Page 27 of Her Fake Island Wedding

Bryce could only nod, grunting slightly as he eased back. Lucy made a small sound of protest as he slipped from her and clambered off the bed to go to the bathroom, and when he returned after cleaning up and brushing his teeth to find she’d crawled under the sheet, she lifted one edge of it invitingly.

“You okay with me sleeping here?” he checked, sliding into bed beside her.

“Sure. I’m not a cuddly sleeper, though,” she warned.

“Thank God for that. It’s way too hot in Queensland to be cuddling up to a hot body in your sleep.”

* * *

Lucy giggled as Bryce defused what could have been a slightly tense moment with his trademark humour. He was right, of course, it was far too hot to cuddle anyway. She was hot and sweating after even the quickie they’d just had, even though the air conditioner was on low, keeping the room cooler than the hot, humid night outside.

Rolling on her side to look at him, she smiled. The moonlight pouring into the cabin through the big windows — she rarely drew her curtains — meant she could see his face clearly, although her own would probably be in shadow. He looked relaxed, a satisfied smile curving his mouth. As she lay there admiring the perfect symmetry of his face, his high cheekbones, broad brow and sharp blade of a nose, he reached out and traced the end of his thumb lightly over her lower lip before placing his hand gently over hers where it rested on the mattress between them.

“You okay?” he asked softly.

“Oh hell yes!” Lucy opened her eyes wide. “That wasfantastic.”

“Really? I thought it was terrible. Not the sex, I mean, notyou. Me.Iwas terrible.”

She laughed in disbelief. “Are you kidding?” Turning her hand under his to interlace their fingers, she squeezed gently. “Yes, it was quick, but that was just what I wanted — what I needed. There’s a time for slow and languid and there’s a time to bang and get it out of your system.”

Bryce flinched back slightly, and it was Lucy’s turn to hastily restate her meaning.

“Not that you’re out of my system!”

“I’m not?”

“If you’re still here when I wake up in the morning, I’m gonna pounce on you,” she warned, and he laughed.

“I’m not going anywhere, angel. Trust me on that.” Bringing her hand to his lips, he kissed the back of it gently before laying it down again. “And if I wasn’t so damn exhausted, I’d be encouraging you to jump on me now.”

Lucy knew just what he meant. Her whole body was still humming with pleasure, but she was so tired she was fighting to keep her eyelids open. Letting them drift closed, she listened to the soft sound of Bryce’s slow, even breathing for less than a minute before sleep claimed her.

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