Page 48 of Cross the Line
‘It can be hard.I get that.’
Removing his arm, he rolls out of bed and disappears into the bathroom for a moment.I hear the sound of running water and the shower door opening and closing.After a minute or so, he returns, falling back beside me.
‘Sorry for waking you.’
‘It’s no problem.’
‘I’m glad you’re here,’ he mumbles, pressing his lips to my temple, pulling me closer.
I am in Zayden’s bed.
I am inZayden Stark’sbed.
The last twenty-four hours feels like a fever dream.The incident with my roommates, skinny-dipping in the pool, the feel of his tongue between my thighs, the deep conversation we hadin the early hours of this morning … I’m half convinced I’ve slept extremely heavily and made the entire thing up.However, when I open my eyes, I see that a muscled, tattooed arm is slung over my stomach as Zayden lays face down into his pillow.Swallowing, my eyes trail over that delicious bicep, crawling over to his defined, bare back.
I feel refreshed.Like I had a long, deep sleep.In the beginning, I felt too wired to fall asleep next to him, but the moment I laid my head on his chest, sleep swallowed me whole.Slowly, I reach over to the bedside table and tap my finger on my phone screen.When it lights up, my mouth falls open.How the hell is it eleven a.m.?I cannot remember the last time I slept this late.
‘Oh my God,’ I blurt.‘The day is gone.’
‘Huh?’Zayden’s deep voice mumbles as he turns his head, rubbing his eyes.
‘It’s so late!The whole day has passed!’
Frowning, he peers over at his own phone.‘It’s only eleven.’
‘Only eleven?’I blink at him.
‘We are two different people …’ Zayden trails off, an amused smile on his face.‘Good morning, by the way.’
Hearing Zayden saygood morningin that sexy, raspy tone of his has something fluttering somewhere I should not be feeling flutters.
‘What are your plans for the day?’I ask.
‘Is this something you do?Have your whole day planned out before you’ve even got out of bed?’he queries, rolling onto his side and lazily staring up at me.The sheet slips, revealing his wonderful torso, and it requires a lot of self-control not to simply stare and drool.
‘As a matter of fact, yes.I have a to-do list every day that I tick off.’
Zayden releases a low chuckle.‘Of course you do.’
‘It keeps me productive.’
‘Right.’He scrubs a hand down his face.‘I owe you a feed.’
I crack a smile.I love the way he speaks.‘You owe me “a feed”?’
‘Yeah.A mad, big, fuck-off feed.’
I snort.‘I don’t know what you mean by that, but I am intrigued.’
‘Just you wait.’
Zayden stretches, and I can’t hide the fact that I ogle him as he does.Rolling out of bed, he pushes to his feet and strolls into the bathroom.Dressed in only his black shorts, I get to admire his body.Peeling myself off his dangerously comfortable mattress, I trot down the hallway and rummage through my things.I spend some time making myself presentable and by the time I’m finished, Zayden has moved to the kitchen and I can hear something sizzling in the frypan.
Sunlight filters through the room and I pull open the back sliding glass door, allowing the breeze to come in.I love their house.It’s open, quiet and calm.I much prefer spending my time here than in my crappy apartment filled with even crappier human beings.I still can’t believe theylockedme out of my own apartment … did I get transported back to high school?
‘What are you thinking about?’Zayden asks.
‘A lot of things,’ I admit.‘Last night, mainly.’
