Page 38 of Anchored

A thread of irritation slithered through me, but then he smiled and upped the ante by casually draping his arm across my shoulders, making me forget all about it. “You’re so good, Maple. The class deserves to see your poses.”

I soaked up his praise like a bone-dry sponge, along with his attention through the rest of the class. And before I walked out to my car, he’d asked me out on a date. I said yes, of course, because we had so much in common. He was a vegetarian. He liked yoga. He loved cats, not dogs, but that was close enough for me.

Maybe, just maybe, I’d found my person. The one person in my life who liked me for me, and not what they wanted me to be.

ChapterFourteen

Holt

Debbie responds in all caps, obnoxiously text screaming at me for taking the day off. I send her the emoji that looks like it’s sticking its tongue out like a petulant child. She sends me the middle finger emoji. I grin at the ceiling, then look down at Maple draped across my chest. Absolutely worth provoking Debbie’s ire to spend the day with this woman. Plus, I can’t remember the last time I called in sick, so I’m due for some time off.

I drop the phone onto the blankets and run my fingers through her long hair. She doesn’t stir, sleeping like the dead when every bone in my body isn’t happy with me. I don’t know how she sleeps on the floor every night. But that soreness is also worth it. I squeeze my eyes shut, remembering last night. The way her skin felt like silk under my fingers. The large back tattoo that entranced me each time she inhaled and exhaled. The feel of her surrendering, giving me full control of her body in that position. Fuck, I loved every second of being buried inside Maple Thatcher, my fake fiancée.

Maple finally stirs and I fling my eyes open to watch her. Her lashes blink rapidly like she’s trying to figure out this new human-shaped pillow she’s been snuggled up to all night long.

“You drool in your sleep,” I tease her.

Maple’s hand flies to the side of her mouth where she did actually drool on my chest. She swipes furiously like if she removes any evidence, I’ll forget she drools more than Mookie with her favorite bone. Speaking of Mookie, she darts over the second I speak, crawling right on top of Maple to lick her in the face. Maple yelps and pulls the dog down to my chest to give her a proper pet without the wandering tongue.

“Why does my dog like you better than me? I rescued her, for God’s sake. Her previous owner, one of our residents at Sunny Shores, got her just a few months before she passed away suddenly. No family or friends, and nowhere for Mookie to go. You’d think she’d have a soft spot for me.” I frown at my pet while she rolls over and begs for belly rubs. I wouldn’t mind some belly rubs too, but Mookie steals Maple’s full attention.

“It’s just a girl thing, isn’t it, pretty baby,” Maple talks to my dog in a low throaty voice that has me imagining other yoga poses I might be able to talk her into. Naked, of course.

I snatch Mookie off my chest and away from Maple, intent on seeing if I can talk Maple into putting her hands on me instead. Mookie snarls and snaps like a feral animal, legs kicking in the air. Putting her down off the blankets, I roll my eyes at her impression of a rabid dog.

“Be nice or I won’t take you for a walk this morning,” I warn.

Mookie doesn’t quit growling or baring her teeth. I realize I have a situation on my hands that I need to deal with before I can get some alone time with the woman who’s hijacked my brain. Turning back to Maple, I point at her, taking in the tousled hair and sleepy eyes. “Stay there. I’ll be right back.”

I climb out of the blankets stark naked, picking Mookie back up and holding her away from my chest as she snaps again. “Let’s get you some food. Food always helps the hangry ladies.”

Maple’s tinkling laughter follows me into the kitchen where I pour more than a normal feeding into her bowl, just to buy myself some time. I also take the barrier off the doggie door so Mookie can take herself outside to do her business whenever she needs. I usually keep it blocked off, due to the animals around these parts, but morning is a safe time for her to be out there alone. Mookie doesn’t waste a second diving face-first into her bowl.

Maple sits up in the blankets, keeping them tucked around her chest as I return. I dive in and flatten her back down with my body over hers. She laughs and runs a hand through my hair. Seeing a smile on her face is doing crazy things to my insides.

“Don’t you need to get to work?”

I shake my head slowly, realizing I don’t give a damn about anything outside of this cabin right now. “I called in. I’m spending the day with you. Whatever you want to do.”

Maple drills me in the ribs with her fingers. “I want to breathe, first.”

I roll off of her reluctantly, but am rewarded when she sits back up against the couch, the blankets falling away from her bare breasts. I feel like one of those cartoons where the character’s eyes fall out of their sockets. Goddamn, her breasts are spectacular. In the full light of the morning and with nothing blocking my view, I can see them clearly and take them in in all their glory. I was never a boob guy, but I can finally see the appeal. Maybe I just wasn’t looking at the right ones before.

The groan is out before I can pull it back in. My hands shoot out to cup her round breasts. I seem to have the impulse control of a twelve-year-old boy realizing he likes girls and they have body parts he doesn’t. I feel their full weight in my palms and swipe my thumbs across the silky tips. Maple sighs, the exhale of air brushing along my wrists.

“I made a critical error,” I mutter, trying to catalog the exact color of her nipples.

“What’s that?” Maple says, her voice as breathy as I feel.

“When we made love last night, I couldn’t see these incredible breasts.” I give them a light squeeze and nearly start drooling myself. “I’m an absolute idiot.”

Maple shakes with silent laughter, her voice saucy and confident. “I can see you like them.”

I drag my gaze away to see what she’s talking about. My dick is hard as steel, lying against my stomach like he thinks he might get a repeat performance of last night. “He’s half the reason I walked away from you when I was fourteen.” My gaze lifts to hers and holds.

She looks confused for a moment, then reaches over and wraps her fingers around my length. I forget what we’re talking about. “What do you mean? I thought it was because I knocked your glasses off or you didn’t like me.”

My eyes fling open. “No. That had nothing to do with you, Maple. I hated those things. I’d just gotten them and wasn’t used to them yet. They got knocked off and I was embarrassed. Add in the fact that I was fourteen and getting hard-ons at inopportune times, like kissing the first hot girl I’d ever noticed. I was so embarrassed, I ran. I didn’t want you to think I was some kind of creep.”

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