Page 77 of Nash
The name she admitted to this morning. The one she moaned into a pillow. Now she's using it with a grin on her face, and my cock responds before my brain does.
I hold her wrists for three seconds. Watch her pulse jump in her throat. Then I let go, press a kiss to her forehead, and sit up.
"Coffee first," I say.
"NASH."
"You said it was urgent."
"I changed my mind. I have new priorities. My priorities have shifted. Nash. Come back here."
I pull her up by both hands. She comes easily, tucking into my chest, her forehead against my collarbone. Her body is warm, bare, and loose. The tension from the last week is completely gone. My hand rests on her lower back, my thumb tracing the curve of her spine. Her skin is soft under my hand, and thefreckles scattered across her shoulder blade are close enough to count for the first time.
"You're stalling," she says into my chest. "You're using physical affection as a delay tactic to avoid getting me coffee."
"Is it working?"
"Extremely well. I hate that it's working. This is manipulation."
"Noted."
She tips her head back and looks at me. Her eyes are bright, green, and warm. Her smile is slow, easy, with nothing held back. The one I would like to see every morning for the rest of my life.
"You're looking at me," she says.
"I'm always looking at you."
"Yeah, but you're doing the new version. The one where you look at me and your face does the thing."
"What thing?"
"The soft thing. The thing where your jaw unclenches and your eyes get warm and you look almost human." She traces my jawline with her finger. "It's very alarming. I'm concerned for your brand."
I catch her finger. Bring it to my mouth. Press my lips against the tip. Her breath catches, her eyes widen, and the pink that floods her cheeks spreads down her neck.
"Okay," she whispers. "The brand is fine. The brand is great."
I lean down and kiss her. Slow, unhurried, tasting her. She melts into it, and her hand slides up my chest to my neck, then her fingers thread into my hair. When I pull back, she chases my mouth for a second before catching herself.
"Coffee," she says. "I haven't forgotten. I can be kissed and maintain a list of demands simultaneously."
"I know you can."
"Good. Coffee is item one. Item two is breakfast. Item three is you telling me what this is."
"What what is?"
"This." She gestures between us. "Us. The spare room. What just happened. The part where you said my girl and I almost cried. Is this a thing? Are we a thing? Because I need to update my files and the paperwork is extensive."
I tuck her hair behind her ear. The strand catches on my knuckle, and I hold it there for a second before letting go.
"We're a thing, Ruby."
Her face does something I've never seen. Her eyes go bright as her bottom lip trembles once before she bites it.
"Okay," she says. Quiet. "Good. That's good. That's excellent. I'm very calm about this."
"You're shaking."
