all territorial on me. I know the lady is all yours.” Whit flashed a grin at Mel as he slid a latte in front of me. “Hey, Mel. I’m Whit, Devon’s favorite co-worker.”
Mel giggled when I countered, “Only because Sera barely comes into the office anymore, and Brecken isn’t just a co-worker since he’s our boss.”
Whit ignored me and asked Mel, “How do you like your coffee?”
She glanced down at the cup in front of me before answering, “I’d kill for a really strong cappuccino right about now.”
“I thought you weren’t in the mood for murder and mayhem this morning?” I teased with a grin.
Mel jerked her chin toward Whit. “I’m guessing I can’t avoid the subject since he’s here to talk about the guy who broke into my place last night.”
Fuck.Judging by the determined gleam in her green orbs, she wanted the details I’d kept from her last night.
11
MELISANDE
Whit turned his back to us, focusing on making my cappuccino on a machine that looked as though it belonged in a coffee shop, which gave Devon and me as much privacy as possible while we were all in the same room. With his wrinkled brow and downward curve to his lips, Devon didn’t look thrilled to discuss the break-in. I assumed his reluctance was due to whatever he’d discovered in my bedroom.
Although I couldn’t deny I was curious about what had happened, I figured that I might be better off waiting until after the guy was caught to ask for the level of detail. Otherwise, I’d just obsess on all the things that could go wrong. “You don’t have to tell me everything, but I want to be kept in the loop on the big things.”
“I guess that’s fair,” he begrudgingly conceded.
