Page 47 of Promises We Meant to Keep

Elia chuckled lightly, wrapping a hand around Kamryn’s back and then against her ass. “Work is a necessary evil.”

“We can call in sick.”

“I think that would be suspicious.” Elia massaged Kamryn’s ass, and Kamryn could already feel her body waking up well before her brain. She wanted more of what they’d shared.

“Next time we do this, we do it on a weekend when neither of us has to work in the morning.” Kamryn pouted but smiled when Elia swooped in to kiss her again.

“We’re doing this again?” Elia asked.

“If you want to, yes. I would very much like to not let this be the only time.” Kamryn found Elia’s nipple under the covers and gave her a quick pinch.

Elia squeaked in response and shifted instantly. “Ugh, that alarm is annoying me.”

“Me too, but I’m doing a decent job at ignoring it.”

“I’m not.” Elia pulled Kamryn in for a deep kiss, their lips melding together, their tongues tangling. Kamryn melted into it. Screw morning breath, screw the sleep-addled brain, and screw needing to get up for the morning. This was exactly what sheneeded and wanted this morning. Elia in her arms, tousled, warm, and so willing to touch. Elia broke the kiss and pulled away. “Time to get up.”

Kamryn groaned again. “What time is it, even?”

“Five.”

“Jesus, you’re a masochist.”

Elia laughed lightly as she slid out of the bed. “Now you know why I don’t like staying awake until three in the morning doing whisk time.”

Kamryn watched with rapt attention as Elia found a towel and wrapped it around her middle, covering up her glorious body.

“I’m going to shut that off and start coffee. We’ll both need some.”

“Buckets full,” Kamryn commented, rubbing her hands over her face. “Do I at least get to shower with you before you make me leave?”

Elia paused, her movements jerky and stiff. “Make you leave?”

Kamryn nodded, squinting to see Elia in the doorway as she was just about to walk out. “Yeah, because… well, I don’t really know why. I’m not very good at one-night stands.”

“This is a one-night stand?” Elia was far too awake for this conversation while Kamryn was far too asleep for it. She couldn’t keep up with what Elia was implying. “I think most one-night stands involve strangers.”

“Friends with benefits?” Kamryn tried again, but that one also didn’t sit right with her.

“Right, you figure out what we are to each other while I go turn off that alarm and start the coffee.” Elia walked away without another word.

Kamryn winced. Had she messed this up already?

She stayed in the bed, trying to convince herself that she wasn’t a complete idiot for everything that had happened, that she hadn’t ruined a good thing. The conversation from the night before kept replaying in her mind, not just her and Elia screaming at each other, but the intensity of the ethics meeting that had blown her out of the water and made her show up here to begin with.

She really needed to figure out a better way to explain that to Elia, so Elia didn’t think she was ready to fly off the handle at the smallest upset.

“Are you coming?” Elia’s voice reached her ears from the doorway.

Kamryn finally looked up. Elia was naked as the day she was born, and she was giving Kamryn a very pointed look.

“We both could probably clean up after last night,” Elia added.

“Uh… yeah.” Kamryn scrambled to get out of the bed, her muscles lagging and stiff. She definitely wasn’t as spry as she used to be. She hadn’t worked out in ages, and she was paying the consequences for that now.

Kamryn met Elia at the door, and they walked across the hall to an upstairs bathroom. This one looked far more lived in than the one downstairs. Elia’s things were all over the countertop and in the shower. This was what had been missing before, and Kamryn hadn’t even put two and two together until now.

Elia turned on the water and stepped under the spray instantly. Kamryn bit her lip. She really needed that cup of coffee to wake her brain up. Finally giving in, she followed Elia into the shower and stood awkwardly in the part with no spray. Her nipples instantly hardened in the cold as Elia dipped her head under the water.

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