Chapter 50
MAGGIE
Sloane is on her stomach with her hair across the pillow and her hand tucked under her cheek.
The sheet has slipped down to her waist, leaving the line of her bare back exposed in the sunbeam, and one bare foot is sticking out from under the covers.
She sleeps deep, motionless, her lips slightly parted against the pillow.
She was wrung out by the time we finally went to sleep, and when I rolled over this morning to turn off my alarm, she didn't move at all.
I touch her shoulder. "Sloane."
Nothing.
I lean down and brush her hair back off her face. "Sloane."
She makes a sweet sound but her eyes don't open. One hand comes up and bats vaguely in my direction.
"Sloane, come on. I brought you coffee."
That gets her. Her eyes open slowly and she sits with her knees pulled up, the sheet falling.
"Oh my god," she says, rubbing her eyes. "I slept so deep." She looks around the bedroom, then at the window like she's trying to figure out the basics of location and time. "I haven't slept like that since I was in my own bed."
"Good." I smile. "Here, I brought you coffee and toast with jam."
"Thank you, that's so sweet." She takes the cup and looks at the plate on her nightstand. "Mmm. That's delicious."
"You're welcome and I'm sorry to wake you," I say. "I would've let you sleep but Luis will be here soon and I figured it would be better if you were at least out of my bed by then. Don't rush though; you have twenty minutes."
"Of course." She meets my eyes and smiles shyly. "Thank you again and…" She blushes. "Thank you for last night. It was really special to me."
"It was for me too," I say, then take a breath. "Look, I want you to know it's okay if you want to leave it at this. It's a lot to process. You don't have to know how you feel about it, and I won't blame you if it turns out not to be for you. Or if you change your mind. Or —"
"Maggie." She looks up at me with such open disbelief that I stop mid-sentence. "Did I come across like it wasn't for me?"
"No. Quite the contrary."
"Good. Just checking. If it's what you want too, I want to do this again and again and again." Sloane chuckles. "And again."
"Okay." I scoot a little closer. It's an awkward conversation to have but thankfully she's making it easy. "So, what now?"
"Like I said, we do it again." Sloane shoots me a grin and takes my hand. "When can I see you again? In private, I mean."
I think about it. The honest answer is not a sensible one. It's that I would have her in my bed every night until her two months are up, which is long enough for her to break my heart.
"You can stay here whenever I'm alone," I say, leaning in to kiss her. "We just have to be really careful. Tonight, Mom is coming over though. We're going through some paperwork."
"Okay." She squeezes my hand. "So what does really careful mean, exactly?"
"It means that when Luis is here, or Dale, or Cassie, or anyone, I'm your supervisor and you're my volunteer. We work, we keep our distance, and you don't look at me like that."
Sloane licks her lips. "Like what?" She's sitting against my headboard with the sheet at her waist and her breasts on display, and she knows exactly what she's doing. "I'm just listening." She takes a sip of her coffee, her flirtatious gaze on me over the rim. "To my supervisor."
"That's not a listening face and you know it." I point at her, which achieves nothing. I'm trying to lay down the law from the edge of a bed I just spent the night in with her, and we're both aware of how much authority that gives me.
"Fine." She drags a hand through her tousled hair. "Okay. Anything else, boss?"
I should leave it there, but I can't help teasing her some more. "Maybe don't smile as much when you're working." I shake my head at her. "Nobody smiles during their community service, Sloane. You used to look like you were walking into a sentencing. That was correct. That's the energy we want."
Sloane throws her head back and laughs. "So let me get this straight. You want me to be miserable, and to look at you like I find you average."
"Exactly."
"That's going to be a problem." She reaches over and grabs a fistful of my shirt, pulling me a little closer. "Because I'm a terrible actress." Brushing her lips against mine, she trails her hand under my T-shirt.
"Sloane —"
"Come on. Just ten minutes. I'll be miserable and average all day, I promise."
I smile and kiss her. It's meant to be quick but I'm coming to learn there's no such thing with Sloane.
Her hand slides into my hair, her mouth opens against mine, and she moans and pulls me on top of her.
She arches up underneath me and the kiss turns fierce — deep and demanding, her breath coming fast, her heel hooking around the back of my calf to pin me down.
She kisses me like we have all morning, and God help me, I kiss her back the same way while my hand finds her breast. Her fingers start tugging at the hem and somewhere underneath the heat of it, a faint voice reminds me that Luis is on his way.
I tear myself away and stand up, out of arm's reach, breathing hard. Sloane stays where she is, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.
"That was not ten minutes," she protests.
"No, and it wasn't going to be ten minutes either. We both know where that was heading." I back toward the door before she can argue. "Fifteen minutes. Downstairs. Miserable."