Page 40 of Caught A Vibe

I start the movie and lay my head on the arm of the couch, stretching my legs toward the other end where Dash sits with an adorable frown on his face.

“Problem?” I ask innocently.

“No, not at all.”

He tucks the blanket he’s been sleeping with around my shoulders and I am surrounded by his scent: citrus and sunshine, with an undertone of ocean. It’s not as powerful as when he gets out of the shower, but still intense enough to fill my head with decadent dreams. I try to pick up the threads of the Regency conversation on the screen, but it’s difficult when all I want to do is snuggle in and be his little spoon again.

“That wasn’t convincing,” I tease.

“Shut up and give me your foot,” Dash retorts.

With a laugh, I poke one foot out of my cocoon. He grasps my ankle and pulls my heel firmly into his lap.

“I’ve wanted to get my hand on this ankle since T-Con. So pretty.”

I try to focus on the screen, but Dash pushes the pads of his thumbs into the arch of my foot and my eyes flutter closed on an involuntary and indecent moan. The sounds he’s pulling from my throat would make me blush if I wasn’t already feeling so relaxed and aroused. He works his knuckles into tired muscles and tight tendons. He pulls each toe, squeezing along the length. He doesn’t miss a single trick. My body is molten with pleasure, and my pulse thuds beneath my skin, thick and slow.

About the time Mr. Collins compliments the potatoes, Dash switches feet. As Mr. Darcy proposes the first time, I nod off, exhausted and blissed-out.

Maybe I did need a nap.

Iwake with a start to find the end credits rolling, my feet still resting in Dash’s magical hands. Head tipped back, mouth soft, lashes long against his cheek, he looks so peaceful sleeping sitting up. Careful not to dislodge my feet and wake him, I shift so I can better admire him.

Physically, he is a beautiful man. I clocked that the minute I saw him in Vegas. And after all the time we’ve spent together, his personality has only made him more attractive.

The way he leapt into action to care for me while I was sick, and the way he continues to care about my well-being now that I am struggling with work and recovery… He is a good man on top of being a great lover. He’s been such a good friend, but I don’t want that. I mean, I don’t want just that. I want the friend and the lover. Can’t I have both?

My recently awakened libido perks up at the memory of just how great he was in Las Vegas. Grateful, I send up a silentthank youto whichever sexy gods hadn’t abandoned me for its slow but steady return. For a long time, I’d worried Covid had taken it from me.

But the familiar tension low in my belly and the gathering heat between my legs let me know systems are back online. Lusting after him while he sleeps feels a little creepy though, so I roll back to my side, my feet accidentally brushing the very hard evidence of his own arousal.

Good lord, how can he sleep like that?

I glance back up at his face and realize he is no longer sleeping.

His hands begin caressing my feet again, and he smiles sleepily. “Do I lose points for falling asleep during your movie?”

“No.”

“Good. Your nap—sorry, brain break—was catching, apparently. Feel better?” he asks, petting my calf.

NO!I want to shout.No, I am all mixed up and turned on now and I asked you for distance and you gave it to me and now I don’t want it but I’m afraid to let go of it and I don’t know what to do because I can’t think past you putting your mouth on me again!

After what feels like an interminable pause for such an innocuous question, I gather my courage and honesty and shake my head no. This does not feel better at all.

“No? Does your head hurt?”

I shake my head again. “Lower.”

“Your feet? I can keep rubbing them.” Dash does just that, and I close my eyes and groan at how good it feels, but I’ve made my decision and I’m committed to my mission.

With regret, I pull my feet away from his gorgeously talented hands, sliding them past his cock deliberately before tucking them beneath me on the couch and rising to my knees. “No. I need you to rub me a little higher.”

Dash closes his eyes on a gasp and clenches his now empty hands as if he’s holding on to a very thin thread of control. “I need you to be very clear, Penny. Where do you want me to touch you?”

“It’s easier if I show you.” I scoot closer on the couch and hold out my hand. He places his in mine, eyes wide and fine tremors shaking his fingers with the effort to stay still. I turn his hand and lay it against my cheek. “Here. I miss your hand here.”

He relaxes a fraction and smiles.Good.I guide his hand down my neck, tease his fingers over my collarbone, and clasp it firmly over my breast. His eyes track every move, hungry.

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