AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I rested against Cooper, the rush of sensations swirling through me beginning to slow, like waves lapping against the shore as the tide rolled out. As my mind slowly flickered back into awareness, I began to panic in a corner of my thoughts. I wasn’t supposed to feel this way.
It was usually easy to keep my distance. So easy that I didn’t even have to try. Just now, I felt as if I had been walking through a forest and unexpectedly came upon the edge of a cliff. And now, I scrambled to back away from the edge, stumbling and losing my balance.
I told myself I should roll away from him. I should get my towel and walk across the hallway into my own apartment, where I would fall asleep by myself.
I stayed where I was.
ChapterTwenty
FARRAH
I felt the warmth of a palm resting in the curve of my waist, an arm curling around my back. I burrowed closer, savoring the feeling of warmth, of being held, of being protected and safe.
My eyes flew open. The room was dark. I could feel the steady beat of Cooper’s heart under my palm where it rested slightly off-center on his chest, along the edge of his rib cage.
His breathing was slow and even. Meanwhile, I had gone from a state of utter restfulness to teetering on the edge of anxiety-fueled distress.
I hadnever, not even once, fallen asleep with a man. With anyone, for that matter.
My heart beat as fast as a jackrabbit in my chest. I was too panicked to move. I feared any motion would wake Cooper. Idefinitelydidn’t want to do that. Lord knows that might mean conversation, and I was a hot mess, in the middle of the night just from waking up.
I forced myself to take slow and deep breaths, and my pulse gradually began to dial down. Cooper was warm and all muscle-y. I snuggled up against him like a little barnacle with one leg hooked over his, my body plastered to his side, and my arm curled over him. His hold was relaxed and secure.
When my anxiety began to abate, I opened my eyes again. A soft light emanated from outside his bedroom. I thought perhaps it was the light above the stove. The light above my stove never went off. But then, I didn’t like sleeping in complete darkness, so I didn’t mind.
Moonlight slanted through the windows, just enough to gild his face in a silvery glow. I wanted to trace my fingertips along his jawline and press a kiss on the side of his neck. I forced myself to hold still, but it took effort. Maybe, if I’d ever let myself fall asleep with anyone, I would’ve known this was a normal feeling. Maybe.
A part of me didn’teverwant to leave. I felt so comfortable and warm. Another part of me, the opposing side, experienced this urge to leap out of bed and run bare naked across the hallway in the darkness. Since Cooper and I had the only two apartments up here, I didn’t have to worry about anybody seeing me.
I seriously contemplated this option for several long moments. Yet this awakened part of me, an almost soft, animal side, had a stronger hold. I stayed right there, pressed against him. My eyes fell closed, and I slipped back into sleep.
Sometime later, I woke again to the sound of water running in the shower. I could smell coffee. I reached my arm across the sheets to find them holding just a hint of warmth. I wondered how long I had been sleeping alone, but figured it couldn’t have been too long.
I heard the water turn off and sat up abruptly, the covers falling in a rumple at my waist. I intended to get up and put my clothes on when I recalled that they were in the dryer in the very bathroom where Cooper was.
Before I could make a move, he appeared in the doorway, one towel wrapped around his waist as he scrubbed his hair with another.
My mouth went dry. I had gotten a feel ofallof Cooper last night, but it had been more of a jumble of intense sensations, not a clear sense. I hadn’t taken a long look. I did now. His body was a fucking work of art. His build was lean and rangy with broad shoulders, arms strong and long, and his chest muscled with defined planes. So help me God, the man had abs.
The dusting of dark hair on his chest narrowed to a trail that arrowed straight down behind his towel. He lowered his arm, his curls damp and his dark eyes studying me before his lips kicked up at the corner. My belly swooped, and my hormones let out a raucous cheer.
“Mornin’.”
The single word with a hint of a Southern drawl and butterflies tickled my belly with sparks leaping through me.
I felt his eyes drop down, and my nipples tightened. I knew I was blushing all over. When his eyes lifted again, I could feel the heat banked in his gaze from across the room.
“Good morning,” I managed to say.
“There’s coffee.” He angled his head to the side in the direction that would be across the hall toward my apartment. “I can pop over and grab some clothes for you if you tell me where and what to get.”
“Uh,” I began in a raspy squeak. “You can just get my clothes out of the dryer.”
“I already got your clothes out of the dryer,” he offered. “They’re in the bathroom on the counter.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Somehow, I dredged up some composure even though I was bare naked and my nipples were so very happy to see Cooper with only a towel wrapped around his waist. I got up and went to take a shower.
