Page 73 of One Midnight Kiss

29

FOX

Iwasn’t in the habit of waking up before noon on a Saturday, but something dragged me out of the haze of sleep. A pounding on my door, insistent and relentless. I groaned, rolling over, and caught a glimpse of Natalia, her hair fanned out on the pillow, her bare legs curled up under the covers. She looked peaceful for once, not wearing her usual armor of poise and sharpness. I wanted to bury myself back under the covers, pull her close, and forget the world existed. I wanted to push inside her and feel that glorious wet heat once again. I couldn’t get enough of her body.

But despite trying to will away the intruder at my door, the pounding continued. When the pounding stopped, the shrill ring of my phone cut through the silence. I cursed softly, carefully sliding out of bed. Someone seemed intent on waking up Natalia, which pissed me off.

Thankfully, Natalia didn’t even stir. Poor girl was all tuckered out. I smiled as I picked up my sweats and pulled them on. The woman could sleep through a thunderstorm. I checked the caller ID.

Jerrod.

I knew without a doubt he was the one at the door. Jerrod had a way of inserting himself into my life at the most inconvenient times. I silenced my phone and walked to the door. I swung it open, and sure enough, there he was, looking disheveled and frantic.

“Keep it down,” I muttered, motioning back to the bedroom. “It’s fucking Saturday morning. Some of us were sleeping.”

Jerrod stepped inside, eyes narrowing as he looked me up and down. I put a hand over the marks on my chest that were evidence of Natalia’s passion. He smirked, already making assumptions. “Who is it this time?” he asked.

I ignored him, heading to the kitchen. “Coffee?”

I jerked open the drawer with the assortment of K-cups. I popped one into the machine and slid a mug under the spout.

“Fox, what the hell happened yesterday?” Jerrod asked, following me like a shadow. He didn’t wait for an answer. “I was calling you all day. You disappeared. What the hell is going on? You can’t just go radio silent.”

“Is this a ‘you’re obsessed with me’ thing?” I teased, going to the fridge and pulling out the vanilla-flavored cream. “Or did something actually happen? You know we don’t have to talk every day.”

Jerrod’s jaw clenched, his irritation obvious. That was when I knew it wasn’t a social visit. “Hanna went live yesterday. The final round of Beta. You were supposed to be there.”

Ah, shit.

I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly feeling the exhaustion of the past few weeks. “Tell me you’re here because it’s good news,” I said.

Jerrod gave me a dry look. “It could’ve gone better. We’re having installation issues. People are screwing up the setup. It’s a mess. We might need to send out a manual or recommend electricians handle it. If people fry the tech before they ever get to use it, it’s going to be bad.”

I opened my mouth to respond when the bedroom door creaked open. Natalia stepped out, wearing nothing but one of my old shirts, rubbing her eyes like she’d just woken up from a ten-hour nap. She looked up, freezing when she saw Jerrod. He froze too, his face a mix of shock and disbelief.

He looked at me, then back to Natalia like he wasn’t sure he was seeing what he thought he saw.

“Seriously?” Jerrod hissed at me, running a hand through his hair. “I thought this proposal was bullshit. Are you two actually together?”

“Do you want cream in your coffee, Natalia?” I asked casually, throwing Jerrod a look that said to zip it.

Natalia gave me a small, amused smile, ignoring Jerrod’s open-mouthed stare. She stepped past him like he wasn’t even there and took the cup from my hand, then sat on one of the barstools. Her legs crossed, bare feet swinging lightly. It was kind of amazing how unbothered she was by all this.

I started another cup of coffee.

“Good morning, Jerrod,” she said brightly, with a cheesy grin on her lips.

Jerrod let out a low, disbelieving laugh, shaking his head. “You two are too confusing for me.” He threw his hands up and made his way toward the door. “Just call me later, Fox. And don’t forget we’re in damage control mode right now. We didn’t get this thing this far to fumble at the one-yard line.”

“Will do,” I replied, giving him a mock salute as he left, the door clicking shut behind him.

As soon as he was gone, I turned back to Natalia, who was sipping her coffee with a bemused look on her face. “You could’ve reminded me about the Beta launch, you know,” I said.

She raised an eyebrow. “I’m not your employee. I don’t know anything about that. I would think you would know when your own tech is launching.”

“Fair point.” I leaned on the counter, shaking my head. We stared at each other for a few moments, the tension from before settling back into something more familiar. Something easy.

“I guess I was distracted,” I said.