Page 97 of The Fate Factor

It feels like minutes, but it must be hours later when my eyes snap open at the sound of the front door opening. The quick flash of middle of the night fear melts away when I recognize the sound of Jamie’s palm on the wall, then his sneakers hitting the floor. I turn to watch him pad across the room on bare feet, the rest of his clothes peeled off and dropped like breadcrumbs in the glow of the nightlight in the kitchen.

“Hi,” I whisper, my voice scratchy with sleep. I roll to my side and lift the blankets.

Jamie slides in, gathering me in his arms. “Hi, baby. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“What time is it?”

He presses his mouth to my hair. “One.”

“You stayed late.”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course.” I nuzzle into his neck and breathe him in. “Just missing you. You know watching you play always gets me hot and bothered.”

He hums quietly, thumb stroking up and down my spine. “I played hard for you tonight,” he says. “I’m sore everywhere.”

I shake my head, laughing at his wildly transparent attempt at convincing me to put my hands all over him. He knows I’m powerless to let him hurt, and he’s always so grateful for touch. “Come here.”

He shifts lower, swapping our heights so he can bury his face in my chest. “I love you,” he whispers into my cleavage while I knead where his shoulder meets his neck, and my heart fills like a balloon. He’s beautiful in this low light. The shadow in the grooves of his muscles makes them look like they’ve been sketched. His dark hair flopped onto his forehead like ink on canvas. It’s no hardship, soothing Jamie’s body.

“I love you too,” I tell him, tasting those words again. Savoring them. I press my face to the crown of his head. “Even when you smell like a brewery.”

He laughs with a surprised jerk of his chin, dimple winking at me like I’d hoped. Then he hooks my leg with his and rubs his chest over me.

“Stop!” I giggle. “I showered. I smell like lavender and chamomile.”

“Youdidsmell like lavender and chamomile,” he says. I laugh and squirm, but he doesn’t let go. “Now you smell like beer and lavender.”

I go boneless with a half giggle, half sigh of defeat. “Fine. I still love you.”

“Noe?”

“Mmm?”

His hands are already pulling my shorts down my legs, and I arch to meet him. “Will you love me with your body?”

He settles in the cradle of my hips, pulling ayesfrom deep within my chest. I can’t imagine a time I would turn him down. Like stars in the same constellation, we’re made to be together, side by side.

When we finish, it’s nearly dawn, the dark outside at its heaviest, just before it tips toward light. Jamie and I have done some sort of body swap, though, because while he’s beside me, stock still except for the repetitive brush of his thumb over his sternum, I’m restless and too hot. I hate that Wes’s words have made it through sleep and sex, and still sit here, muscling between us. Flopping onto my stomach, I kick a leg out, and Jamie lifts his head to look at me.

“Come here.” He hooks my waist with his arm and pulls me under his weight. “Why are you fidgeting? It’s like sleeping next to me.”

I laugh softly and roll again so we’re face to face. Wrapping my arms around him, I let my fingers dance over the tattoo on his shoulder. Tracing it from memory.

“I think you like that one the best,” he says, eyes closed. “You’re always touching it.”

I swallow. “What made you get it?”

He shrugs lazily. “I wanted something that would cover my whole shoulder. I wanted blue ink. I like the beach.”

I don’t expect the mild disappointment that settles in. I’m not sure what I wanted out of bringing this up now, but if there was some grand story behind why it’s different, then maybe I’d glean some lesson about this whole thing.

But it seems like it was a whim. Not exactly careless, but a decision that didn’t require any thought. Justpoof. Different.

I push him onto his back and prop myself on my elbows above him. “Have you decided what you’ll do about your offer? From NEBev. It’s almost the end of the year.”

“Uh—” I know he wasn’t expecting to talk business right now and his brain is slow to change lanes. “I guess I’m maintaining my avoidance strategy for now?” It’s a question. He has no plan. He’s waiting just like Wes thinks. My shoulders fall.

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