Playing It Safe

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

I wake up in Alex’s bed, and we make love in a semi-sleep state that feels as if I’m suspended in a dream.

This isn’t out of the ordinary for me, seeing as how I’ve been having sex with him on a daily basis for the last month. But the fact that I set his alarm to go off at the ass crack of dawn for Josie’s birthday party today and the alarm hasn’t gone off yet has me wondering what the hell is going on. Not complaining or anything, just slightly disoriented, but in the best way possible.

Afterward, when we’re both coming down from our high, he nuzzles his nose along mine and starts to press featherlight kisses across my cheek until he reaches my ear. “Good morning.”

“Good morning to you too,” I answer on a contented sigh. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but do you think you can wake me up like that every day? I’d be forever grateful.”

He rolls over onto his back and takes me with him. Smiling as his hand trails up and down my spine while he’s still inside of me, he replies, “I’ll see what I can do.”

I tilt my head over to peek at the clock and notice the time. Ugh. It’s five forty-five a.m. Seriously, if it wasn’t for Josie’s party today, I could easily stay in this bed all day with him after taking a nice long nap.

We kiss and I start to move off of him, but he wraps his arms around me and pulls me back down. “Alex,” I say through a giggle, “I have to start getting ready. Some of the deliveries are going to be here in about fifteen minutes.”

“Two more minutes,” he says, sounding muffled against my neck. “Then you can get out of this bed.”

I’m a sucker for his two-minute request, so I stay right where I am and let him hold me in his strong arms. My hair blankets each side of his face when I pick my head up to look at him. I cup his face in my hands as a lazy smile sweeps across his lips along with the dimples.

My finger traces the outline of one before I kiss it. “I really need to get moving here, Alex.”

He tilts my head and kisses me softly on the lips before letting me go. I nearly tumble out of bed in a dead sprint to the shower and hear him laughing behind me. So much for trying to be graceful, but I literally have just a few minutes to get myself in gear before the delivery trucks start arriving.

When I finish with my half-ass shower and go back into the bedroom, he’s making the bed while wearing a pair of dark pajama bottoms and looking as yummy as ever. I swear to Christ on a cracker, watching his lean and muscular body move around the side of the bed is a sight to behold, and I don’t think I could ever get sick of it.

“If you keep staring at me like that, you’ll only have yourself to blame for being late this time,” he says over his shoulder, catching me red-handed.


I scrunch my nose at him, making him chuckle, before I go to my overnight bag to grab my clothes and get dressed as quickly as possible. Since I’m setting up the party, I don’t have to go all out yet with the nice outfit, makeup, and hair. Which translates to I’ll probably have to shower again after I finish and before the guest of honor arrives.

I turn on my heel and head into his kitchen to turn on the coffee machine. While waiting for it to start brewing, I rummage through my purse and pull out my iPad. I’m checking off the items I can easily take care of when Alex comes strolling into the kitchen and wraps his arms around me from behind.

His stubble tickles my neck as he says, “I think you’re more excited for this party than my niece is.”

“I don’t know about that.” My eyes stay focused on the list in front of me. “Last time I talked to her she was busting at the seams.”

“What time is she supposed to be here?”

“I told Vanessa to bring her over at noon, and no sooner, because the guests will start arriving about a half hour after that. By then everything will be set up, and I want to be able to give her a private tour of everything.”

My head pops up like a dog hearing a faraway whistle at the sound of the first truck pulling into Alex’s driveway. I tilt my head to the side and give him a quick peck on the lips. “Trucks are starting to pull up. I’ve gotta go.”

“I’ll be in my office if you need anything. Something tells me you won’t, but it makes me feel better saying it anyway.” He drops his arms and spins around to grab a mug of coffee for himself. “Go ahead, I’ll bring you a cup once it’s done.”

With my iPad in one hand and phone in the other, and smiling like an idiot because he’s right—I may very well be just as excited as Josie and want to get on with decorating the shit out of his house—I lean forward and kiss his cheek again before saying thank you and heading toward the door.

While I’m overseeing the delivery trucks, I’m thinking how much my life has changed in the last month. How this relationship with Alex has grown into something more than I thought it could ever be. I smile thinking about how much I’ve grown to care about him and how much I miss him when we’re not together. Sometimes it feels like we can’t get enough of each other.

And I love that.

I never thought I’d feel that way about someone ever again, but miracles do happen.

I feel it in his touch, his eyes, his words, and most importantly his actions. Because a guy can say just about anything, but it’s what he actually does that proves he means those words. Trust me on this one, I’ve heard and seen it all before.

“Here you go,” he says, sneaking up on me and handing me my cup of coffee. Just like he promised he would.

I say a quick thanks, and he kisses my forehead before retreating into the house.

A huge grin on my face, my eyes stay focused on the closed door long after he’s gone.

Yeah, Alex definitely isn’t just some guy.

Not by a long shot.