Page 41 of Flirty Thirty

I frown. “As delicious as that sounds, I really don’t think I have the energy to—”

“I mean actual sleep.” He taps his forehead to mine. “I can see you’re dozing off, and I am too. But I’m not quite ready to say goodnight.”

My lips turn up, and I nod as enthusiastically as I can muster. Though I don’t think I’ve made a case for my life logic at all today, and I really should, I’m not ready to admit that actually sleeping together sounds so much better right now than “sleeping” together.

16

We All Fall

Given the fact that I went to bed utterly exhausted, I’m not surprised that I wake up to a glorious Sunday morning… that is technically almost afternoon.

Shifting in the soft and fluffy sheets, I breathe in a satisfied breath of fresh air, the balcony doors left open once again so my cats can find their way to their litter box in the middle of the night. My body feels as if I’ve slept on a bed of clouds, a little sore from the constant up and down from the floor to chasing a toddler, but for the most part, very much content.

Cooper and I spent most of last night lazily conversing until we fell asleep. I don’t even remember if I finished the sentence I was saying, but he obviously didn’t notice or didn’t care because I didn’t wake up once after I drifted off.

It was nice, though. I try to think back to a moment when I fell asleep next to someone I hadn’t already stripped naked with. There were a few, but they didn’t last long. After the initial infatuation, there was nothing left but sex. When that too lost its appeal, they moved on or I did. I don’t remember a time when cuddling was something to look forward to or even enjoy. It felt too serious. Yet, last night was… not perfect, but whatever word comes closest to it.

I roll my head to look at my bedmate who is still sound asleep. He is a radiator; the heat pouring off of him hot enough to melt a candle in under a minute. I don’t mind it at the moment. Even with the summer air floating inside the cool house, I snuggle up to him, tucking my head in the warmth of his chest.

That heat rushes straight between my legs, the simple act of pressing against him giving me a not so subtle reminder that it’s been a while since I’ve been in bed with a man. And a loooong while since I’ve been in bed with a man I was so attracted to that I’d fake a marriage with him just to spend some more time together.

I squeeze his middle, and he stirs in my arms. A sleepy smile spreads across his lips, and he plops a heavy arm on my waist. A low grumble vibrates through my cheek as he groans into my hair, and another wave of fire fills my lower abdomen when he thrusts his hips against me.

Ah… one of the perks of waking up next to a man. Spooning is a very different—and usually unwanted—surprise, but waking up forking? Well, let’s just say I prefer cake to ice cream.

I really appreciate what sleep does to a man, and with my body on the search for relieving the tension that’s been building at a much faster rate since I met him, I press down on him and rock my hips playfully, holding back a moan from the surge of pleasure that sparks across every inch of my skin.

His grin widens. “Please tell me I’m awake.”

I tilt my lips up toward his, seeking them out with soft, yet urgent kisses. As soon as I get a hold of his mouth, his hand cups my cheek, holding me in place as his tongue slides across mine in one smooth, sensual movement.

I’m losing my head already. While every kiss he’s delivered has been an electric shock straight to my core, this one is almost orgasm-worthy. I rock my hips even harder into him, hoping to get some much-needed relief.

He chuckles into my mouth, leaning up on an arm to hover over me. His hand goes back to my face, holding me as if I’m something to be savored. It’s a unique feeling to be on the receiving end of something that seems so loving and caring. In all my naughty escapades, I’ve never come across a man who treats a woman he’s only known for a short while as a longtime lover. In the back of my mind, I wonder if he’s only kissing and touching me in this way because this is how he believes married couples express intimacy, or if it is truly how he is in bed.

I wriggle underneath him, ready to speed things up before my mind becomes too laden with thoughts that will take me out of the moment. My fingers start to tug and pull at his hair, his clothing, my hips rocking upward now in an attempt to get him to go faster. Cooper chuckles at my enthusiasm, taking my anxious hands and moving them up over my head.

“In a hurry?” he asks, the blue in his eyes bright with the sunlight streaming through the balcony.

“Mmm-hmm,” I say with gusto, pushing out my bosom to emphasize my point. The dimple in his cheek makes its first appearance of the day, and it’s so adorable that I feel my heart leap from my chest momentarily.

A flash of amusement crosses his expression, and then he flattens himself on top of me, my body molding to his like we’re two pieces from different puzzles that surprisingly fit one another. He strokes my wild bed hair away from my face, gazing at me with a playful smile set on his kissed lips.

“You, my dear, are a bed hog.”

I wrinkle my nose at him. “Well, youdearie, need a breathe-right strip.”

“We ran the ad for the last campaign of those.” He juts a finger over his shoulder. “I gave a bunch of samples to my buddy, actually.”

“Do they work?”

He shrugs. “Don’t know. Maybe we can test one out onyoutonight. I wasn’t the only one sawing logs.”

I playfully smack his shoulder, our laughter moving against each other in ways that has us both swapping our smiles for gasps of pleasure.

My hips attempt another roll up against him, and he hangs his head, the blond ends of his hair tickling the bridge of my nose.

“Maya? I’m… I’m falling for you,” he blurts out in frustration. My heart goes from passionate throbbing to thick, heavy thumping. His eyes turn apologetic, as if he knows just how fragile I am about the particular subject. “I know I joked about it when you agreed to come here, but I in no way thought it would happen this fast.”

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