“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Positive. What do you want to do?”
I stretch out lazily on the bench, contemplating whether I can tempt Eric with a movie, or some other cozy activity. Without warning, he pulls my feet in his lap.
“Let’s go training,” he suggests.
“I was making a mental list of all the things we could do today. Training wasn’t even on the list.”
By the mischievous smile stretching on his beautiful face, I know he won’t give up easily.
“Working out is good for you. It makes your heart beat fas
ter, and—”
“So do you,” I interrupt before he can enumerate all the benefits. Alice already recited them to me more times than I care to remember. Struck by a genius idea, I crawl closer to him, until I almost sit in his lap. Channeling my inner seductress, I say in a low, inviting voice, “And you do it very well.”
Eric cocks an eyebrow. “You think seducing me will work?”
My shoulders slump. Apparently, my inner seductress sucks. “Yeah,” I admit, and Eric chuckles.
“We had fun last time we were at the gym together.” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.
“Are you bribing me with sexy times so you can get my sorry ass to the gym?”
“Of course I am. And don’t insult your ass. It’s my special delight in the mornings.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, genuinely confused.
Eric trails his fingers up and down my arm, raising goose bumps on my skin.
“I wake up about an hour before you do, take my laptop, and sit on the armchair. Your favorite sleeping position is on one side with your pillow between your thighs. Your night gown usually bunches around your waist, so your ass is bare. I have memorized every inch of it.”
“You watch me when I sleep?” Something about his admission touches me deeply, though I can’t quite explain why.
“Yeah,” he says softly. “You’re sweet and peaceful. I could watch you for hours.” His eyes bore into mine with an intensity that smolders. “So, one hot kiss, and we train for forty-five minutes, two kisses—an hour?”
“Three kisses buy you forty minutes,” I announce. “And then I want us to go restaurant hopping.”
Eric immediately bursts out laughing. “You are a terrible negotiator.”
“I know, but you just admitted I can ask you for favors, or there will be no more early-morning peeking at my butt.”
“Pushing your luck here, but okay. I like this, taking time for us.”
I sigh, remembering there will only be an ‘us’ for another two weeks.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Pippa
My mood grows grimmer over the next few days. I try to enjoy every minute I spend with Eric, but the knowledge that this will all be over soon overshadows my happiness. On top of that, I seem to tear up about random things at work, and I’m exhausted no matter how much I sleep, which is why I’ve decided to spend the rest of the week working from Eric’s house. Either I’m coming down with some terrible flu, or I have the worst case of PMS, or I’m losing it.
On Thursday, I go in for my annual checkup, and since I am feeling lousy, they take some blood. Then I have to deal with the lightheadedness caused by the blood loss on top of my weird state. When Eric comes home later that night, I try to shove his imminent departure to the back of my mind and enjoy our time as much as possible.
“How was your day?” he asks me, coming over to me and kissing my forehead. I’m sitting cross-legged on his couch with sketches spread around.
Pouting, I point to the bruise on my arm. “I had a blood test today. The nurse couldn’t find my vein at first, so she stuck me a few times.”