I needed Nico to see that value beyond being a plaything before I ever considered sleeping with him.
So, even if every night for the next five years was a repeat of last night—even if I was nothing but a pile of ash in the end, I would hold strong.
At the very least, I would enjoy the vacation and seeing the world.
I was in control. Me. Not him. Not anyone else.
“Good morning.”
Nico’s morning voice always hit me differently. The deep rasp sounded like sex—hard, rough, intense. It slipped in my ears and climbed down my body to my core. Dammit.
“Morning.”
Tension pulled tight like a rubber band. There weren’t many mornings we woke up together since he woke up first to exercise most mornings.
His eyes roamed my face, and I strived to hide the mixture of heat and nerves flooding me. His lips ticked up on one side, and without my permission, my eyes dropped like a homing beacon, remembering every second that they’d been on mine.
The blankets shifted, and I tensed, holding my breath, trying to mentally prepare for him to strut around the room naked, like an unashamed Greek god.
Don’t look. Don’t look.
Ooooor, don’t let him catch you looking.
Seriously, how did that fit inside me?
Jesus, Vera. Don’t look.
I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn’t have time to pull back when he leaned in, placing a quick peck to my cheek, grazing the corner of my mouth. I blinked, shocked by the move, staring off at the perfect spot that when he flung the covers back and stood, his firm, hard ass lined up perfectly with my shocked gaze.
His ass was the definition of the saying, you could bounce a quarter off it.
Too quickly and not quickly enough all at once, a pair of sweatpants covered his perfect butt, and he turned, leaving me to stare at the bulge pressing against the material.
Is this how he felt when he came out to find me in my lingerie? Because men in sweatpants was like lingerie for women.
“We leave in a few hours. I figured that gave us enough time for breakfast.”
I blinked away, finally looking up his sculpted chest to meet his humored gaze.
“I’ll order breakfast then shower. Care to join me?” he asked with a smirk.
I swallowed and shook my head, striving for an annoyance but failing when I couldn’t even open my mouth in fear that I’d end up begging him to let me join him.
“Fair enough.” He picked up the phone and dialed to order. “Banana pancakes and bacon, extra crispy, right?”
I nodded, surprised he remembered how I like my breakfast. I might have mentioned it in passing. He had meals delivered, and I’d cringed at the blueberry pancakes one morning, briefly mentioning banana pancakes were the only way to go.
And he remembered. He listened. I hadn’t even thought he heard me.
“H-how did you know?”
He rolled his eyes but smirked. “Banana pancakes are my second favorite pancake, and the smell of burnt bacon has lingered in the apartment for almost a week. It’s hard to forget.”
I didn’t know why him noticing hit me so hard, but I zoned out, remembering that my father didn’t even remember I only liked banana pancakes. A drop of heat, unlike the heat that spread like wildfire at seeing him naked, spread like a drop of food coloring in an ocean. It barely changed the color—barely noticeable—but it did change things.
Uncomfortable with the feeling, I shook my head, carefully edging my way out of bed to grab my robe. Last night, I’d wanted to torture him in my nightgown, but with the sun lighting up the entire room, I may as well have been naked.
“Feel free to join me,” he offered darkly, walking past.
This time, I managed to work up a weak glare. One side of his lips kicked up as he stretched his arms above his head. Watching Nico stretch in the morning should have been its own specific fetish tab on Pornhub.
A thin scar caught my eye above his Adonis belt on his left side. Before I could ask, he turned to go, and I shrugged into a thick robe and nabbed my phone, heading to the dining room.
Raelynn: Did you fuck him? Tell me you fucked him all over that suite.
Nova: How was your night? Did you survive?
Raelynn: Yeah. Did you survive? Or did you have death by orgasms? Please say death by orgasms.
Nova: Jesus, Raelynn.
Raelynn: Don’t act like you’re not curious.
Nova: I mean, I am, but we can be a little less direct.
Raelynn: Nah. Not my style.
Raelynn: Sooo…
Nova: …
Raelynn: Okay, okay. It’s still pretty early. I’ll wait and hope you’re having epic morning sex.
Nova: Just message us to let us know you’re alive.
Raelynn: Also, message us so I can tell you about how Nova went Instagram live with PARKER FREAKING CALLAN from her fav band.