Page 50 of Caught A Vibe

“Very,” she murmurs as she snuggles into me and promptly falls back asleep.

But rest eludes me, my brain spinning at three thousand RPMs.Was that good? Did she like it? Is she ignoring me by rolling over? Physically, she enjoyed that, but what about emotionally?

I’m sure there are things I could have done better, things I missed, things I should have known about. It’s only a matter of time before she realizes she could do so much better than me. I will enjoy it while it lasts. Which I would be able to do a lot better with a full night sleep.

I wish my brain would just shut the hell up sometimes.

I could ignore it, except no, I can’t. I could give it free rein, but then I’d never sleep again. Which leaves me with option three. Write down the spinning thoughts, and hope that funnels enough out of my head that I can get some rest.

I carefully roll out of bed, propping a pillow behind Penny to support her back, and grab my laptop. It’s charging so I sit against the wall next to the outlet and open the lid. The spreadsheet I’ve made about Penny is already open on the screen. Rows of her physical reactions, columns detailing time, date, situation, context, and perceived enjoyment.

Callie emerges from beneath the bed and leans her warm body against mine. I scratch her behind her favorite ear, and she settles down next to me. Like cat, like owner. I just have to find the right places to scratch.

I add the things that made Penny gasp and squirm this morning, as well as the too-hard nipple pinch that went awry. Her physical reactions are the easy part—cause and effect. She is so responsive, I can tell right away if something feels good or not. But her emotions are beyond me. I’m out of my depth. I think she’s into me, and not just letting me stay out of pity, but the voice that lives in the back of my head keeps trying to convince me otherwise. It’s really hard to ignore him.

But writing all of this out, codifying and organizing it, helps. Slowly, my brain begins to quiet. Callie brings me from my trance with a gentle tap of her paw on my hand, pulling it from the keyboard. I look up from my laptop and realize Penny’s watching me with a quiet frown. How long has she been staring?

“Can’t sleep?”

“No. Had a bit of inspiration I needed to get out. I’m sorry I woke you.”

She shakes her head softly and pats the bed next to her. Was that a flicker of sadness I saw?Damn it! What did I do now?

“Clearly I didn’t wear you out enough. Come back to bed and we’ll see if I can fix that.”

I may be an idiot when it comes to love, but I’m no fool. I close my computer, give Callie a final scratch, and slide in next to Penny’s warm, sleepy body for round two.

Chapter14

Penny

Iawake with a start and glance at the clock. Ten a.m.! I can’t remember the last time I slept so long when I wasn’t ill. True, I’m still recovering, but today’s exhaustion I can lay firmly at Dash’s door.

He is a force of nature. The way he touches me, keeping me guessing, always wanting more, is addictive. And when he tells me how good I am, how much I’ve pleased him, it pushes some button installed deep inside and I lose it. I become pure euphoric sensation, existing only to earn that praise. I could get used to this, but I shouldn’t.

Dash Hall sets a very high bar.

Nic would tell me to “grab his pole and vault that sucker,” but I’m already moving way faster than my usual pace. I prefer a reasoned approach, involving logical steps toward intimacy and maybe a timeline. For goodness’ sake, Dash has already moved in! This is way out of my comfort zone, and I haven’t had the brainpower or strength to give this relationship my usual vetting. But if he keeps wearing me out like this, I might never have the energy. I’m not so sure that would be a bad thing. Isn’t Nic always saying—

Oh God! Nic! I promised to call at nine!

Flinging back the sheets, I sprint into the living room in a panic. Dash is sitting with his back to me, legs extended on the couch, cell phone in front of his face. He turns at the sound of the door slamming against the wall and his eyes goggle wide.

He immediately lowers his phone to his chest and coughs. “Good morning,” he says.

“I missed a call with Nicola.”

“I know. I think you also missed something else.” I follow his gaze down and yelp.

I’m standing in the middle of my living room completely naked while he is fully clothed and on a video call.Fuck!

I turn on my heel and duck back into my bedroom, hastily throw on a cotton sundress and underwear, and rush back out. “Sorry!”

“It’s okay. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” Nicola’s muffled voice chuckles from Dash’s chest.

Dash looks back and forth between me and his screen, trying to make sense of that comment and the tone with which it had been delivered.

“We make better friends than lovers.” I brush past the curious questions lurking in his fine brown eyes, and narrow in on the one that is bothering me. “Why are you on the phone with my business partner?”

---