“Delicious,” I declare with a wink.
“Oh my God.” Harper covers his face with his hands to hide his embarrassment.
Okay, I pushed him too far. I rinse my hand off under the warm spray and grab the loofah hanging against the black marble tile. I pump soap into the loofah, then roughly rub it in my hands until it is full of foam. Harper stays good, heavily leaning against the tile as I swipe the soapy loofah over his skin. He even lets me lift his feet to wash the ticklish bottoms. Such a good boy when he wants to be.
I hurriedly wash my own body, then tug him to stand under the spray with me. Sleep is slowly claiming him, so I hurry us through rinsing off. Only one large fluffy towel hangs on the bar, so we’ll have to share it tonight. Tenderly drying him off first, I focus on his back for just a tad longer than I need to, which earns me a small, pleased smirk from Harper.
Honey lazily lifts her head to watch us climb into the bed but then promptly goes back to sleep once she’s no longer interested in us. Does he ever let Honey sleep in the bed? But tonight’s not the night to ask because Harper is warm against my body underthe covers. Within moments, he’s zonked out, mouth slightly parted as he sleeps deeply in my arms.
I fall asleep slowly, comforted by the weight of him in my arms. Pleased with the knowledge that now he’s mine.
9
HARPER
Is it possible to lose my mind for only two hours? If so, that’s definitely what happened last night. Momentary insanity. Twenty-five and I’ve just had my first kiss. My first orgasm with another person and it was with Jackson “perfect face” Harris. Jesus Christ.
Soft light of dawn filters in through the edges of my blackout curtains. Even in the darkness of the bedroom, I can easily trace Jackson’s face with my eyes. His skin is the most beautiful shade of brown, adding to his unfairly beautiful face. I carefully trace one of his thick eyebrows with the tip of my fingers, pleased when he stays sound asleep despite my lingering touch.
He’s the earth-stopping type of gorgeous, skin as soft as satin. When he’d kissed me in the dark of the club, my heart had shot off like a firework through my chest. Frozen, like an animal caught in a trap, all I could focus on was the silky softness of his lips moving gently against mine. Thinking about the kiss even now makes my skin flush with want.
It’s terrifying, to want someone, but not know exactly how. Sure, I’m a virgin, but I’ve watched porn. I know what happens and I know what I want. Only the details get blurry when I thinkabout it too hard. Being a fumbling virgin in bed with Jackson would be beyond humiliating.
I want to be everything he wants, everything he could ever dream of having. But at the end of the day, I’m still just me.
Plain old Harper.
The seizure kid.
Adopted by parents who wish they’d gotten a healthy kid, not a fucked-up one.
Jackson will have me, get bored of me, and move on. There is no reason to want to keep me. But he’s so convinced of his want that I don’t have the energy to deny him anymore. So I’ll give in. When I’m old and gray and lonely, I’ll remember the hot guy who fucked me a few times before moving on to greener, prettier pastures. A morbid thought, but oddly comforting.
Honey huffs loudly in the corner, her signal that she’s awake and wants to be let out. Leaving Jackson in the bed feels weird, but Honey will always come first. I have my priorities. Jackson proves just how sound of a sleeper he is as he keeps snoring softly while I get dressed, halfway falling over as I pull on a loose pair of sweatpants.
I impatiently rub at my arms while waiting for Honey to do her business. A chilly breeze blows past me, whipping my hair around my shoulders. Lifting my head into the cool wind, a smile curves my lips up. For just one moment in time, I’m free. I take these moments when I can, as they’re so far and few between. My favorite moments are the ones where I forget even for just a moment about the seizures, about the medicine, about everything except just being alive.
A yip of joy from Honey startles me out of the blissful moment.
Her body shakes and wiggles as she bolts up the wood stairs of the porch, running right past me. Jackson fills the frame of the back door, all broad shoulders, wearing just his undonejeans from the night before. God. He belongs on the cover of a romance novel. Except no, I’d hate that. No matter how many people have fucked him before me, while he’s with me, he’s mine. At least I can pretend so.
“Morning,” Jackson says, eyes still squinted with sleep.
“Morning.” I don’t know what to do, so I settle on saluting him.
Jackson’s lips tremble with a smile. “Your bed is extremely comfortable.”
“It should be. It cost me a lot of money.”
Jackson lifts his arms to grip the top of the doorframe, leaning out as he does so. My eyes automatically fall to the expanse of bare skin of his torso. The rippling muscle makes my mouth water. An embarrassing flush starts to creep up my neck, so I avert my gaze away.
“Do you have plans today?” Jackson asks, a smile in his voice.
I shake my head. “No. I mean yes. Yes. I have plans.”
“Oh?” Jackson’s tone is disbelieving. I hate him.
“I have very important things to do,” I tell him haughtily, lifting my chin in the air.
