Page 40 of The Seascape Between Us

Last night, while we ate, we’d talked about inconsequential things, the hotel and our plans for it going forward, all the time being careful to skirt around us andourplans for the future. By the time we’d cleaned up and gone to bed, Daniel hadn’t commented when I’d slipped into the bed next to him, and in the morning, I’d been careful not to wake him when I extricated myself from his limbs tangled around me.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, jerking me from my thoughts. I slipped it free, and Daniel’s name glowed up at me. I swiped my thumb over the screen and pressed it to my ear. “Hello?”

“Where’s my clothes?” Despite his low, controlled tone, I could hear the frustration seeping through.

I grinned. Something about an annoyed Daniel never failed to amuse me. “Whoisthis?”

“Very funny. They’re not in the laundry or the bedroom. What did you do with them?”

“I took them with me,” I admitted.

“Why? Where are you?”

“At the Seascape.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up? I could have gone with you.”

I rolled my eyes and sank onto the end of his bed. Despite the bed being neatly made, his faint scent lingered, wafting from the covers. Between his scent teasing my nose and the deep rumble of his voice through the phone, my cock was already half-hard.

“I think you answered your own question. You’resupposedto be resting.”

“I’ve been away from the hotel since yesterday. I should be there. What if there’s a problem?”

I could hear the anxiety building in his voice, turning his words fast and desperate. “Everything is running smoothly. This is one of the perks of a partnership. When you need to take some time away, you know someone’s got your back. I already spoke to Carter and June—”

“June? Howearlydid you go in?”

I let out a soft, scoffing chuckle. “Notthatearly, believe me. She was waiting for me. I think she thought I’d kidnapped you.”

“You took my clothes to keep me from leaving. Youdidkidnap me.”

“Relax. I’m bringing you clean clothes now.”

“The hotel—”

“Isfine,” I told him, standing and hoisting the duffel bag containing everything he owned over my shoulder. “Like I said, I went over things with Carter, and I’m going to check in with the restaurant before I head back.”

“Fine,” he grumbled. “But hurry up with my clothes. I can’t keep walking around wrapped up in a bedsheet.”

No need to bother with a bedsheet on my account. But I thought better than to say so out loud. Instead, I promised to be quick before ending the call.

I wrapped up everything I needed to get done at the hotel quickly. A part of me worried if I took too long, Daniel might fashion something to wear out of the bedsheets and try to make his way to the Seascape on his own. Then I loaded mine and his things into the car and started back to the house, with a quick stop for groceries so we wouldn't have to survive on leftover Chinese food.

Once I pulled into the driveway at the house, I climbed out and hauled Daniel’s bag and my suitcase from the backseat, then carried them both inside, setting them down in the foyer. At the sound of me entering the house, Daniel scrambled up from the sofa where he’d been watching some morning news show. Clutching the bed sheet wrapped around his waist with one hand, he lifted the remote from the coffee table and shut off the TV with the other.

“Thank god,” he said when his gaze fell on the bag with his clothes.

“I’ll be right back,” I told him. “I’m just getting the rest of the stuff from the car.”

While grabbing my laptop and the box of photos from the back seat, I heard footsteps on the stone path behind me. I threw my laptop bag over my shoulder and clutched Daniel’s box, then turned and found Daniel standing behind me.

He’d pulled on a pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt that clung to his broad chest and shoved his feet into sneakers that had seen better days. Was there anything he didn’t look fucking gorgeous in? Jeans and t-shirt, sedate button-down and khakis, bed sheets. He’d always been one of the most beautiful men I’dever seen, and though I felt like an idiot for staring, who could blame me?

“Is that from my room?” Daniel asked, nodding at the box in my arms, a frown clouding his features.

“I brought everything from your room, which, by the way, wasn’t much.”

“I don’t like clutter.” Red crept into his cheeks. “Why would you bring this here? The doctor said I only needed to take it easy for a few days.”

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