Page 41 of The Hook Up
She giggled, making Ty turn to look at her.
“Should I be offended that you’re laughing after sex?”
Shaking her head, she leaned close and planted a kiss along his stubbled jaw. “Definitely not. I’m just happy.”
“Me, too.” He pulled her closer, burying his face in her hair. Ellie snuggled against him and rested the heel of her hand on his chest.
“I have a confession,” she whispered. “That was my first casual hookup.”
“Ever?”
“Yep.” She smoothed her palm around his chest, making lazy circles over his heart. “I’ve never slept with anyone who wasn’t a boyfriend or husband or something.”
“Huh.” A note of warmth filled that single syllable, something that sounded almost like pride. “I’m honored.”
Ellie giggled. “You should be.”
“So, was it everything you expected?”
She nodded slowly, considering how she felt. Dreamy. Tingly. Mind-numbingly satisfied. “Yes,” she said. “I loved it.”
“Good.” He pulled her closer, his face still buried in her hair as her fingers caressed his nipple. “Me, too.”
She didn’t say anything after that, content to stroke his chest as she savored the contours of his pecs, his abdomen, his ribs, then moved back over his heart. Her pulse still thudded in her ears as she circled her palm over the middle of his chest.
You stay out of this, she thought, not sure if she was talking to his heart or hers.
CHAPTER9
Ty woke with a start the next morning, mild alarm washing through him as he noticed he wasn’t in his own bed.
The panic abated the moment he realized where he was. “Morning,” Ellie said, giving him a sleepy smile as she propped herself on one arm beside him. Her hair was rumpled, her cheek was pillow-creased, and she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
“Morning,” Ty murmured, wanting her all over again. “How’d you sleep?”
“Great,” he said, surprised to realize it was true. He’d spent the whole night in her bed, which was rare for him. Sleepovers were not his thing. They made him edgy and restless.
Besides, spending the night at someone’s house tended to spell “relationship” instead of “casual fling.”
But as Ellie shifted under the covers and revealed a swath of skin at the top of one breast, Ty reconsidered his objections.
“Thanks for last night,” Ellie said. “I had fun.”
“Fun,” Ty repeated cautiously, watching her face for signs that last night had meant more to her than that. Was she still okay with the casual-sex agreement they’d made?
Was he?
Of course, you idiot,he told himself, annoyed that his brain would even toy with the possibility of more. Not even with someone as amazing as Ellie.
“Last night was terrific,” he said. “We should do it again sometime.”
“For sure!”
Was he imagining things, or were they trying way too hard to sound breezy and casual? As Ellie sat up and slipped out of bed, Ty’s imagination took a completely different turn. He admired her bare back, appreciating the curve of her breast as she moved through the doorframe and padded naked out the door. She returned seconds later, cinching the silky pink robe around her. His dick went hard under the covers, and he shifted the blankets around him so she wouldn’t notice.
She wasn’t meeting his eyes.
“So, Henry should be home around noon,” Ellie said in a cheerfully casual tone that seemed forced. “I suppose we should get cleaned up and, uh…”
