Page 84 of From Nowhere

I chuckle. “You’re not a fan of dragons either. Noted.”

She shakes her head slowly. “I love dragons. Not the kind referenced in biblical times. More likeGame of Thrones,Harry Potter, andThe Hobbit.” She slides her hand past the tattoos to my ribs. “You have goose bumps.”

Yes. And an erection that shesurelynotices.

“You’re touching me,” I say with a husky tone.

She kicks off her shoes. “What time do you wake Lola?”

“In thirty minutes, because that’s when you said you’d be here,” I murmur.

“And the upstairs tenants?”

“They’ll be up in the next half hour as well.”

“Is your door locked?” she whispers before pressing her lips to my chest.

“Yes.” I close my eyes.

“And yourwhole fucking box of condoms?”

I softly chuckle, opening my eyes. “In the drawer.”

She flits her gaze in that direction, and from her soft smile, I know she sees the six stems of yarrow.

“I gave you the note, but not the flowers.”

“Ozzy?” She plants open-mouthed kisses up to my neck.

“Yeah?” I thread my fingers back into her hair.

“Take off my clothes.”

I moved Heaven and Earth to schedule a weekend to have sex with her, and she’s managed to show up thirty minutes early to a hair-braiding appointment with a solid plan to accomplish the same task.

But I’m not complaining.

I’m too busy removing her shirt and bra. Too busy sitting on the side of the bed while sliding her leggings and lacy underwear down her toned legs. And I’m way too busy palming her breasts and tweaking her nipples with my fingers until a half-suppressed moan vibrates her chest, and her back arches into my touch.

I lie back, legs hanging over the side of the bed, but before I can guide her to straddle my waist, she pulls down the front of my briefs. My next breath gets trapped in my chest, heavy with uncontrolledanticipation. A moan, with equal gravity, vibrates my whole body when she drags her tongue up the length of my erection.

“Maren,” I murmur, closing my eyes for a few seconds. I don’t know what I’m trying to say. Stop? Hell no. It feels too good, so I let her keep going. I’ll stop her in a few more seconds.

Maybe in a few minutes.

And then . . .

Afucking car alarmblares.

Maren leaps off me and fights with her clothes to put them back on.

It has to be my stupid neighbor. He sets that goddamn car alarm off once a week, and it’s always early in the morning. I sit up, sliding my briefs back into place and raking my hands through my hair while tugging it.

The alarm stops as Maren gets her leggings pulled to her waist.Did that wake Lola?she mouths.

I shrug, letting my hands flop to my sides, gripping the edge of the mattress. Sometimes the alarm wakes her, and sometimes it doesn’t. When I hear nothing, I open the door and listen.

Still nothing. So I close and lock it again.

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