Jade watched him sleep. Silly really, to be this infatuated with any man, especially Cash. They were completely different, yet there were so many ways in which they were the same.
She wasn’t looking for boyfriend material, but she couldn’t ignore her body. The man lit her up, did things she’d only read about in books.
The moonlight filtered in through the opening in the sheer curtains. She had just enough light to see his face, his body. Only a thin sheet draped over his waist, covering the magnificent form.
Jade propped herself up on her elbow and resisted the urge to reach for him, to trace each and every tattoo and wonder what the story was behind each one.
Her eyes traveled back up to his face, to the black eye, which now was only a pale purple and not swollen. He still had the small cut from the plane, but that was healing as well.
The tattoos held their own stories, just as those injuries did—and her name was all over them. Whose names were attached to all of that ink?
Jade glanced to the small gold antique clock on her nightstand. Nearly six in the morning and she had a hot yoga class to teach at eight, which meant she needed to leave by seven. She had no clue what the protocol was here. Having Cash spend the night in her bed hadn’t exactly been on her planner, but then again, neither had drinking so much wine and having the hottest shower sex of her life.
Sitting up straighter in bed, Jade blew out a sigh and glanced over her shoulder to the man who slept as he lived . . . without a care. That dark skin with scars and tattoos was quite the contrast to her white sheets and thick white duvet. Her world had always been so pristine, so perfect and polished—the exact opposite of Cash.
Was that why she was so drawn to him? In some warped way, did she see him as a metaphorical middle finger to her mother?
Guilt and anxiety churned deep, and Jade shifted back around. She sure as hell hoped she wasn’t that shallow. In all honesty, she never, ever would’ve guessed she’d end up naked with Cash. They never spoke in school, and when she came back to Haven, they got on each other’s very last nerve.
Yet here they were, completely naked and completely spent. There was no explanation other than . . .
No, she couldn’t even think of a lame excuse as to why they’d tumbled into bed together not once but twice. Was this it? Were they really done now? Could she go back to only seeing him at the airport or hanging out with their friends?
Considering they were still naked and he was within arm’s reach, she couldn’t answer that right now.
Jade was going to have to wake him up because he needed to start getting ready and he had to get out early. Neighbors were nosy in this town, and the last thing she needed was someone spotting Cash doing the walk of shame when they went out to get their morning paper.
Jade resisted the urge to groan. How the hell did she go about this? Just wake him up and hand him his clothes? Did she make him coffee before she kicked him out? This was precisely why she never did flings. Too messy—much more than a relationship, in her opinion.
A cell chimed from the floor. Jade glanced around, realizing that wasn’t her cell and that the noise came from his jeans, still in the heap where he’d left them . . . on her side of the bed.
Jade hopped off the bed and reached for his pants. Digging out the phone, she turned back to the bed, where Cash sat straight up. The stark white sheet pooled at his waist and his hair stuck up everywhere. He rubbed his chest in that good-morning,-I-know-I’m-sexy kind of way. Could he not turn that off? The whole appeal thing that made her only want more?
Without a word, Jade thrust the phone at him and turned to get some clothes. She needed that barrier because she didn’t have time to crawl back into bed with him, and they really, really needed to end this. Having him here was too risky, especially once they hit daylight hours.
He answered the call, and Jade tried to block out his throaty, morning voice. Who would be calling at th
is time of the day anyway? His gym opened at six, so perhaps there was a problem. None of her business really, because they weren’t actually involved on a personal level.
“He did what?”
Jade threw on a T-shirt and turned at Cash’s frantic tone. He was on his feet now and heading for his clothes. He paid her no mind, but there was no way she could look away. She’d seen Cash naked, of course, but not just to stand back and admire. Perhaps that made her a bit of a creeper, but damn, that man’s body demanded that someone look. He was absolutely magnificent.
With the phone tucked between his shoulder and ear, he hopped into his jeans. “I’ll be right there . . . No, I’ll be there. Tell him I’m on my way.”
Muttering a string of curses that would’ve shocked her mother right to her bleached roots, Cash ended the call and shoved the cell into his pocket. Jade wasn’t sure what to do, but this at least answered her question of how to get him out of here.
“I have to go.” He searched for his shirt and found it laying over the trunk at the end of her bed.
“What’s wrong?” She cringed as soon as the question came out. It really was none of her business.
He hesitated, then shot her a quick glance before turning to search for his shoes. “Nothing.”
Okay, then.
“Listen, last night I had some wine and—”
Cash let out a bark of laughter as he tied his running shoes. “Seriously? You’re trying to make excuses for what happened? What are you going to do the next time we hook up?”