Page 22 of Bad for Business
“The sunisup. And I wouldn’t have to come in here if you would just wake up the first time your alarm goes off. I mean, seriously, Ryker, are you a teenager? What thirty-year-old man sleeps throughsevenalarms?”
I finally pull my hands from my face and really look at her. She stands in the same spot as before, her hip pressed into the corner of the dresser as it supports some of her weight. She wears a light blue sundress today, and I can’t help but let my eyes wander for a fraction of a second, traveling over the spot on her thigh where the hem of the dress dances against her tan skin.
“It wasn’t seven alarms,” I grumble, pulling my body into a sitting position. I press my back against the bed’s headboard, adjusting myself until I’m comfortable.
“It was seven alarms. I counted.”
I clench my jaw. Of course she counted.
“Well, I’m awake. You can leave me alone now.”
Camille clicks her tongue. “Can I? I trusted you to wake up to your alarms, but here we are…”
“I was going to get up. I still have plenty of time to get ready. But I can’t start unless you leave.”
“Why?” Camille asks immediately, her face pinching together in confusion.
I can’t help but smirk, my gaze moving to my lap. “I don’t like to sleep in clothes. I thought you’d remember that.”
Camille’s eyes go wide, and I love that despite how much I’m sure she hates it, her cheeks begin to turn pink.
“Ryker.” The way she says my name lets me know I’m in trouble. She basically spits it out, her eyes immediately going to the ceiling to avoid looking at my body.
“What? You’re the one inmyroom. If I knew you were going to barge in, I would’ve put on clothes.”
“Oh my God,” she mutters, her hands rising to slap against her eyes. “You broke rule number two, by the way!”
“I could argue that you’re breaking a rule by letting yourself into my room without an invitation. It’s an invasion of privacy.”
She attempts to take a step toward the door, but she’s still too close to the dresser. Her hip ends up clipping the corner, and the noise that leaves her mouth sounds a little too close to the moans I was just dreaming about.
My entire body tightens as I try to ignore the sound she just made. It’s the morning, and my body’s reaction to things could give her the wrong idea.
“I’m leaving,” she speaks up, risking taking a peek through her fingers to ensure she doesn’t run into the dresser again.
I smile as I make sure the sheet stays around my waist. I slept in my boxer briefs, but she doesn’t need to know that. It’s kind of fun watching her squirm as I’m confident the memories of our night together are probably flooding her mind like they are mine.
“Took you long enough,” I quip. I can’t help but laugh when her hands drop from her face for a fraction of a second for her to shoot a dirty look in my direction.
She stops in the doorway, her back to me as she keeps her gaze pinned safely in front of her. “You have twenty minutes, Ryker. Meet me in the kitchen then.”
“Twenty minutes? We don’t have to be at Pembroke for an hour.”
She lets out a groan of disapproval. “We’ve been over this. We have to be early. That shows them that you’re taking things seriously.”
I stifle an eye roll. Camille is early to everything. Even if it’s something casual with my friends, she’s insistent that we’re early.
“Camille, they know I’m taking this seriously. All I’ve done recently is be serious. Rounds of golf with only one drink. Late nights in the cigar lounge centered around boring-as-fuck discussions.”
She’s quiet for a moment, but after over a week of spending way too much time with her, I know there’s something she wants to say.
“What?” I ask with a sigh.
“Nothing,” she responds immediately. The word comes out too quickly. Now I know for a fact she’s holding back.
I rub my temples, already looking forward to the cup of coffee I desperately need, thanks to Camille’s wake-up call. “Since when do you keep your thoughts to yourself? Spit it out.”
Camille spins on her heel, her body now facing mine as she glares at me. To her credit, she keeps her angry stare aimed right at my face and doesn’t let it move any lower. “Trust me, Ryker. I keep most thoughts I have of you to myself. I’m not trying to hurt your delicate feelings.”
