Page 99 of Resting Beach Face
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Declan
I wokethe next morning to find Cash bundled in my arms again. I was holding him so tightly I wondered how he could breathe. He squirmed a little, and I drew back.
Cash caught my arm before I could move to my slice of the too-small bed. “Stay,” he rasped. “Just needed to move a little.”
He pulled my arm around him and pressed my hand flat over his heart. It seemed to beat for me, thumping steadily under my palm. I nuzzled closer, breathing in the scent of his forest mint shampoo. It smelled fresh, sort of like a Christmas tree, but it worked for him.
“How are you doing?” I asked, before pressing my lips to the back of his neck.
“Mm. Always good when I’m with you.”
I coasted my hand up and down his chest and stomach. I wasn’t looking for anything sexual. I just loved touching him, absorbing the smooth skin and curves of bone and muscle under my fingertips. It made the moment more real. Cash in my bed, in my arms, in my heart.
When my hand accidentally bumped his cockhead, I peeked over his shoulder to see he was hard.
“Sorry.” He flashed me a sheepish grin. “Body is greedy after all that touching.”
He turned his head, grazing his lips over my arm. “I like it. Just ignore my dick.”
I chuckled and stroked my hand back up toward his heart, where I was more focused today. “How did your talk go with your mom yesterday?”
Cash tensed, but I peppered kisses across his shoulders until he relaxed back into the mattress.
The night before, I’d picked him up from the resort and brought him back to join his sister for dinner. We’d all eaten in my small quarters in front of a baking show on the TV. Katelyn sat between us, preventing us from touching, and I’d been hyperaware of Cash’s distance all evening. So much so, I’d wondered if I was becoming addicted to touching him.
When she’d gotten up to take the plates to the kitchen, we’d reached for each other at the same instant. Cash slipped an arm around my shoulders, and I leaned in, settling a hand on his thigh and squeezing.
Katelyn had taken one look at us upon her return and declared she was going to read in her room. I’d soaked up the affection he gave me so easily—without the expectation of more that my last ex had always placed upon any touch—until his phone rang with a call from his mother.
He’d taken it outside, and afterward he hadn’t wanted to talk much. This morning, he seemed more relaxed, though.
“Mom’s not thrilled about this arrangement,” Cash said as we cuddled in bed, “but she agreed to give us some space. So if you don’t mind us staying a few days…”
“Of course. Stay as long as you like.”
He turned his head a little, his dark stubble scraping along my upper arm and making me shiver. “Promise you’ll tell me if you need Kat’s room. There’s always space at the resort.”
I tightened my arm around him instinctively, as if he might try to leave me.
“I want you here,” I said. “I want us to?—”
My phone alarm cut through the room, and I groaned with annoyance.
“Wow, you actually need an alarm?” Cash teased. “With your early morning gardening, I figured you rose with the sun.”
I rolled over to silence my phone. “It’s not an alarm to wake up. It’s to start cooking breakfast. It’s the weekend.”
“Ahhhh, you can’t just phone it in today, huh?”
“Nope.” I rolled out of bed and opened a dresser drawer to pull out a pair of navy blue shorts and a white button-down with short sleeves. “Feel free to take your time. I’ll be in the kitchen.”
“Aw.” Cash threw back the blankets and got to his feet, stark naked. Early morning sunlight cut through the blinds, bright stripes of light and shadow playing across Cash’s taut skin.
My gaze skimmed over him, because I might be ace but I appreciated his beauty. Wasn’t sure anyone would be totally immune tothat.Cash caught me looking and raised an eyebrow.
“You’re gorgeous,” I said simply.
