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He fed Bud from the meals he’d prepared in the cooler and they dined on room service and the basket of delicacies washed down with some of that Dom Perignon (though not too much as he needed his wits about him). When they were full, they took a nap only for it to turn into more pleasant activities.
Later still, they swam on the private roof terrace pool with Bud frolicking around them as the sun set over the city. Under the light of the full moon with the starry sky above them, they made slow, luxurious love in the pool until both were unable to move.
It seemed the most natural thing in the world when they fell asleep cocooned in each other’s arms.
Sometime in the middle of the night, Lexi woke.
She couldn’t move, lost to the deliciousness that was the aftermath of Kane’s lovemaking. Her body tingled from head to toe and she was feeling sensations she had never felt before. She felt like a new person experiencing the world through different eyes. She felt like a woman now and it was wonderful.
Almost as wonderful as the man beside her.
She was still lying with her head on the crook of his shoulder when he suddenly tensed in his sleep. Beads of sweat started to appear on his forehead. He cried out, his distress a sharp call in the otherwise silent night.
He was having a nightmare.
From the foot of the bed, Bud’s head shot up. She laid a hand on Kane’s shoulder, meaning to wake him when his fist flailed out. Startled, she ducked. His fist whooshed past, missing her face by inches.
She knew he hadn’t meant to hurt her, but short of risking another punch to wake him, there wasn’t too much she could do to help him and yet, his face looked so tortured that it tugged at her heart. She couldn’t leave him like this. Surely there was something she could do?
Seeing Lexi watching his master, Bud whined a greeting at her and climbed onto the bed. Very deliberately, he crawled until he covered the lower half of Kane’s body. He might well have covered more of him if she wasn’t already taking up some of that space. Almost immediately, Kane’s moans became quieter, although he was clearly still lost in the hell of his dreams.
Instinctively, she followed the dog’s lead, moving her own body over until she covered his torso with her weight.
He became still.
His heart that had been beating rapidly beneath her began to slow into a more natural rhythm.
“Good boy, Bud,” she whispered, once again amazed by the connection the two had with each other. Bud responded with a big sigh that he blew out of his nose as he settled back down.
Laying her face onto Kane’s chest, she let the rise and fall of his breathing lull her back to sleep.
When Kane woke a little later, he was startled to see none of his usual neon stars blinking above him. Disoriented, it took a few moments to realize he wasn’t in the battle ground he’d been dreaming about or his beach side home.
Flashes of his day with Lexi came to him then, a heady mix of skin, sex, and the kind of intimacy that turned two people into one. Opening his eyes, he smiled to see her lying on top of him, fast asleep, although it seemed a strange place for her to do so — not that he was averse to it. If that’s what she found comfortable, he could get used to it.
Bud made a sound that caught his attention.
His dog lay across his lower half, one paw stretched up as if trying to touch him.
Kane knew immediately that she had witnessed one of his night terrors.
Instead of running away like other women before her, she had taken Bud’s lead to comfort him. Instead of finding him weak and leaving, she had stayed and helped.
He knew it was over. In that moment, Kane had lost his heart.
He reached up to envelope her in his arms. Though deeply asleep, she snuggled into him. Kane shifted his head so that he could see Bud better.
“Sorry boy, but you’re not the only one in my life now.”
Luckily, his dog didn’t seem too disappointed by that.
19
They woke the next day, still entangled in each other’s arms.
Kane was staring at her in a way that caused her chest to constrict. There was such tenderness there that left her breathless. She smiled and stretched, dislodging Bud, who apparently had been sleeping with his chin resting on her thigh.
He yawned and rolled onto his back, four paws pointed to the ceiling exposing his stomach. She reached over to stroke it, enjoying the feel of his silky fur as she turned to Kane. “How long have you been awake?”
