But not, as it turned out, motionless. I might not have dreamed, but I also hadn’t remained on the edge of the bed either.
I’d figured that Arthur would be the cuddly one and that I’d have to gently pry him off me in the night more than once. And I’d maybe been subconsciously craving that, but in the end, it was me who’d done the migrating in the night.
“Huh.” I blinked awake in the early morning light after way more than four hours of sleep, more than a little horrified at my armful of Arthur.
I’d wrapped myself around him like a barnacle, holding him close, one leg over his, and an arm snaked across his chest. He too must have left bed at some point in the night because his jeans were gone, replaced by soft boxer briefs. Even through the layers of cotton between us, his ass was warm and inviting and nestled right against my groin. My lips were pressed against the back of his neck, as if my sleepy self had already been busy staking a claim on him.
Maybe this wasn’t so bad. Trying not to wake him, I attempted to move my arm, but he hauled me closer with a surprisingly strong grip on my forearm.
“Please tell me you’re done thinking,” he whispered. “Or...do you need us to both pretend to stay asleep so you can keep going? I’m good with giving you plausible deniability if you wanna claim sleepiness made you cuddly. Either way, please don’t stop.”
“I should.” I groaned low. “I’m not good at pretending.”
And that right there was my whole problem. I wasn’t good at this whole fake relationship thing, at reminding myself that this wasn’t real, that it didn’t matter how good he felt in my arms, he wasn’t meant to stay there. Also, my moral code wasn’t going to let me blame sleep for taking advantage of him.
“I am.” Arthur laughed, and his chest moved under my hand. And that difference between us, the ease with which he could playact, was maddening. And tempting. It would be so damn easy to go along with him.
“We should...” I made a frustrated noise, and my breath ruffled his hair. His skin was right there next to my lips, and I couldn’t stop myself from kissing his neck instead of finishing my decree.
“Do that again. Yes, we should.” Stretching like a cat against me, Arthur made a satisfied little grunt that went straight to my aching cock.
“Yeah.” I huffed out a breath, the fight leaving me in a rush so intense I swore I could hear the universe laughing at how weak my willpower truly was. Experimentally, I rocked against him and had to moan with how good it felt. His ass was warm and firm but also soft and welcoming.
“How about we try the thinking thing later and this right now?” Arthur pitched his voice low and seductive as he pushed back against me.
“Mmm.” That sounded like the best suggestion ever, and I held him even tighter, dropping another neck kiss. He moaned, clearly as into this as I was. Logic aside, I wanted him, wanted this, had spent all night craving this on some deep, primal level.
Parting my lips, I licked and teased, more purposeful now, nibbling simply to luxuriate in how it made him shiver in my arms. Each wriggle from him was an electric surge to my cock. Simply the taste of his skin and his little noises and movements were enough to get me close to the edge. It had been so long that I wasn’t even sure I could last long enough to shed my pants, get skin to skin.
Far from playing the shy virgin, Arthur knew exactly how to ramp me up, moving deliberately against me, finding an urgent rhythm together before dragging my hand lower down his torso.
“Please.”
“I’ve got y—”
“Breakfast!” A gong sounded in the distance, but voices were closer, what sounded like a group of people passing by, someone yelling, others laughing.
“Please ignore that.” Arthur continued to wriggle against me, but the happy bubble surrounding us had burst.
My muscles went stiff and tense, and I groaned. “Fuck.”
“Yes. That.” Arthur kissed my hand. “Right now—”
“Pancake time!”
“We need to get out of bed,” I whispered to Arthur. “Now.”
“Nuh-uh.” He pulled me tighter against him. “We can be fast. And super quiet.”
“If you’re that quiet, I’m doing something wrong,” I couldn’t resist teasing, resuming my slow grind against him.
“Up and at ’em!” A louder, more masculine yell this time.
“Okay. That’s a clear signal from the universe that this shouldn’t be happening.” Groaning, I rolled away from Arthur.
“Nope. Not accepting that fate.” He easily followed me, draping himself over my back as I sat up.
“We are not doing it with a pack of your relatives outside and the call for chow every three minutes,” I said sternly. “You deserve—”