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We sat there, in the streaming water and the enveloping steam, for what seemed to be hours. I'm sure it was just a few minutes, but right then, in those moments, when I felt his heartbeat close to my chest, he felt so close, in so many ways.
Then Bryce lifted me up and cleaned my hair and my body before I did the same for him.
We emerged from the bathroom, all wrapped in luxurious white towels, giggling and teasing one another. We still couldn't keep our hands, mouths and tongues off each other. We fell into Bryce’s bed and drowned out the thunderstorm with more moans and cries before drifting off to sleep.
Chapter 12
Bryce
Reynalookedbeautifulasshe slept peacefully next to me. The rain, now just a slight drizzle, pinged against the window softly. It looked like we were in for a soggy day, according to my weather app, but I realized I didn’t mind spending the day inside with Reyna.
I liked that she didn’t expect much from me. Her low expectations actually made me want to show up for her. That's something I’d probably benefit from talking to my therapist about. I grinned, thinking about my next appointment as I tried to explainthis.
I quietly slipped out of bed, shoved on some sleep shorts, and padded downstairs into the kitchen, the air-conditioned air biting into the skin on my naked chest now that I was out of Reyna’s warmth. From the fridge, I grabbed the eggs, milk, cheese, and bowl of cut fruit.
I reached for the pan hanging above the stove and set it on the burner. While it warmed, I slid a couple of slices of toast into the toaster and then set about to make one of the only things I knew how: cheesy scrambled eggs. Hopefully, Reyna would be fully impressed by my kitchen prowess.
While I was searching the cabinets for a tray, I heard a noise behind me. I turned around and saw Reyna looking gorgeous in a matching sleep set with bright pink palm trees. Her hair was still a mess, but somehow made her look even more radiant.
“Oh, you’re up already,” she said, looking sleepy and shocked. I had the strong urge to kiss her and drag her back to bed.
“I’m an early bird. I hope I didn’t wake you. I was just making breakfast.” I gestured to the pan on the stove and smirked as Reyna’s eyes widened just a bit in surprise. “I was going to bring it upstairs.”
“I see that,” she murmured. “Coffee?” The hopefulness in her voice made me chuckle as I grabbed a couple of cups from the cabinet and turned to watch the pot finish brewing.
“So, I thought you only grilled?”
A low laugh escaped my throat.
“I’m a man of many skills, Reyna. Somehow, I learned how to scramble an egg, too. Might as well call me a renaissance man.” I smirked at her.
“Do you make breakfast for all the women you bring home?” she asked, sitting down on one of the counter stools.
Reyna winced like she hadn’t meant to say that out loud. I turned back to the coffee, feeling something close to hurt.
“Nope. It might surprise you, but you're the first woman I've brought to the cabin. At least, the first woman who was more than a friend. That's a rule that I've had.” As I poured coffee, I realized that had been a hard and fast rule. It was my way of making sure everyone understood the boundaries.
Why was I breaking it with Reyna?
I handed her a cup and the appreciative sip and subsequent moan made all the blood in my body rush south. I cleared my throat and dished out the food.
“This looks deelish," Reyna said, taking a quick bite of toast and grabbing her fork.
She seemed to want to drop the sleepover subject, and I was grateful.
We sat next to each other in silence for a few moments and, like last night, I was struck by how easy everything felt with Reyna. One of the reasons I didn’t like sleepovers was all the forced awkward conversation and the feeling of my space being invaded. But I didn’t feel like that with Reyna.
It felt like Reyna belonged here with me, in my house, eating the breakfast I cooked.
It was a fit.
“So I was thinking about something this morning,” I said around a bite of watermelon. Reyna looked at me expectantly, mouth full of egg. “I think you should consider quitting Raven.”
Reyna chewed slowly, glaring at me.
“Bryce, I want my job. I love my job. I can’t just pause my career to be your fake fiancée.” Her voice dripped with bitterness and disapproval, and I winced.
“I know, I know. But I think to make things more believable, you should work somewhere else. It’s one thing that our story has us meeting at your interview, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized itdoesseem a bit inappropriate for you to still be working there. Especially at your rank.”
