I trailed off, realizing he wasn’t responding to me at all and that his breathing had resumed its slow rhythm. Just like that, the man was out like a light.
“On that note, how would you feel about going to spin class with me? I know the whole stationary movement thing really isn’t your style, but ya never know. At any rate, I think it’d be hilarious to see you in a little spandex singlet.”
After another beat of silence, a hand suddenly reached downward and grabbed me right between the legs. As Nick finally opened his eyes to study me for a moment, I let loose with a breathless shriek. His expression betrayed no emotion until his lips twitched up in a wry grin. “Someone’s a bit of an eager beaver this morning, huh?”
It was impossible to answer that; in fact, it was impossible to even think straight when he was holding me there, and it was all I could do to close my gaping mouth. “I’m not... I mean, I didn’t...” I mumbled.
With a mocking frown, he propped himself up on his other arm and cocked his head to one side as his grip tightened, effectively immobilizing me. “I’m sorry? What was that?”
This time, it was me who failed to respond.
The silence stretched on and on, but Nick was in no hurry. Actually, he seemed to enjoy the fact that he’d stunned me into speechlessness. A few seconds later, he increased the tantalizing torture by toying with his fingers.
Don’t get distracted now. There’s a question you need to ask!
“Nick, wait. I actually...” My eyes snapped momentarily shut as his thumb grazed me, sending an electric shockwave through my body. “There’s something I...”
He picked up speed, wearing an arrogant and victorious smile as he watched me flounder.
Just do it, Abby! Get it together!
“I need to ask...” My teeth clamped down hard on my lip as he slipped a finger inside, then two, then three. “I need to...”
A quiet moan escaped my lips as my head fell back against the pillow. What I needed to ask and what I needed at that moment were two very different things. In the end, the desires of my body won out over the demands of my head. My legs parted automatically beneath the sheets in silent invitation, but Nick didn’t need to use anything more than his hand.
I knew from experience that I wouldn’t be able to withstand the pressure for long. My breath caught in my chest, and I was just seconds away, but somehow, for some reason, that was whe
n I finally blurted my question: “Did you mean it last night, when you said you love me?”
The hand vanished immediately, and Nick looked down at me in shock. “What?”
And that confirms it. Why the fuck did you wake him up for this? Why the fuck couldn’t you just leave it alone? Why the fuck couldn’t you have just waited two more seconds?
My skin flushed and simultaneously paled as I did everything in my power not to look at his astonished face. “I was just wondering...”
After a few seconds of more heavy silence, I peeked up through my lashes and realized that it was now him who was stunned to the point of no words. Nick’s eyes were as wide as saucers, but they weren’t looking at me; rather, they were fixed somewhere on the pillow behind my head, his pupils dilated to the size of the average black hole.
Panic set in, but the publicist in me roared to life, reminding me of Rule No. 1, damage control. “Because you don’t have to be,” I said.
He turned those enormous eyes my way.
As quickly as I could, I backpedaled. “I mean, it would be wonderful, but love’s not... Well, it’s not exactly something we can control. I don’t want to pressure you or anything.”
He blinked slowly, then stared at me with a truly unreadable expression. “Pressure me?”
In all likelihood, he had never heard those words in his entire life, and the reality of that sent a burning blush to my cheeks. I continued talking, digging the hole deeper and deeper, wondering all the while why I couldn’t just shut up. “No, I just mean... You didn’t have to say it just because I did. I didn’t want you to say it if you don’t really—”
That sentence was cut short by a sparkling bout of laughter echoing suddenly in the air between us, brightening the room and everything in it before settling in Nick’s lovely eyes.
“Is that why you woke me up?” he asked with an affectionate smile. “To ask whether or not I’m in love with you?”
Rule No. 2: Deny, deny, deny!
“No,” I answered stiffly, pulling defensively out of his grip. “I woke you up to see if you want to have breakfast...and possibly go to spin class.”
He burst out laughing again, gathering me tighter in his arms. “Abigail Wilder,” he said, kissing the top of my head, “what am I going to do with you?”
“Um...eat and spin?” I stuttered, wondering if that question was a yes or a no.