Page 24 of Blood Ties

“Is there anything else you need?” He cocked that dark brow and my stomach fluttered.

Feeling bold, I asked, “Where are you sleeping?”

He took a breath and opened his mouth, then he snapped it shut. For several heartbeats, he simply stared at me. Then he exhaled heavily. “I don’t think it would be wise for me to sleep in here with you. Neither of us would get much sleep.”

Then he turned on his heel, closed the door, and left. I heard another one down the hall open and close. My shoulders slumped. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was hoping after what he’d said earlier, that maybe he couldn’t resist me. Yes, I’d been the one to say my dad didn’t need to know about what we’d done, but damn, I wished he’d fought me on it. Just a little.

Wait. Was he saying if he stayed in my room, we wouldn’t get much sleep because we’d be busy doing other things? My heart fluttered and my stomach rippled and flipped.

“I don’t think I’ll be getting much sleep anyway,” I grumbled as I pulled out my iPad mini and downloaded a new book. I would rather get no sleep because I was busy doing fun things—naked. My book was a close second. Without changing, I curled up on the bed in the nondescript room and stared into space.

Then I started to read. Except the words kept blurring. Despite feeling like I’d be awake all night, my eyes grew heavy, and I was out before I knew it.

It seemed like it was only thirty minutes later when I was being gently shaken.

“Niv, it’s time for us to go.”

“MmMm,” I grumbled as I fought leaving my delicious dream where Alessio was doing everything he’d done to me before, and more. If dreams were rated, this one was definitely an X. Maybe triple.

“Nivea. We have to get on the road.”

My eyes popped open because that was not dream Alessio talking to me. I bolted upright and realized I had drool that trailed from my mouth to the pillow. Using the back of my hand, I wiped it away.

“Okay. Yeah. I’m up.”

He smirked and I’m pretty sure he laughed at me. I scowled.

“Come on, Snow White. It’s time to wake up.”

“Don’t you mean Sleeping Beauty?” I muttered.

“Definitely Snow White,” he murmured as he brushed my hair out of my face with a gentle touch.

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if he had kissed me to wake me up from my slumber.

Before I was fully awake, I had a cup of coffee in my hand. I frowned at the cup after I tasted it. “How did you know how I like my coffee?”

“I pay attention.”

Then we winked and walked out of the room.

My jaw dropped because if he was referring to the day we met at the coffee shop, that was two weeks ago. The coffee was hot as Hades so I decided to let it cool while I washed up and changed clothes. I found my iPad buried in the bedding and put it away.

Using the bathroom across the hall, I washed my face and brushed my teeth. Dragging ass, I packed my belongings up again, grabbed my coffee, and brought my bag out to the kitchen.

“Do you want a bagel?” he asked, holding one up and waving it back and forth.

“Please,” I practically moaned. I was damn starving.

“Cream cheese?”

“Just butter.”

Once the toaster popped, he prepared both bagels and set a small plate in front of me.

“So who does the dishes?” I asked around a big bite.

“We can flip for it,” he replied, and my eyes went wide.

---