Page 42 of Breaking News

God help me.

chapter fifteen

Jillian

The sun was already bright on my eyelids as I stirred awake, naked and groggy in a bed that wasn’t mine. I blinked until my eyes adjusted, my backside cold but the front of me warm against Graham’s skin. I was still clinging to his body in the same position I’d fallen asleep in, one arm on his chest and one of my legs draped over his.

I was only awake for a few seconds before I registered the pain radiating through my hips and thighs. Even my head hurt, but that might have been from all the drinking and the total disruption to my sleep routine.

The muscle aches in my lower body felt like a cruel betrayal. I must have jinxed myself when I half-joked about canceling my appointment at the Gardners’ last night. Guess it was a good thing I hadn’t.

Graham’s fingers began stroking my hair, slowly combing through the tangles. It was a touch so satisfying it nearly made me forget the pain. Before I could let it lull me back to sleep, I lifted my chin to look at his face.

“Good morning, darling,” he said with a smile, his voice rough.

Somehow, those words were even more satisfying than his fingers stroking my scalp. I melted into him, nestling closer against his skin and inhaling his familiar, masculine scent. I couldn’t control the grin on my lips when he kissed my forehead. “I feel gross,” I said, pressing my face against his skin. No way I was letting him smell my breath.

He chuckled softly and tightened his arm around me. “You could never be gross.”

“I have to do a gross walk of shame back to my car in front of the Gardners’ house.” My voice was partially muffled by his chest. “I wonder if they’re awake over there.”

“I’m not sure what time it is,” he said, glancing at the window, “but it seems like late morning. I bet Xander and Abigail are already gone.”

Something twisted in my stomach at the mention of Xander’s name. I couldn’t remember the exact words I’d said the night before, but I knew they hadn’t exactly been kind. And then, of all the men I could’ve rebounded with, I chose the CEO of our company.

What the hell was wrong with me?

Except… it didn’t feel like a rebound when he called me “darling,” or when he kissed my forehead. In his arms, I felt safe and content andwanted.

Maybe that was the bigger problem.

I had crushes on a lot of men, most of them short-lived, fizzling out not long after the guy decided to open his dumb mouth and shatter the illusion. But the more Graham opened up, the more he drew me in.

Everything from the tenderness in his voice when he talked about his kids to the gentle way he stroked my hair made me crave something more with him.

And then there was the way he took control last night, commanding me to watch and touching me exactly the right way. Fuck… how was I supposed to move on from all that?

I took a deep breath and sat up, pulling the gray sheet around my nakedness. I would need to get up and put my clothes on soon, but there was no way to do that gracefully with my hips and thighs aching like they were bruised. It was like I’d just run a marathon and got hit by a truck at the finish line.

Graham’s fingertips traced down the center of my back. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I…” I licked my lips as I turned to look at him. “I know this is silly, but would you mind not looking at me when I get dressed?”

He didn’t hesitate at all before pulling the sheet up over his head. “You’re safe.”

I let him think I was just being modest, but the truth was, I didn’t want him to notice me wincing in pain as I pulled myself up out of the bed. Those first few steps were always the hardest, and this morning was no exception. I closed my eyes and cursed under my breath as I picked up my undergarments. There I was, eleven years younger than him, moving like a slow, rigid old woman.

I felt like I was about to turn a hundred, not thirty.

Once my dress was on, I cleared my throat and approached the bed. “Will you zip me up?” I asked.

Graham pulled the sheet away and knelt behind my back on the bed, taking his time tugging the zipper upward. When he reached the top, he didn’t move away; instead, he gingerly wrapped both arms around my midsection. I clenched my eyes shut and braced myself to be pulled down on top of him, which would inevitably raise my pain levels all the way to eleven.

Instead, Graham gently twisted my body around to make me face him. “You’re in pain,” he said, his hands resting on my hips.

My lips parted. “How did you know?”

“I’m getting pretty good at reading you.” He swallowed, peering up into my eyes. “But you said you were feeling okay yesterday. Jill… did I hurt you?”

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