Page 20 of Sloane

“What the fuck are you talking about? Hell no. I’m proud to be seen with you.”

She sighed. “Come on, Sloane. You saw how people stare at me.”

I had noticed when we were on the boardwalk, and it’d pissed me off. But I’d taken my lead from her; she’d handled it with grace and ignored the gawking and whispers, so I had, too. Even though I knew it bothered her and my primary instinct was to defend her and tell the asshats off. No wonder she had such a complex about it.

“Sweetness, there will always be dipshits anywhere you go. People stare at me all the time when I’m in uniform and make snide comments. You know what I say? Fuck ‘em. You’re gorgeous; I don’t know what I can do to get that through your pretty little head.”

“The difference is, you can take your uniform off, and all people will notice is how gorgeous you are.”

I debated whether to point out the obvious, then decided we hadn’t held back with each other before, I didn’t want to start now.

“Couldn’t you wear makeup, if you wanted?”

“I could and I have, but then I spend my time worrying it’s going to wear off and I won’t realize it. That’s a different kind of stress altogether.”

“I’m sorry you have to deal with that, baby.”

She laid her head back down. “I’ve been dealing with it all my life. I hardly even notice anymore, and my family and friends are used to it, too. I become more conscious of people’s reactions when I’m with new people who aren’t immune.”

I’d never be immune to someone making her feel bad about herself but chose to keep that inside. Instead, I kissed her hair and whispered, “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“So are you.”

We both went quiet again, like we were each lost in our own thoughts. My hand continued caressing her back—I loved the feel of her bare skin against my fingers. She’d occasionally let out a soft sigh but remained still in my arms—her hand stayed firmly in place on my stomach, despite my telepathic attempts for her to move it lower.

My dick urged me to make a move. Yeah, I was exhausted, but I was also horny. And she felt so damn good.

I decided to go for it and just as I moved my hand to her front to caress her boobs, I heard soft snoring.

Smiling as I kissed her hair, I pulled her closer and closed my eyes. My last thought before I drifted off to sleep was, she’s too damn adorable.

Chapter Eight

Ashley

Hugging a pillow, I woke up to an empty space next to me. The sheets where he’d been sleeping were cold when I reached over to feel them. Rolling onto my back, I blinked up at the ceiling while my groggy mind tried to decipher if it was all a dream.

I’d had some vivid dreams before, but never quite like that.

The smell of coffee made me sit up. He really was here! Or at least he had been.

While in the bathroom, I ran a brush through my hair before brushing my teeth and grabbing my black silk robe off the hook on the back of the door.

I pulled it on while walking toward the bedroom door, anxious to see Sloane this morning. Maybe he’d want to finish what we’d started yesterday, now that he’d gotten a good night’s sleep.

As I passed by my closet, I noticed his duffel bag was gone. I knew it’d been there last night because I’d almost tripped over it, but now it was nowhere to be found.

I felt my shoulders droop in defeat and chuffed out a mirthless laugh as tears filled my eyes when I made my way to the kitchen.

I shouldn’t be surprised, really. It’s not like this was the first time I’d gone to bed with a man only to wake up alone.

At least he made coffee, I mused bitterly while I poured myself a cup, angrily wiping away the tears. After doctoring it with sugar and creamer, I stared out the slider door in the living room while taking the first sip of the god’s nectar.

Thank God, I’ll always have coffee.

That’s when I saw his duffel bag sitting next to the couch.

Setting my mug down with a thud, I quickly went to the living area. Maybe he’d come out to sleep on the couch after all?

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