Page 41 of Deep In Love
“Good,” he confirms. “I came to get you for lunch.”
“You did?”
Why in Neptune’s big blue sea does that make my chest explode with warmth?
He nods, his cheeks flushing a soft pink. “You hate soggy french fries, so I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss the fresh ones.”
“There are french fries for lunch?” My voice rises as I scramble to collect my things, and Mateo’s laughter follows me as I rush out the door.
I’m halfway down the hall when it hits me he knows I hate soggy fries, even though I’ve never told him.
Chapter 13
Mateo
“C’mon, Charlie.”
I wrap my hand around the ankle sticking out beneath the covers and drag her to the end of the bed. Her limbs flail, legs kicking and arms swatting the empty bed around her.
“No,” she groans, throwing the covers over her head. “Snooze.”
I bite back a chuckle, moving to crouch beside her.
“We have work to do. Your manuscript isn’t going to edit itself.”
Her head bobbles beneath the sheets while she mumbles into the pillow. “I’ve hired goblins to help me. They work before nine a.m., and I work after.”
She glowers at me as I lift the blanket off her head. Her irises are gray in this light, like an incoming hurricane moving toward land.
“It’s time to join the living, bruja.”
Charlie’s nose twitches in disdain, and fuck me, she’s cute in the morning. Golden hair mats against the side of her head, and her features are still sleepy, even if they’re full of annoyance.
She’s adorably grumpy, and her scar pulls taut as she frowns and adjusts to the light. My fingers itch to trace the pink tissue, to pepper kisses along the healed skin.
“I have chocolate…”
“Really?” She perks up.
“A whole bag waiting for you.”
With a groan and a few concerning popping sounds, Charlie rolls off the side and falls into the crack between the bed and the wall. I move to help her when a quiet “I’m okay” fills the air. She presses up, and I stand perfectly still as if I’ve spotted a rare creature in the wild and am afraid to scare it away.
This is the most skin Charlie has ever shown, and every nerve in my body vibrates. She was careful to change into her pajamas after I turned out the light and took my glasses off, but the early-morning light filters in from the small porthole and illuminates her skin and every single scar on her chest, of which there are many.
I busy myself with her knickknacks on the desk, the ones she unpacked and lined up with precision. Her beloved Darwin bobblehead. A collection of rocks. A framed photo of her and Amy. I don’t want her to hide, to assume I’m staring at her scars, when really I’m staring ather.
Charlie moves past, and air lodges in my throat at the sight of her pajama shorts wedged between her butt cheeks. She saunters around the room, entirely unaware of the predicament. We barely survived the ordeal with her vibrator. If she realizes I can see the whole globe of her left ass cheek as she rummages through her bag, things will go south.
I squirm, arousal zapping down my spine, and focus my energy on preventing a boner. I shouldn’t stare at her,I shouldn’t,but every sound she makes is a test of my strength. She mumbles something to herself, and I snatch my laptop and bag, beelining for the door.
A glimpse of ass cheek, and I’m on my knees for her.
“I’m gonna find a table and some coffee,” I yell, halfway out the door and refusing to look back. If I do, I know I’ll never leave.
“Extra espresso, Mateo,” Charlie calls out as the door falls shut.
Charlie releases a deep, slightly arousing sigh after she takes a sip of the iced coffee I made for her. Rogue strands of hair fall out of her braid as she sits across from me at a table in the main lounge.
