Page 45 of Don't You Want Me, Baby?

His face was stricken. ‘I didn’t mean to, I got carried away. The second I got inside you, I lost control.’

He did. He regretted it!

She felt like she’d been slapped in the face. She went to get off him, her face burning, but he stopped her.

‘Amber, no,’ he stuttered. ‘Not that, I don’t regret that!’ He kissed her again. ‘Condom,’ he pushed out. ‘I meant I didn’t put a condom on, but I’m clean and?—’

‘I haven’t slept with… anyone for weeks,’ she told him. The Bradley spectre rose up in the room, but she exorcised it from her head. She felt comfy, here in the dark, Tyler’s arms around her. ‘It’s okay,’ she told him. ‘I’m okay with it. I think we’re safe.’ She’d been tracking her cycles. She was pretty sure it wasn’t her window.

His face was cautious, but the dopey, sated version of him was coming back fast. It looked good on him. She would love to see it more.

‘Yeah?’ he checked.

‘Yeah.’ She nodded. ‘We’re okay.’

His brows relaxed, and his grin was pure happiness.

‘Yeah,’ he breathed, their bodies still connected in every way. ‘We’re more than okay, Amber.’ He touched his forehead to hers, before lifting her into bed like she was precious cargo. Slipping under the sheets, she felt him behind her. His arms coming back to encircle her as they lay together.

‘Goodnight, Cherry,’ he said into the nook of her neck. ‘Sleep tight, baby.’

16

The sun lit up the room through the open curtains when Amber’s lids finally fluttered open. She blinked a few times, clearing the sleep from her just-opened eyes. Her mouth was a little dry, her head a little fuzzy. It took her a second to come around, and then last night slammed into her memory.Wow.What the hell was thatrepeated in her head, an endless ticker-tape question. She’d had sex with Tyler. More than once. They’d reached for each other in the night, and those times had been slower. Less hurried love making, but somehow even more meaningful. She blushed, remembering the way he’d held her close when he pushed into her, whispering her name as his brown eyes levelled her with a look of pure obsession. Perfect, mind-blowing sex. Each time, they’d drifted back to sleep, wrapped in the other, as if they’d been doing this forever.

Her whole body ached in a delicious way, the crumpled bedsheets wrapped around her. The pillow smelled like him. She knew before she even moved her head that he wasn’t asleep next to her. She reached a tentative hand across; the bottom sheet was still warm from his body. She sat up, propped on her elbows. The roomwas empty. Their clothes were littered across the floor like strewn rose petals, the bed a tangled mess of duvet.This is… bad. Did he leave?She thought of the past before she could stop herself. All the times she’d woken up alone, and her heart clenched.Wait…Amber looked at the clothes again. Tyler’s clothes were still there… which meant…

‘Morning, beautiful.’

He was standing in the doorway, a tray from her kitchen in his hands. She couldn’t help but ogle the sight of him. The thick, dark hair she’d run her fingers through last night was ruffled, shooting off in all directions. His stubble was thicker than he normally kept it, making his jaw look all the more manly, rugged. She shivered, remembering him running it along her neck the night before. Her bare breast. She was pretty sure she had stubble rash on her skin from that jaw. When her eyes finally lifted back from his boxers to his face, it was only his eyes she saw then. He was looking at her as if she was the best thing he’d ever seen.

‘Hello, handsome.’ She smiled back, feeling silly all of a sudden for having been caught ogling him. His returning smile could only be described as triumphant. ‘I thought you’d gone.’

His grin dipped a little as he nodded to the tray.

‘I went to make breakfast.’ He went to take a step, but his foot fell back to meet its mate. ‘Did you want me to be gone?’

‘No,’ she said without hesitation. ‘It’s just…’

‘I know.’ He came over to the side of the bed, putting the tray down between them as he sat back against the pillows. ‘You don’t have to say anything. I’m not going anywhere, Cherry. After last night, I don’t think I’d have enough energy to get down the stairs.’ She blushed again, remembering him carrying her to the bedroom like an absolute sex god. ‘You need to eat.’

She smiled, sitting up to match him, taking in the contents of the tray. He’d made them both eggs, white, buttered toast, baconthat was well done and crisped up just how she liked. Two glasses of orange juice and two mugs of steaming hot coffee sat side by side. ‘Wow. This looks amazing.’

He shrugged, but she spotted the tiny, satisfied twitch of his full lips. ‘Tuck in,’ he commanded. They sat and ate together, his legs coming back under the covers. It was so weird, so easy. Tyler had stayed over before, but never like this. Never post coital, wearing nothing but boxers. Never having stayed the night in her bed.Wrapped around me like the world’s best, sexiest blanket.

When their plates were empty, the juice drank, they finished off the coffee. She eyed him over her mug, bare chested against her headboard. She’d never done this with Bradley. He was normally only up for a quickie in the mornings, or he was running off to get showered and start his workday. Even on the weekends, he’d never made her eggs and coffee in bed. Never laid beside her, looking at her as if he had all the time in the world, and nowhere else he’d rather be.

When he saw her looking back at him, he laughed. A low, easy rumble. ‘What?’ he teased. ‘Panicking?’ His gaze was easy, but she’d felt him tense up through the mattress.

‘No, not panicking. Just… well, I didn’t expect it. Not that I mean, it… but… well, yeah I did mean it, but… not “it” it.’ When they locked eyes again, he laughed. Which made her giggle. ‘Come on, you know what I mean.’

‘I do,’ he pushed, ‘but I’m more interested to hear what you’ve got to say.’ He finished the rest of his coffee. ‘I enjoyed last night.’

‘So did I.’

There it was. That little smile she was beginning to love seeing splayed across his lips. She’d seen Tyler laugh and smile a million times, but never quite like that.

‘You’re different, you know. You seem…’

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