Chapter 4 #3
Pulling my afghan over my legs and Nyx’s bottom half, I tune everything else out and step into a world of gorgeous, sweet stalkers and passionate sex. It would help if every sex scene I read didn’t immediately make me envision Damien doing all those things to me.
By the time I fall asleep, it’s getting close to three in the morning, and I desperately hope Nyx is in the mood to sleep in.
She isn’t.
Her slobbery kisses wake me up at seven, and I almost pull the covers over my head and cry. If the exhaustion wasn’t bad enough, as soon as I move, the burnt skin on my ass flares to life with a vengeance.
“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep in?”
Nyx is standing on my bed, hovering over me, and even though it’s too dark for me to make out the deep amber of her eyes, I can imagine it easily enough.
She gives a soft grunt and nuzzles my neck, and I laugh despite my pain and fatigue.
I can never get mad at her. It’s impossible.
She’s just a big ball of love, and it’s not her fault I stayed up way too late reading.
That’s all on me, so with a sigh, I haul myself out of bed while she jumps off with enough pep for the both of us.
She paces impatiently while I head to the bathroom and then pull on one of my thick hoodies and the sneakers I kicked off by my door last night.
No matter how cute she is, I insist she wait while I brew a quick cup of coffee.
When my to-go cup is filled, I stuff my pocket full of dog treats and open the back door.
Nyx bolts past me, racing across the veranda and then stopping to pee as soon as her paws hit grass.
I take a drink of my steaming coffee and look out at the Pacific.
Like most mornings, it’s foggy and chilly.
Everything has a hazy quality to it and even though it’s not raining, there’s enough moisture in the air to make everything feel damp.
The waves crash wildly against the shore, and the untamed ferocity of it calls to me in a way that makes me wish I had my surfboard.
I don’t know why danger always makes me want to run right into it, but it does.
Despite the obvious pull I feel, I know there’s no way my tired body could safely go out there and live to tell about it, so I take another drink, grateful that at least my crazy side is balanced by my equally sane side.
The short, quick whistle I give has Nyx running to my side and sitting obediently.
She gobbles down the treat I give her, and when I tell her to go have fun, she gives a happy bark and then barrels down the path towards the beach.
I follow at a much slower pace, watching her race off with an energy that I can’t help but envy.
Not even after I’ve finished my dose of caffeine will I have that kind of pep in my step.
Keeping my slow pace, I walk down the path and out onto the sand.
My hair whips around with the wind until I’m forced to set my coffee down and grab the twisty I’m wearing as a bracelet.
I tie the unruly mess back and then pull my hood up, facing away from the wind so it doesn’t just blow right back off.
While Nyx runs up and down the beach, barking and jumping on the waves when they get close enough to her, I walk over to the line of colorful Adirondack chairs.
They’re far enough back so the waves won’t hit them, and I debate how badly it’s going to hurt to sit in one.
My need to rest wins and I very carefully sink down onto the closest one.
It helps that it’s a little like sitting on a block of ice so I only end up wincing a few times and cursing Allie once.
Calling it a win, I lean back and drink my coffee while Nyx happily wears herself out. I can’t see the sun and I didn’t bring my phone, but I don’t need to know the exact time to know I have a very long day of waiting ahead of me.
Supper tonight won’t start till around six, and my plan is to squeeze in a nap so I don’t show up looking like death.
It’s very possible Damien won’t even give me a second look, so I plan on making the first one count.
I might not be a dress and high heels kind of girl, but I can at least make sure my hair isn’t a tangly mess and I don’t have bags under my eyes.
That makes me feel like I’m not putting in much effort, but I don’t want to pretend I’m something I’m not.
If he’s interested, then I want him interested in me, the real me, and not the fake version I’m pretending to be to get his attention.
Plus, if I show up as anything other than my usual self, it will instantly make everyone in my family suspicious.
The last thing I want to do is draw attention to the crush I have on Damien.
I need to play it safe, and I need to seriously work on my acting skills.
I’m used to being invisible in the corner with a book, but I don’t want to stay that way.
I don’t want to be invisible to him. I need to figure out a way to make myself seen without it being obvious.
I watch Nyx while I think about my options. The clock is ticking, and I need to have this figured out before tonight.