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I close my eyes, willing my body to relax, and eventually I drift off to sleep. Somewhere in the back of my consciousness, I register David moving in the bed. His warmth presses against my back and his muscular arms wrap around me, holding me tight against his chest. He sighs softly, sounding content, but sleep pulls me under.
Chapter Twenty
Anica
I’m super warm and comfortable as I blink awake. Wrinkling my nose, I wriggle, and freeze, fully bursting into consciousness. Oh. David’s arms are around me, holding me flush against his hard, naked chest. My cheeks heat, especially at his raging morning erection pressing into my back and his hand splaying over my stomach, underneath my singlet top. I am officially in unchartered territory. The only other time I woke up in David’s bed, he wasn’t in the bed. For all our sex, I’veneverwoken up in his arms before. I don’t know whether to move or stay really, really still.
I squirm in my indecision, and David wakes up, his nose nuzzling against the back of my neck.
“Morning,” he mumbles in a gravelly, sleepy voice.
“Morning,” I whisper, squealing softly as I’m flipped onto my back and he leans over me, his lips sliding over my cheek, finding my mouth. But… morning breath.
It doesn’t seem to bother David, and I melt as he kisses me thoroughly as his hand slips down between my legs. Oh. I’m about to experience morning sex with David Brooks Westerhaven. Yes,please.
Morning sex with David Brooks Westerhaven is officially mind-blowing. There’s kissing, and not a lot of foreplay, and he screws me into the mattress, his face buried in my neck as my legs wrap around his waist and he coaxes an embarrassingly fast orgasm out of me.
Before I can even recover from the feelings of ecstasy, he slides out of the bed, heading into the bathroom. That was… mind-blowingly hot. I lay here for a moment, blinking in the sunlight as the shower runs. David has left the door to the bathroom ajar, but I have no idea if that’s an invitation or not, so I scramble out of the bed, snatching up my clothes and hightailing to my room.
Once I’m safely ensconced in my bathroom, I have a deliciously warm shower, blow-drying my hair, and carefully dressing for work. David isn’t anywhere to be seen when I get to the kitchen, so I turn on the coffee machine and make smoked salmon bagels.
The machine beeps and I’m plating up the bagels when David strolls out of his bedroom, looking sharp in his suit, as always. He inhales deeply, pouring two mugs of coffee, dropping onto a stool at the breakfast bar. I place the two plates down and move to sit next to him, mumbling my thanks for my cup of coffee.
“I could get used to this,” David grins at me, his tone teasing. My cheeks heat as I glance over at him, blinking in surprise.
“Sex, breakfast, coffee….” David continues, trailing off suggestively, and I laugh. Well, that’s one way to make things not be awkward.
David reads emails on his phone in the Lincoln Continental on the way to the office, like he always does. But he does it one handed, his other one holding mine tight – which is new. I try to focus on the other cars around us, like I usually do, but it’s really hard, especially when his fingers stroke mine. Swallowing, I keep my eyes glued to the window. But instead of trying to ignore it, I savor the feeling of him holding my hand while I can.
As soon as we’re out of the car, David strides off. We usually catch different elevators because someone inevitably stops him to talk. It happens today, and I make my way to my small office. As soon as I’m inside, I shut the door behind me, moving to look out over the street, like I usually do when I’ve been stuck on a design aspect here. But I’m not thinking about my designs right now. I’m thinking about David and me. I have no idea what is going on between us. It kind of feels like maybe everything shifted yesterday – so I have no idea where we stand. WhereIstand. And that’s something that I kind of need to know. I need clear boundaries in place. To protect me. To protect my heart. Not knowing like this… is dangerous for me.
I’m pretty sure that I’m a little bit in love with my arrogant, cocky, handsome roommate. Which wasn’t in the cards. We were clear about that boundary. So, so clear about it.
Groaning, I drop my head into my hands, shaking it. Trust me to get in a mess like this. Andrew would be rolling around the floor, roaring with laughter at me. Then he’d probably sit up, point his finger at me, and tell me to sort my shit out. My head snaps up and I sigh, moving to my desk and dropping into it, pulling out my iPad from my purse. Pulling up the designs, I run my eye over the rough draft sketches.
Sort my shit out. Right. There’s only one way to do that. I need to get these designs finished. Then I’ll be heading back to Chicago. That’ll put an end to this mess I’ve gotten myself – and my heart – into. Only the thought of flying away from David makes my heart clench. Nope. I shove the thought aside, seeing the Andrew of my mind’s eye nodding approvingly at me. Cool, calm and collected. I can do this.
Moving all my sketches to a row at the top of my iPad, I pull up a blank page and start to incorporate all my design aspects together. This is going to be my best work to date. It’s going to lookamazingin my profile. I need to focus.
David
Since I was out of the office and not taking calls or emails yesterday, I’m swamped today. Christine brings me coffee and lunch, but apart from that, I don’t see another soul. I don’t even touch my phone once. I really don’t want to come into the office tomorrow. I hate working Saturdays. And I really want to take Ani out to dinner tonight, which means leaving at a reasonable hour.
I catch a lucky break and shoot Ani a text at five, telling her to be ready to leave at six. I work like a madman to make my self-imposed deadline and finish my last email and glance over at the clock. Five minutes to six. I made it by the skin of my teeth. I love meeting a challenge.
Shutting off my computer, I make my way down to the building foyer, where Ani is standing in conversation with the doorman. Striding over to them, I nod to the doorman, sliding my hand up Ani’s back, smiling down at her when she tips her head back to look up at me.
“Ready to go?”
She nods, smiling broadly at the doorman as she tells him to have a lovely weekend.
Antonio drops us off at an incredible sushi restaurant. For one of the first times in my life, I’ve called ahead to make a reservation. Leading Ani inside, I flash a smile at the simpering hostess.
“Your table is through here, Mr. Brooks Westerhaven.”
Ani starts in surprise, her head jerking around to look at me. The hostess simpers and flirts with me while Ani fidgets with her purse. I ignore the woman. I’m clearly here with Ani. Why would I be interested in some hostess?
We take our seats and Ani’s lips are pressed together as I continue not to engage with the simpering hostess. I think she’s maybe trying not to smile. I grin at her, and the fluttering woman finally takes the hint and leaves. Ani touches all her cutlery, like she does when she’s feeling a little bit on display. And we are on display. It comes with the territory. But Ani grins impishly at me.
