“This sucks,” I told him. “Tex and I had fun tonight. He’s a great sidekick. We used up al our smoke bombs. He’s gonna be pissed we aren’t going out tomorrow night.”
“He’l get over it,” Vance replied.
“I have seventeen rol s of plastic wrap. What am I going to do with seventeen rol s of plastic wrap? I never have leftovers. I don’t cook.”
Vance grinned at me. “Maybe Nick can use them,” he suggested.
“What am I going to do at night?” I went on. “I’m used to night-time action. I’m going to get bored. I can’t go from making an art of havoc to lying around reading a book. I’l go nuts.”
His eyes got soft and sexy. “We’l find some way to keep you busy.”
My bel y fluttered.
Hmm.
“What if you’re working or out of town?”
“For the time being, I’l work something out with Lee.”
“I don’t want you getting into trouble at work.” His grin turned into a smile. “Maybe you don’t get it, Princess. Lee wants you fucked up by Shard, Clarence and Jermaine only slightly less than I do. You got nothin’ to worry about.”
That caused a bel y whoosh too, not as big as the other one but it was stil nice.
“Crowe.”
“You got nothin’ to worry about,” he repeated.
“I don’t think –”
“Shut up, Jules.”
It was my turn for my brows to knit over narrowed eyes.
“Seriously, for the last time, don’t tel me to shut up.” Crowe ignored my attitude, stepped away from me and looked around the room.
“Why are we standin’ in the kitchen?” he asked.
I blinked at him, not keeping up. I thought we had begun to bicker. I kind of liked bickering with him. His question threw me.
“What?” I asked.
“Lots of better places for us to be,” was his answer.
Then before I could reply, he leaned down, put a shoulder in my bel y, a hand at my wrist and an arm around my thighs and lifted, wrapping me around his neck. He turned and started walking toward the hal .
I shouted, “Crowe!” as if I minded him carrying me to bed.
Um.
Hardly.
I didn’t mind at al .
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chopped Liver
I woke up to heavy kitty footfal s on my body.
I felt Vance’s warmth against my back, his body spooning mine, his forearm resting just below my waist.
I decided this was my Number One Most Favorite Sleeping Position with Vance and I was looking forward to ranking alternates.
Boo walked back and forth across Vance and me. I could tel he was doing this because his kitty feet would leave me and then come back to me a lot further down or up my body.
I opened my eyes. It was stil dark, nigh on winter so the days were short but I knew it was too early for Boo Breakfast.
When Boo was four-footed on my body, I did a jerk, he lost his position and slid clumsily down my bel y with an angry, “Meow!”
I wrapped an arm around him and tucked him into my body. He started purring loudly.
“Would you break up with me if I kil ed your cat?” Vance’s sleepy-rough voice sounded against the back of my neck.
“Probably.”
Vance’s arm moved, his hand sliding up my bel y, midriff, then came to rest cupping my breast.
I was wrong, there was only a subtle change but this was my Number One Most Favorite Sleeping Position with Vance.
*
I woke up again and it was later. I didn’t know how much later but I instinctively knew there wasn’t much time before the alarm went. I rol ed to my bel y, dislodging Boo and Vance’s arm.
Vance moved automatical y, fal ing to his back. I turned into him, ready to say something but when I lifted up on my elbows I realized he was stil asleep.
I wished I could turn on a light. I’d never seen him asleep.
He was always up before or with me.
I studied him. There was something about him asleep from what I could see in the near-dark, he seemed almost… boyish.
God, I wanted to kiss him as in really wanted to kiss him.
This gave me pause for reflection. Not as to why I’d want to kiss him because that was obvious but as to why I didn’t.
He was my boyfriend (or whatever). We were exclusive. He was sleeping in my bed. We’d had incredible sex not seven hours earlier.
Why not? Why couldn’t I kiss him?
So I kissed him.
Not a ful -on, ful tongue, let’s-have-sex- right-now kiss but I touched my lips to his.
When I pul ed back, his eyes were open.
“Good morning,” I said and smiled.
He stared at me and he didn’t look boyish anymore.
Um.
Maybe I shouldn’t have kissed him.
As he kept staring at me, my smile began to fade.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake –” I started.
Then he moved, arms going around me, body rol ing in to me, thigh pressing between my legs, mouth on mine.