We stayed connected for a moment as he finished pumping. I smiled wildly as I buried my face in the pillows but peeked when I felt Slash get off the bed. He removed the condom and tied it off.
I went to the tiny bathroom to clean up before heading to bed.
Slash had made himself comfortable and his eyes were closed.
“What are you doing?” I demanded. “I told you no sleepovers.”
“I’m not sleeping over,” he said without opening his eyes. “I’m taking a nap, and in about an hour you’ll know why.”
A dull throb pulsed between my legs.
The ego part of me wanted to kick him out. The hormonal part of me told the ego to shut the hell up. I wouldn’t see him after tonight anyway, so what was the harm in having him stay so we could go another round?
I pulled a T-shirt and a pair of underwear out of the dresser and put them on. Then I climbed into bed next to Slash.
I turned out the lamp and lay down. He pulled me into his body.
“Nope,” I said, trying to get away. “No snuggling.”
“Woman,” he began. “I don’t snuggle.”
“This feels an awful lot like snuggling,” I pointed out.
He didn’t reply, and I wondered if he’d fallen asleep. With a sigh, I stopped fighting it and closed my eyes. “You broke my rule,” I muttered.
“I’ll make it worth your while.”
Chapter4
“Morning,”Jazz said as I entered the bakery. “Whoa. What the hell happened to you?”
Without a word, I went to the state-of-the-art espresso maker that I’d had imported from Italy. It was worth more than my car and was in better condition. It was also far less finicky about working.
Jazz took the pair of tongs and reached into the display case for a flaky, buttery croissant. She set it on a plate next to the espresso maker.
“Can you not stare?” I demanded.
“Your eyes are bloodshot and—” She leaned closer. “Oh my God, your face is whisker burned and—”
“Did the shipment of peaches come in today?”
“Yeah, I signed for them. While you were still in bed. With a man. Clearly.” She raised her dark eyebrows as if daring me to talk about Slash.
But I didn’t want to talk about Slash.
After several rounds of intense pleasure, the man had left my bed without my knowledge. I’d woken up alone, sore in the best way possible, and oddly disappointed. His absence was like a vacuum, and it felt like he’d sucked all the energy and air out of the room when he’d gone. But I’d known what I was getting into with him, and he’d kept his word.
One night, and one night only.
No complications.
No future.
I took my cappuccino and croissant to the kitchen and set them on the counter. I examined the box of peaches. The ones at the bottom were already overripe. I looked at the charge for the fruit and shook my head.
I removed my cell phone from my jeans pocket and dialed my produce guy. He reluctantly agreed to give me a discount on the less-than-optimal fruit. I could still do things with some of the peaches that were past their prime, but it would cut into my bottom line since many of them had to be tossed out.
The bell on the front door jangled.