Page 73 of Her Marine
Turning over, he took in the woman lying next to him. Journee was sleeping peacefully, and Killian was acutely aware that she was naked under the comforter. Instead of being selfish and waking her to indulge in her again, he let her sleep.
He slid out of bed, grabbed a pair of boxers from his dresser, and slid them on before entering the bathroom. After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he went down the hall into the kitchen. He would make breakfast and then wake Journee up.
They weren’t due at his parents’ house until two-thirty that afternoon. So, they had plenty of time to relax and exchange gifts before they needed to leave at one. The drive would typically only take about an hour, but with the holiday traffic, Killian knew it would take them a bit longer to get from Woodbridge to Annapolis.
Killian pulled bacon, eggs, fruit, and yogurt from the refrigerator, placing them on the countertop. He planned to make some French toast to go along with it. He moved around the kitchen getting everything prepared. At one point, he thought he heard Journee get out of bed, but when he didn’t hear movement, he chalked it up to someone passing by loudly in the hall.
Once Killian finished making breakfast, he looked in his cabinets for the bed tray he knew he had but never used. When he found it, he cleaned it off, removing the dust layer that settled over it.
He loaded both plates on it, along with a fruit parfait and two glasses of orange juice. Killian picked the tray up and carried it down the hallway. Journee was still sound asleep, and he placed the tray on the bedside table, sitting beside her on the bed. She looked peaceful, and he almost didn’t want to wake her.
Running his knuckles up and down her cheek, he called her name softly. Journee stirred slightly, but she didn’t open her eyes. Leaning down, Killian placed a kiss below her ear.
“Wake up, Tigress.”
“You’re awake far too early for someone on vacation,” she responded softly, her eyes still closed, and Killian chuckled.
“You don’t even know what time it is.”
“I know it’s early.”
“I made you breakfast,” Killian told her, wanting to coax her eyes open. He got what he was after as Journee’s eyes slowly fluttered open. “Good morning, gorgeous.”
“Good morning, baby,” she responded, sitting up. When she went to pull the comforter off, Killian stood from the bed.
Journee got out of it and walked into the bathroom. While she was inside, Killian grabbed the tray, went to his side of the bed, and placed the tray in the middle. When Journee returned from the bathroom, she went to his dresser.
“Which drawer are your t-shirts in?”
“The second one,” Killian responded.
He watched her pull out the first t-shirt she touched and put it on. Journee climbed back into bed, leaning over the tray, and Killian met her halfway, dropping a kiss onto her lips. The two began to eat, and it was quiet for several long minutes until Journee broke it.
“I was thinking this evening when we get back from your parent’s house, we could watch a Christmas movie,” Journee stated.
“We can do that. Is there one, in particular, you want to watch?”
She nodded. “There are two.KrampusandBlack Christmas.”
“You want to watch horror movies?”
“Yes. I got my fill of watching festive movies growing up. Even now, when my grandmother, sisters, and I celebrate, we always watchRudolphand aCharlie Brown Christmas.”
Killian couldn’t help but chuckle because the tone of her voice let him know that she was over both of those movies. He couldn’t say that he blamed her. Ziggy always made them watchHow the Grinch Stole Christmas. Killian wouldn’t have had such a problem with it if it were the live-action one.
“I take it you had to watch them a few days ago when the four of you celebrated.”
“They put the movies on, but I was asleep about fifteen minutes into the first one.”
They continued to eat, and once they finished, Killian grabbed the tray and took it into the kitchen. Before returning to the bedroom, he rinsed all the dishes and put them into the dishwasher.
He found Journee digging through one of her bags. Killian was about to ask her if she had forgotten something when she pulled out a wrapped box and a small gift bag. She sat back on the bed, crossed her legs, and patted the spot beside her. Killian did what she requested, taking his original place on the bed.
“Tigress, you were adamant when you told me I could only buy you one gift.”
“Yes, but that’s because you acted like you didn’t hear me when I told you we should cap our gift price. Besides, one of these is a belated birthday present. I hate that I missed it.”
“It’s okay, baby. You had an event, and I didn’t expect you to come for the day, fly out and then fly back two days later, and I did hear you,” Killian responded. She’d brought up capping their gift cost because she didn’t want him spending too much on her gift.
