Page 87 of Just This Once

I finished moments before she did and was patting her hip in calming strokes as she started to float down as well.

With a long exhale, she dropped on top of me and melted, her hair splashing across my shoulders, and warm breasts pressed against my chest.

This time, I didn’t need to be asked; I wrapped my arms around her and nuzzled my face into her hair, holding her close and relishing all the skin-to-skin contact I could get.

22

PARKER

“I’m starving,” I announced sometime later.

Hope and I had both gotten out of bed and cleaned up and then returned to hold each other again. We didn’t talk about much, just let the silence in the room soothe us into a semiconscious state, where we were constantly touching, stroking arms, stomachs, backs, sides, whatever we could reach.

I wasn’t anywhere near ready to stop, but then my stomach growled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten supper.

I’d been heading out to my truck to go for a drive-through burger when I’d idly checked the location of my Lucid Air on my phone, something I did habitually now, just to see where she was and what she was doing.

When I’d seen the car’s GPS claim it was at Chateau Cove, all thought of food fled my brain, and I had headed this way instead to see why she was at our meeting location a day early.

And thank God I’d been snoopy. Tonight would’ve sucked ass with me pacing in anticipation for tomorrow. I hated waiting.

But this… Yeah, this I could handle.

“I have some granola bars in my sacks out in the foyer,” Hope spoke up. I glanced over to see her shrug. “I’d been planning oneating them while I was getting ready tomorrow. But sincethatfell through, you can have them if you want.”

“You sure?”

When my stomach growled again, she laughed. “Knock yourself out.”

“Sweet.” I leaned over to slap a quick, appreciative kiss to her cheek and then dove off the bed to hurry toward the door. I was halfway across the room before the startled expression she’d sent me afterward finally registered in my head.

But had I really justkissedher goodbye? Like some kind of…boyfriend?

“What the fuck,Ohrley?” I mouthed to myself as I entered the foyer.

That had just been weird.

Shaking my head past it, I jogged to the grocery sacks and hit pay dirt in the first one I looked inside. Finding four granola bars wedged under a bottle of lotion and hairspray, I pulled the first one free before peeling off half the wrapper and wolfing down the first bite.

My mouth was still full when Hope called, “Find them?”

“Mmph, yep,” I called back. “You want any?”

“No. I’m good. Thank you.”

I shrugged and polished off the first bar before opening the second. As I started on that one, I snooped through all the bags, frowning at all the different makeup and hair products, wondering what they even did.

When I came to the third sack, I noticed another bag inside with a notable lingerie store logo on it.

“The fuck?” I asked curiously as I pulled it free and opened the top before I stopped cold.

My fingers trembled slightly as I reached inside and pulled out the light blue teddy.

Holding up the silk and lace with one finger, I arched a brow and glanced toward the doorway to the bedroom.

Nothing for me, my ass. She’d bought a piece of lingerie in my favorite color. No way in hell had this been forherto enjoy.

Still holding it up with one finger because I really liked looking at it, I started a slow, mocking grin and strode back toward the doorway.

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