“Fine.” He released my arm. “But you’re coming back to bed when you’re done.”
After using the bathroom, I washed my face and nosed through his cabinets, glad to find an unopened toothbrush still in the package. I brushed my teeth, eyeing every corner of the immaculate room for clues about Noah, yelping when the door swung open.
“Do you mind?” I mumbled, spitting out a mouth full of minty foam, and rinsing my teeth clean.
His fist rubbed the socket of his eye as he groggily stumbled toward the toilet. “It’s your fault for waking me up stupid early.”
My eyes widened as a trickle echoed through the tile room. “Oh, my fucking God! Are you taking a leak?”
He shrugged, his bare back thick with muscle and his naked, toned ass emphasizing his tapered hips. He was fucking pissing while I was in the middle of brushing my teeth!
“You’re disgusting.” I dried my hands and returned to the bedroom.
“Sorry…”
I searched the floor for my clothes, gathering items against my naked chest. The toilet flushed, and water ran. Just as I was reaching for my discarded thong, strong arms banded around me, tugging my clothing out of my grip and tossing it back on the rug.
He laced his fingers with mine and towed me back to the bed. “No, no, no, no, no. It’s too early.”
“My clothes…” I wasn’t even sure if his eyes were open.
He collapsed on the mattress, face down, and groaned. “You don’t need clothes.”
I hesitated.
“Come back to bed, Avery. There’s no need to wake up with Jesus and the chickens.”
My gaze trailed over his toned thighs, dusted with masculine hair, and held at the perfect cleft separating his biteable ass cheeks. My handprint would look divine on his flesh. My inner Mistress purred at the sight of him, face down, ass up. I had to get out of there.
I shifted away from the bed. “I’m wide awake.”
He shoved a pillow over his head. “Haven’t you ever heard of a Sunday? I’m not leaving this bed for at least another two hours.”
I pulled the blanket to my chest and sat. Waiting. Was I supposed to just sit there while he slept the day away? Like I had nothing better to do with my time. I was his guest. He should be making me breakfast or something. At least pointing me in the direction of a coffee pot. “You’re a terrible host.”
“Avery.”
“What?”
“Lay down and shut the fuck up. It’s five thirty in the morning. The sun isn’t even awake.”
Pursing my lips, I eased my back to the mattress and stared at the ceiling. “Can I take a shower?”
He flopped onto his back and glared at me. “There’s something wrong with you.”
“I’m sorry. I’m used to waking up at dawn.” I was usually thirty minutes into cardio by this time. He knew I had a routine.
“Well … go run around the block a few times and chill out.”
“I can’t. I only brought heels.”
He chuckled. “You actually thought about it, didn’t you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t like missing a day. It makes me lazy.”
“You’re a freak of nature.”
I wasn’t a freak, but I didn’t like straying too far outside the lines. Noah, on the other hand… He was a haphazard disaster. A rule breaker. A risk taker. And someone I had no business waking up next to.
Last night was a mistake. What the hell even happened?
You know…
I winced at the memory and then scowled at my snoring bed partner. This was all his fault. He turned me into an idiot whenever he came around. I should never have agreed to go on a date with him.
I groaned. I was attracted to him. But sometimes we liked the wrong people. And I needed him more as a friend. He was pretty much the only friend I had that didn’t pay me for my time.
Whatever happened last night couldn’t happen again. Period.
I poked him in the ribs, and he growled. “Can you wake up and take me home?”
“Maybe I’ll wake up and strangle you. Go back to sleep, Avery!”
I’d take a cab, but we weren’t in the city. I wasn’t even sure if they had taxis in neighborhoods like this. Every driveway seemed adequately supplied with fully loaded SUVs and sports cars. The cost of Ubering back to Philly would be astronomical. I hated not having control.
“Come on, Noah. You brought me here. I wanna go home.”
His blue eyes narrowed and his scowl curved to a wounded frown. “Why are you in such a rush to leave?”
“You know why.”
He shifted to his side, propping his body up on one elbow. “No, I’m serious. What’s going on?”
This was what he did. He was a dick, and then he turned all nice and concerned. Mixed signals everywhere. “Never mind.”
I wasn’t spelling it out. Last night went totally wrong.
It had been amazing and mind-blowing, and I actually thought for a minute I’d hit the cunnilingus jackpot. But he’d taken it too far. I needed control, and I told him that, but he wouldn’t listen.