Page 79 of Pucking Billionaire

“Ah.” He kisses the nape of my neck. “I was about to demand a rematch.”

“That we can discuss tomorrow,” I say over another yawn. “So long as you remember that ‘what happens on the cruise…’”

“‘…stays on the cruise,’” he says, his tone hard to decipher.

“That’s right.” I cozy backward into him. “Now I’m going to sleep.”

And just like that, I’m out.

Chapter 27

Mason

This is how I want to wake up from now on—with Sophia in my arms.

What happens on the cruise stays on the cruise.

Not fucking likely. Not if I have anything to say about it.

I draw her closer.

It’s official. My new mission is: make sure this thing between us—whatever it is—continues after the cruise.

I just need a strategy, like I would in a game.

Yeah. For starters, no more talk about buying the team. Instead, I can offer to help her run it… though she might get offended by that. Maybe instead, I could?—

“Morning.” She opens one eye. “Did I snore?”

“No.” I smile at her sleepy face. “You were quiet, like a hibernating ladybug.”

She opens both eyes. “They hibernate?”

“In the winter. They don’t eat while they hibernate, but if the weather gets extra cold, they might come out for a snack.”

“A great idea.” She wriggles out of my embrace and sits up before sliding her feet off the bed. “I’m starving.”

Deliciously naked, she beelines for the bathroom. I take a moment to calm my instantly-at-attention dick, and then I make a call to make sure her shoes and our other items are returned from the ice rink.

When she comes out of the bathroom, sadly wrapped in a robe, I’m not surprised to learn that she wants to swing by her own suite.

“Your shoes will be outside the door,” I tell her.

She darts a glance at her bare feet. “Ah. Right. Thanks.”

I wave the thanks away. “Which restaurant are we getting breakfast at?”

“The usual,” she says, not questioning the “we” part. “I’m dying to know more facts about ladybugs.”

I’m not sure if she is kidding or not, but once we meet up, I tell her what I can remember from the beetle documentary I watched. Fascinating factoids such as: ladybugs bleed from their knees when threatened, and their larva look like micro gators, and they have claws that help them sit on surfaces, and the creepiest fact of all—they lay extra eggs as a snack for their young.

“Oh, and they have an adorable collective noun,” I say in conclusion.

“They do?”

“Yeah. A group of them is called a loveliness of ladybugs.” Which is fitting, considering how lovely the ladybug in front of me is.

“And that’s all?” she asks.

---