“Part of your daily routine?”
He pulled down the pillow with a grin, kissing the tip of my nose.
“Between cups of coffee, I think. I might need to power up with coffee.”
I bit my lip and grinned back at him.
“Nick...you drink a lot of coffee.”
He nodded firmly.
“That’s the point. Between every single cup.”
My heart soared just thinking about it. Then, with an impulse I couldn’t control, I wrapped a hand around the back of his neck, and pulled him down for a sudden kiss.
Then another. Then another.
When I was finally satisfied, I released him—leaving him breathless and confused. He pulled back in surprise, looking me over with a little half-smile.
“What was that for?”
“...because I can.”
I beamed back with unadulterated joy, realizing, even as I said them, that the words were true. That for however long a time, this beautiful, charismatic, golden god of a man was mine.
An expression I’d never seen before froze Nick’s face for the briefest of moments, before his eyes lit up with a euphoric glow.
“You shouldn’t have said that...”
Just like that—he was out of bed in a flash. Flipping on a pair of lamps as he left me on the bed and headed out into the hall. I propped up on my elbows and stared after him in shock.
“Where are you going?”
He glanced over his shoulder with a wink.
“I’m
going to get some coffee...”
* * *
You know that moment that comes right in between having an amazing dream and waking up? That suspended moment where you vaguely know things are too good to be true, but for the time being, you can’t bring yourself to care? Like if you close your eyes for just a second more, you can find your way back. Extend it just a little longer. Find a way to make it last.
...then you open your eyes, and the whole world comes crashing down?
Yeah. That was happening to me.
For the second time in my life, I opened my eyes to see Mitchell Hunter standing over me. Arms folded. Jaw clenched. Towering over the foot of the bed.
I jerked awake with a gasp, pulling the sheets up to my chin in the same motion. While I had fallen asleep on my back, Nick was passed out on his stomach. When he felt me move, his arm tightened automatically around my waist in his sleep.
It was then that I realized Mitchell was staring at me.
“Nick,” I whispered, trying desperately to pull myself to a sitting position while keeping my sheet at the same time, “Nick—wake up.”
Much to my horror, he mumbled in his sleep.
“You know the rules...coffee first.”