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Jesus. The Energizer Bunny could’ve learned a thing or two from this guy.
25
DOMINIC
The smell of coffee and toast filled my apartment. I wasn’t much of a cook, but I could manage sandwiches, toast, and coffee. She was still in bed, but that was no surprise. I’d never been able to sleep in–not even as a kid. Maybe it was anxiety, but as soon as the first flicker of consciousness hit me, I was awake. There was always too much to do. Too much to worry about.
It was dark out and I’d only turned on the dim lights in the kitchen.
I heard bare shuffling feet as I poured my coffee. I turned to see Darcy sleepily stumbling toward me. Her hair was a tangled mess and her eyes were heavy, but she practically crashed into me, wrapping both arms around my waist and letting her head fall against my chest.
“Morning,” she said groggily.
I put my arms around her, surprised by how right it felt to hold her like this–to see the city sleeping outside my windows and to just put my arms around my woman in the kitchen. I had no idea feelings could develop so quickly. Every relationship I’d ever had in the past had been a slow, steady development that followed a logical curve. I’d started to imagine that was just how it would always be. Some women would make sense as a match and some wouldn’t. And even the ones who made sense eventually didn’t. I never expected to meet someone who made me operate on an entirely different scale.
I simply wanted Darcy. It didn’t matter if it made sense. It didn’t matter how much chasing after her could potentially damage my goals. It was beyond that, like the instinct to eat, drink, and sleep. No matter how badly you wanted something, those instincts always grew stronger and stronger the longer you ignored them. Eventually, they won out. That’s how Darcy felt to me. I could run from her. I could try to forget about her. I could even lie to myself and pretend I didn’t need her. But every passing minute without her just made the need that much stronger.
Yesterday had been like finding a buffet after weeks of starvation. We’d spent almost the entire day in bed.
Darcy made a sound like snoring. I grinned, taking her shoulders and pulling her back softly. She stirred and blinked her eyes open.
“Did you fall asleep?”
“You’re comfy,” she said, smiling sleepily.
“Go back to bed and rest. Do you want toast? Coffee?”
“Both, with a side of Dominic.”
“I can’t come to bed. I’ve got to go for a run first.”
“I’ll come,” she said.
“You’re serious? You want to run with me?”
“Haven’t you seen me training?”
I laughed. “Yes. I’ve seen your training. I also just watched you twist your ankle yesterday morning. You’re not running on it.”
She folded her arms. “It barely even hurts now.”
“So it was just a ploy to get me to carry you back to my place?”
Darcy gave an adorable little shrug. “It was a happy accident. And the back to back orgasms yesterday must’ve had some healing properties, because it’s seriously not that bad right now.”
“You’re still not running on it. I’m going for my run. You don’t go anywhere.”
She folded her arms, raising an eyebrow. “What if I escape while you’re gone, Mr. Caveman? Are you going to find me, club me over the head, and drag me back to your sex mansion?”
“I’ll just need to find a way to properly motivate you to stay.”
“If you’re going to bribe me with more sex, that’s going to have to wait. I don’t think my body can handle any more for at least twenty-four hours. I’m sore as hell down there.”
I grinned. “Was I too rough?”
“No. You’re too big, asshole. And I’m only human.”
I made Darcy some toast with expertly spread butter and jelly, then prepared her coffee. She liked so much sugar and cream in it that I wasn’t sure it actually qualified as coffee anymore. She continued to tease me and flirt while I made my way around the kitchen and I could imagine every morning starting this way.
