Page 47 of One Pucking Wish

Penny pulls back the covers and climbs onto her bed, leaving a space for me behind her. She faces away from me. With the blanket on us, I lie against her back, wrapping my arm around her waist. We lie in this position, and I wait, allowing her to take the lead. Only, after a few minutes, her breathing shallows, and I realize that nap wasn’t code for anything.

This is new.

I can’t say I hate it.

Penny’s body is warm against mine. The soft rise and fall of her chest creates a soothing cadence. The scent of her shampoo, a sultry fruity mixture, wafts through the air along with hints of cinnamon coming from somewhere else in the room. It’s all—pleasant and strange.

Long minutes are spent trying to figure it all out and rationalize the situation, but eventually I realize that it doesn’t matter. I’m here. With her. Labels, midday naps, and spooning aside—that feels right.

The dream was forgotten as soon as my mind awakened, but it was a good one, and my sense of happiness remains. It’s a stark contrast to the nightmares that usually plague my sleep. Sweet and spicy hit my senses, and my eyelids pop open.

Penny is turned toward me now, awake and staring directly at me. “That was a good nap, huh?”

“Uh, yeah.” I stretch my arms out over my head and move my neck to the side. The familiar cracks of my spine sound.

“Are you still in the same place you were before we fell asleep?” She keeps her voice steady. A bit of work Penny comes through, and I know she’s putting on some of her armor to ward off disappointment.

I swipe a lock of her hair behind her ear. It’s possibly the first time I’ve ever completed that motion with a woman in my life, and it’s oddly satisfying. “If you’re referring to the place where I only want to be with you. Then yes.”

She smiles, a genuine, beautiful smile. “Good. I was thinking we should take a hot bath, get comfy clothes on, order takeout, and talk.”

“Is any of that code for sex? I thought maybe napping was code for sex, but I was wrong about that. So just so I know what to expect… what should I expect?”

“You can pretty much take what I say at face value.”

“So we’re together, alone, and in an actual decent bed, but there will be no sex?”

She nods. “Correct.”

“I’m liking this dating stuff already.”

She chuckles. “Who knew Gunner Dreven could make a joke.”

“That wasn’t a joke,” I deadpan, which elicits another laugh from Penny.

“I just think we should get to know each other. We already know that we have insane chemistry in the sex department. We’ll have no problems there. But neither of us are relationship people, and if we’re really going to do this, we should see if we actually like each other or are compatible in other ways. If we don’t, we’re just wasting our time.”

“Sex with you is never a waste of time.”

“Yeah, but a relationship would be. Being together impacts a lot of things for us. It’s going to change the dynamic at work. We need to make sure that we really want to do this… whatever this is.”`

“Work won’t change. I’ll do my thing, and you’ll do yours, as always. I am nothing like Beckett or Cade, for that matter.” I think of my teammates, the two starting forwards, and how they turned into lovesick saps following their girls around. They practically have hearts pop out of their eyes when they see their wives. “I don’t do relationships, let alone ones with PDA at work.”

“Works for me,” she says.

“Good. I want to keep us between us, if that makes sense?”

She pulls her bottom lip into her mouth, and it takes all my willpower not to lean in for a kiss. “You want to keep the fact that we’re seeing one another a secret?”

“No.” I place my hand on her hip. “It’s not that. I don’t care if people know. But when we’re together, I want it to be just us without all the outside noise.”

She raises a brow. “That only works if you can refrain from random quickies in the storage closet.”

“I have control.”

“Well, you didn’t show any today.”

“I showed as much as you did.”

---