She gave a luxurious stretch. “God, I feel like I could conquer the world. Is this how you feel when you go to one of those fancy spas for a week? And look, no seaweed or mud needed. Just you. Sign me up for more.”
Amused, he brought her finger to his chest. “Your name goes here for a reservation.”
She cocked an eyebrow but traced her name on his skin. “So…what are we going to do today? I can count the times I’ve languished in bed. Usually it means I’m sick as a dog. Are you hungry? Because I’m thirsty and starving, and I need a shower.”
He leaned in and kissed her slowly, letting the heat build between them. “How do you feel about me giving you a reason to shower?”
Her hands slid into his hair, gripping his scalp again in a way that made his eyes cross. “I love incentives. Do your best.”
He figured he had when they both ended up on the shower floor.
The sun was high overhead by the time they left the bedroom. A few votives were still flickering in the hallway.
“High performers,” he commented. “Like us.”
Her mouth twitched. “Are you really planning on walking around the house without a shirt on?”
His entire inner temperature still ranged in the desert-hot zone. Right now, he could barely stand wearing drawstring pants while she had on her usual black T-shirt and jeans ensemble minus shoes. They were both barefoot. “Yes. Do you have a problem with that?”
“No, but it will make it difficult to focus.” She gave a throaty murmur of delight. “You were already a distraction, Kyle. But this look… You might have me grabbing some more ice cream from the fridge for breakfast.”
He was importing more as soon as possible.
When they reached the stairs, the Latin music he’d put on was still filling the house with its sultry beat. Later, he’d have to invite her to dance with him.
They were halfway down the stairs when the front door opened. They froze as Sawyer walked in.
His face went slack with shock as he followed the shrine of votive candles up the stairs. When he spotted them, he clapped his hand over his eyes. “Oh God! I’m so sorry.”
Spinning around, he backpedaled out of the house and slammed the door.
Madison winced. “Well…that was fun. You’d better go after him. He needs to paint. Which means we can’t be getting freaky all over the house.”
“No?” He laughed. “We’ll have to figure out a system.”
Or he’d find Sawyer a new studio to paint in.
But when he went outside, Sawyer was nowhere to be found. Returning to the kitchen, he found Madison piling leftover Cuban pastries onto a baking sheet.
“He booked it. I’ll text him.”
She was frowning as she placed the pan in the oven. “I hate saying this, but I want to be back in our Romance Shrine. I hate feeling weird again. Also, you have a few love bites on your chest. I’m sure Sawyer saw them. Now he knows I have vampire tendencies.”
Suppressing the urge to laugh, Kyle crossed the room and took her by the shoulders. She looked up at him, her golden eyes flinty again. “Our roommates are going to know we’ve had sex.”
She hitched a shoulder. “You’d think I’d be totally cool with it, but I hate that he ran off. That’s two roommates now who’ve come across us?—”
“Make it three!” Dean genially called out, coming into the kitchen with Pierre’s covered cage. “I see my idea for a sleepover gave you crazy kids the space you needed for your blossoming romance. How’s everyone doing this morning? Kyle, I like the new look. You come off as a man who’s comfortable at home, proud of his love bites.”
Madison started for Dean, prompting Kyle to playfully grab her arm.
“Keep talking,” she warned Dean. “My cleaver has been looking for some action.”
Dean chortled but wisely stepped backward. “Speaking ofwhich…” He tossed a gift bag to Madison, who caught it deftly.
“You’d better not have bought me lingerie, Dean.”
Their friend gave a hearty guffaw. “If I’d known what your face would look like, I might have. Be careful. It could freeze like that.”
