Waking Up In His Arms
Dahlia
Is this what it’s like to sleep with a man? Because I could get used to this. They’re like the best electric blankets known to mankind. There’s got to be some service out there where you can rent a man to cuddle with on a cold winter’s night.
Though it’s doubtful any of them could smell as intoxicating as the man next to me. Nor as safe. It’s more than the fact that he’s all muscle… Vex is a crime lord. He knows how to use those muscles to keep himself safe. And he must have more than his fair share of brains to run a successful club. Smart, strong, and sexy can’t be rented.
I’m a nut. All of this has driven me absolutely batty. My mother didn’t raise a risk-taker. Fleurs are practical, logical women. We live by the rules. We avoid risks. We live safe, happy lives.
What am I doing here?
Hugging the sexiest man that I’ve ever met while he sleeps soundly .
Let go.
Slide your body to the other side of the bed.
Even better, sneak out of his place and go home.
Home is good.
Home is safe.
But home doesn’t have Vex. A sigh escapes my lips.
“Are you going to pretend to be asleep much longer?”
Excuse me? “What did you just say?” I pop up onto my elbow and stare down at him.
“I guess not.”
“I wasn’t pretending to sleep.” Much.
“Then what were you doing?”
My mouth snaps shut. There’s no way I’m admitting to anything. Especially not to the fact that I was mooning over him like a silly girl with her first crush. Is Vex really my first crush?
That’s got to be a new one. Skip the quarterback or all the pop stars, my first crush is a crime lord who crushes bones for fun.
“You ready for breakfast, or do you want to stay here a while longer?”
There’s only one answer for that, but it’s not the one I should give. My stomach rumbles answering before I can embarrass myself.
“Food it is.” He pulls me in closer to him. “We could order in or go out.”
Would ordering in mean I could stay cuddled up to him?
Wait… Vex isn’t acting all put out that I’m hugging him. He should have pushed me away by now, not moved me closer. Could that mean—
“Dahlia?”
“Huh?”
“Food? Where do you want to eat?”
It really sounds like he’s chuckling, but I’m going to pretend it didn’t. Also, that it wasn’t as sexy as it sounded. Here probably isn’t a good idea, because I’m going to end up embarrassing myself even more. “Out I guess. ”
This time, I’m sure he’s chuckling. His joy flows through me. Like parched soil, I draw it in, holding on tight for the next drought that’s sure to happen soon.
How will I make it through life once I’m out of this bed?
“You know we have to get up to actually do that.”
“When I was little, my favorite saying in the morning was ‘give me fifteen more minutes please’ whenever my mom would come wake me up.” Did I just say that?
“And now that you’re an adult?”
“The snooze button and I have become best friends.”
There’s that chuckle again. It makes every part of me shiver with joy. “What about you? Are you a morning person?” Surely, a club owner would have to be a night owl.
“No one ever woke me up as a kid.”
They were probably afraid of making you grumpy. “And now?” There’s no alarm clock visible, but he seems to be a techie-type guy.
“I wake up when I want.”
How does that even work for a businessman? That’s a silly question. Who’s going to fire him when he’s the boss?
My stomach grumbles.
Why? Why would it do this to me? I ate my body weight in steak last night. Embarrassed, I burrow my face into his chest… That probably wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had.
“Time to get up.” He reaches over and touches his tablet. The shades blocking out the world disappear, drenching the room with light. There’s no warm glow from the rising sun. It’s got to be mid-morning.
If I don’t move, maybe none of this is real.
Then the world starts moving without me, and I’m sitting up next to Vex. “There have got to be humans somewhere that stay in bed all day. I want to move there.”
“Do you dye it or is it natural? ”
Huh? That question is too much for my sleepy brain. “Huh?” Smart. Really smart Dahlia.
“Your hair.” He lifts a strand up into the air.
Who would pay to get their hair dyed the color of dirt? “Um. No. I’m mostly low maintenance.”
“Mostly?”
“I might have a purse habit.” Among a few other vastly unnecessary purchasing habits. “But it’s completely under control ish.” I shrug. What can I say, I’m weak.
“Good to know.” He slips out of bed, leaving me bereft.
That hurt way more than it should.
Vex walks into the closet. Well, I hope it’s the closet. There are several doors in this room and the only one I know for sure is the bathroom.
What do I do now?
My clothing wasn’t in his bathroom.
And it wasn’t in my purse.
I can hardly go out to eat wearing his t-shirt.
What do I do?
Sneak out. One of the other doors has to lead to the way out of his place. I’ll sneak out, hop in a cab, and never see him again.
Can I hop in a cab looking like this?
The cab is more likely to drop me off at the police station or hospital than my own home.
Not to mention I’d die of embarrassment if a single person saw me looking like this. I could steal Vex’s sheet and make a toga. That shouldn’t be too hard. We did it for spirit week in high school all the time.
Except I never participated in that day. Togas don’t get along well with my body.
What do I do?
Vex steps back into the room with a couple of hangers slung over his shoulder. “I’ll go use the guest bathroom. Take all the time you need. ”
Time for what? It’s not like I have anything to wear. “Um.” Embarrassment forces my eyes to the duvet. “Do you—Um…”
“What’s wrong?”
“I need…my um…” Just say it. You slept next to this man for two days. He’s seen you at your worst. “Where are my clothes?”
“I threw them out.”
What?
“Didn’t think you’d ever want to wear them again?”
I probably didn’t, but one kind of needs clothing. “Um… what am I going to wear?”
He stands there staring at me for a long moment.
Only a man. Seriously, only a man would be completely oblivious to the fact that I need clothing to wear outside.
“I’ll order some for you. We’ll go out to lunch and have something delivered for breakfast.”
Order clothing? “Um. Ordering clothing isn’t like ordering a pizza.” Especially for women like me. Maybe if you were model thin, you could just say order me a size two and get away with it. Nothing comes in standard sizes for me. I’m all over the charts. It usually takes me trying on fifty pairs of pants to find one that’s halfway decent. “Yeah, that isn’t going to work. I’ll just get a cab and go home.” Dying of embarrassment the entire time.
“No.”
His sharp tone has my head popping up. What does he mean no?
“You’ll find something in my closet, and we’ll go buy you an outfit to wear.”
Your closet!
We’ll go buy me an outfit!
Vex is crazy. And I thought I was insane. He’s gone around the bend. I can’t just figure out something to wear from his closet. It’s impossible. “Um. That’s okay.”
“It’s decided. Go find something to wear. We’re leaving in twenty minutes.”
“It takes me twenty minutes to wash my hair. ”
He blinks twice at me.
“It really does. I have thick hair.”
“Fine, we’ll leave in forty minutes.” Vex stalks out of the room before I can say anything else.
Seriously? He seriously thinks I’m just going to do whatever he says? I climb out of the bed and head to the door he just came out of. There’s no way I’m going to find anything to—WOW! This closet is drool-worthy. The light wood is a stark contrast to the dark floors that flow through from the bedroom into the closet… Closet is hardly an adequate word to describe this room. It could be a high-end men’s boutique.
How am I going to find anything to wear in this sea of slacks and custom suits?
We don’t exactly have the same body type. I’m more like the curvy couch potato. While he’s the hunky bodybuilder.
This isn’t going to work. Not at all.
Though his t-shirt almost works as a dress. It goes down past my mid-thigh. Men’s shirt dresses are a thing.
I walk over to the rack full of dress shirts. Vex really likes soft, silky clothing. It’s got to fit.
My hand goes first to a white one… No. No. That won’t work. They’re too thin. It’ll end up being completely sheer. Black! I slide a black one off the hanger and over the t-shirt I’m already wearing. It looks like a sack. A lovely sack, but my shape is completely lost in all this material.
A belt should fix that. He definitely has a selection to choose from. There are dozens in each color. I strap a black one around my waist. Then another a little higher up. And another.
Thankfully there’s a mirror. I twist and turn to see every angle. It definitely flatters my curves. But it shows way more skin than I’m used to. And my chest… No, I can’t even think about how it looks in this outfit.
But it will have to do. If only I could cover it up .
A coat! As Mom says we’re in fall, and it’s getting chilly out there. Vex has some lovely long coats. They’re probably slightly longer than knee length on him. That will work!
Two of me could fit inside this jacket. But everything is covered that needs to be covered. I’ll go in, shop, and change right in the store. Then everything will be just fine.
I’m fine.
Everything is fine.
Only everything isn’t fine. This is all a pretend little world. When I walk out these doors… The world won’t collapse. You’ve survived in the past. You will survive this.
Not if you don’t go take a shower and get ready…
***
Thankfully, his bathroom is well stocked. Though I’m going to end up smelling like him. It’s oddly comforting that he doesn’t have any women’s products. The extra toothbrush was a lifesaver.
How do I even turn the shower on?
There are a half dozen knobs and seemingly dozens of shower heads.
Why does anyone create a shower that needs a degree in mechanical engineering in order to turn it on?
Twist.
Turn.
Press.
Do a little dance.
Two of the heads turn on. Jackpot! Better not touch anything else.
There’s no time left to waste. I pull off his t-shirt and freeze. The adult diaper isn’t a surprise. I saw it before, but I didn’t want to process why I was wearing it …
I was roofied.
Someone drugged me.
And Barb, the doctor, obviously thought there might be a possibility that I might need it.
I was drugged.
I was almost assaulted.
Really bad things almost happened to me.
Being drugged bad enough that I’m wearing an adult diaper, barely compares to what I could have endured. I sink down onto the cold floor. Will I ever be the same?
No.