Page 14 of Relief Pitcher

Ty: It’s really hard to sleep in a cabin with a lot of weird sounds. Wind is fucking creepy. I’m jealous you guys are sleeping.

* * *

I was swimming in sweat.Had Ethan cranked the heat last night? The reptile in a flesh suit should sleep in a onesie and stop making the rest of us suffer. I scrunched my face as my brain struggled to boot. It was borderline sweltering, but I had to admit I was cozy. I snuggled more deeply into the warmth and hummed happily.

It took a few moments before I realized where I was. Not my bedroom. Not my bed. Not alone. A furnace was attached to my back. A furnace with an arm draped over my hip.Oh god, I’m using his arm as a pillow. Kill me now.

I didn’t share beds with guys and sure as hell didn’t cuddle with them. Maybe he was a heavy sleeper and wouldn’t notice me sneaking out of bed. While debating my move, I soaked up the warmth for a minute longer.

Cooper’s arms stiffened as his even breathing stopped. He yanked back his arm like he’d been burned, and I tried not to take it personally. We’d migrated to the middle of the bed, so I rolled onto my back, closer to the other side, and rubbed my hands over my face to wipe the sleep from my eyes.

“Morning,” I said as cheerily as I could before coffee. Cooper stared at the ceiling with eyes open wide. I bit back the remark on the tip of my tongue about how convenient it was that we were both already in bed and decided against a morning wood joke to break the ice. I deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for my restraint.

“Mornin’,” Cooper mumbled as he sat up. The blankets pooled at his waist, and I bemoaned that he’d slept in a shirt. It would only take rolling over to faceplant in his lap to take care of hisimpressivemorning wood. My own saluted him from the confines of my snug underwear.

I scooted to a sitting position. It was a shame Cooper wasn’t taking me up on what I’d clearly offered, but there was something deeper going on than two dudes trapped together and having fun with their dicks, each other’s dicks, all the dicks. I wouldn’t have gotten so far in my career if I wasn’t good at reading people. A war waged behind Cooper’s eyes. The man was clearly attracted to me, but something had him holding back, and I wasn’t invested enough to find out what it was. Especially with me likely getting out of there in the next couple of hours.

“Mind if I make some coffee?” Surely that would break the ice.

“Of course. Help yourself to anything. I can fix us something for breakfast.” He pulled on a sweatshirt as he avoided eye contact. An awkward morning after without the sex.

“I can whip something up since you’ve been generous enough to let me leech off you for another meal. I think I saw eggs in your fridge?”

“Yeah.” He ran his big hand through his long hair that was begging to be gripped while directing his open mouth where I wanted it.

One corner of his mouth turned up in a small smile, almost like he could read my mind. “It sounds like the rain has died down a bit. I’ll head out and assess the tree in the light, then get the chainsaw out after breakfast.”

I checked my phone while Cooper was in the bathroom, then did my business while he geared up to check on the tree. I started a cup of coffee for myself while scoping out his fridge and finding eggs, bacon, and bread. Eggs and toast, I could handle, but I was clueless about cooking bacon. Chef Google suggested I bake it in the oven. Fortunately, Cooper had an oven like Dom’s, so I managed to set it to preheat, then found tinfoil and a cooking sheet.

I heard the ATV coming back when the bacon was nearly done and was starting the scrambled eggs, so I began brewing his coffee so it was ready for him. It was domestic as fuck and made my stomach flop around like the fish in thatFaith No Morevideo.

I stirred the scrambled eggs with one hand and sipped from the coffee in my other as the mudroom door opened.

“Smells good. I half expected to come back and find the place on fire.”

“Oh ye of little faith.” I watched him peel the wet pants and jacket off with far too much attention. When he entered the kitchen, I turned back to the eggs and caught them before they started sticking.

“I thought you said you don’t know how to cook.”

“I can feed myself and use Google in a pinch, but that’s about it. My roommates suspect I barely know how to make cereal.”

“Hallmark and cooking skills. What else are you hiding from them?”

I pulled his pajamas higher on my waist and swallowed thickly under his teasing stare before scooping the eggs onto our plates. I was basically an open book, but I did keep a secret or two to myself.

He pointed at the steaming cup under his coffee maker. “That for me?”

I nodded. “Weird request, but can you flash a peace sign and hold up the mug?”

“For your friends or your spank bank?”

I sputtered at how easily he teased me back. “Both?”

He laughed and did as I asked.

After I sent them the picture with the caption, “Eat this, assholes,” I went to save the photo as his contact icon and realized I didn’t have his number. Why would I? I didn’t need it, but I wanted it.

“This would be the perfect contact photo. I need your number to save it, and then if someone tries to kidnap me while you’re cutting down the tree, I can call you for help.”

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