She knew she needed to say something.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, though.”
“Tomorrow?” He blinked.
“At the meeting.”
“The meeting.”
It was hard to tell if he was actually comprehending what she was saying or just repeating it, but it didn’t matter. She knew exactly how he felt. Her brain was so scrambled, so blood and oxygen deprived, that she was surprised either of them was forming complete sentences.
Merritt drew herself upright, turned her back to Niko, and walked away on jelly legs, summoning every scrap of self-control that had eluded her earlier to prevent herself from taking one last look over her shoulder.
13
All things considered, Niko probablyshould’ve taken the next day off.
He could barely remember walking home from the bar, whether his roommates had been up to chat with him or if he’d gone to his room undisturbed.
It was like someone had hit the emergency override on his brain, sending everything spinning—weeks of fantasy all jumbled up with heart-stopping reality.
Not just someone.Merritt.
He’d kissed Merritt.
Merritt had kissedhim.
He didn’t even care that it had ended there; based on how he was reeling from their make-out alone, every system in his body in overdrive, anything more than that would have likely made him spontaneously combust.
It felt like the respectful thing would have been to ignore hisstill-raging hard-on and go straight to sleep, but after hours of tossing and turning, slipping in and out of heated dreams—the same ones he’d been having but a thousand times more vivid now that he knew just how soft her lips were, the feel of her skin heating under his touch, her little gasps and moans echoing in his ears—he knew it was hopeless.
But even that wasn’t enough, and by the time morning rolled around, he’d practically rubbed himself raw without feeling anything approaching relief.
Bleary-eyed and distracted, he made his way up to the house, the large coffee in his hand so ineffective it might as well have been Sleepytime tea. After letting himself in, he wandered through the half-finished rooms, barely taking them in, for what must have been at least half an hour.
Clearly, he shouldn’t do anything today that required the use of power tools or would put him in danger of cutting off anything important. He settled upstairs, framing up the new walls for Merritt’s walk-in closet, skipping the nail gun in favor of a hammer.
Eventually, he found himself in a solid rhythm, although the dullness of the task left his mind open to be hijacked by flashes of the night before—the whole thing, not just the end. That was easier to handle, at least. If he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about her, he might as well keep those thoughts as innocent as possible.
Thwack. Thwack.Merritt clutching her stomach, head thrown back with laughter at his dancing, exactly how he’d hoped she’d respond.
Thwack. Thwack.Dancing with her, even before they were touching—the joy that swelled in his chest seeing her fully let loose for the first time. Pulling her close, just for a second, unable to resist.
Thwack. Thwack.The flush of her cheeks when he’d caught her staring at him, the hunger in her gaze still lingering.
Thwack. Thwack.Her body pressed against him as they danced, so soft and warm and perfect he thought he might lose his mind.
Thwack. Thwack.Her teeth scraping his neck, the hot flick of her tongue sending an electric jolt straight to his cock.
Thud.
“Fuck!” Niko dropped the hammer to the ground with a clatter, shaking out his throbbing hand. He hadn’t felt a crunch, which meant he probably hadn’t done any real damage, but it still hurt like a motherfucker.
“Are you okay?”
He whirled around to see Merritt framed in the doorway. She looked like she was fresh out of the shower, her hair damp and braided away from her face, which looked paler than usual. Based on the dark circles under her eyes, her night had been just as restless as his.
Seeing her like this, after spending the last twelve-odd hours unable to get her out of his mind, his first instinct was to pull her back into his arms. But he didn’t move, his body tense with the effort.
