15. "You move again and I swear I'll bite."
The first thing I noticed the next morning when I woke up was warmth.
Then a sexy, familiar scent surrounding me like a blanket.
Then, a very firm, very male arm draped over my waist.
And then, something hard poking at my ass.
My eyes flew open.
I wasn't in my bed.
I froze as I heard the steady breathing behind me; someone's warm breath hitting the back of my neck.
I turned my head slowly, my heart standing still in my chest.
Then, I almost screamed.
Zayden. Freaking. Ashford.
Asleep. Spooning me from behind.
I shifted, trying to wiggle out of his hold without waking him.
Bad idea.
His grip tightened around me, pulling me back against his chest.
"You move again, and I swear I'll bite." He mumbled against my hair, voice rough and sleepy.
I nearly choked. "Excuse me?!"
The sound of my voice caused his eyes to snap open. "Sinclair?!"
"Oh. Now you realise?!" I retorted. "What the hell are you doing? Why are you holding me?!"
He groaned, sitting up, his arm still around my waist. "Shut up. You're giving me a headache."
I watched eyes wide as he ran a hand through his messy hair, our bodies still pressed together on the couch.
I tried to recall when I had fallen asleep. When I had ended up in his arms. The only thing I remembered was having hot chocolate, sharing it with him and then... nothing. I must have fallen asleep after that.
"Why'd you sleep next to me?" I asked accusingly.
He arched a brow. "Don't flatter yourself, Sinclair. I'm pretty sure you took advantage of me having fallen asleep here."
I gasped at his audacity. "You're saying I threw myself at you? You're the last man I would throw myself at, even unconsciously."
He snorted. "Is that why you're still in my arms?"
My gaze dropped to his arm still draped around my waist. My jaw dropped before I peeled it off my waist and jumped away from him.
My gaze then dropped to the bulge in his pants.
It was then I realised what had poked my ass.
My eyes widened, jaw dropping again.
His gaze followed mine, widening as he realised what I was looking at, before he grabbed a cushion and placed it on his lap.
"That thing poked me!" I exclaimed.
"Shut up, Aurelia!" He said through gritted teeth, a hint of embarrassment coating his voice.
"You—" before I could complete my sentence, I tripped over the edge of the couch and fell on top of him.
His arms instantly wrapped around me.
And then...
His mother showed up.
We both froze, heads turning towards her.
Her brows raised seeing us both like that, causing embarrassment and panic to course through me.
"Am I... interrupting something?" Her voice was surprisingly calm, a hint of amusement lacing it.
"No!" I exclaimed instantly, panicked, jumping off of Zayden. "It's not what it looks like!"
Zayden remained seated, rubbing his face with one hand like this was some kind of slow-moving nightmare. "Morning, mom." He muttered gruffly.
She tilted her head, arms crossing. "Good morning, darling. Lovely to see you both so... cozy."
I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole.
"We just—uh, there was a storm," I stammered. "And I couldn't sleep. So I came down. And he was here. And then I sat there, and he sat there—" I gestured wildly to opposite ends of the couch. "And then we just... accidentally fell asleep."
Her lips twitched.
Oh no.
She was amused.
Zayden facepalmed himself before shooting me a glare.
She let out a small laugh. "Relax, Aurelia. It's alright. I'm not a conservative woman... besides, it's nice to see my grumpy son sharing... space with someone."
I blinked, swallowing.
"I'm going to see a friend. I hope you two have a good day." She spoke, elegantly turning on her heels before leaving.
Zayden stood up in a fit on fury. "You're such an idiot!"
I was taken aback by his outburst.
"Why did you have to mention us falling asleep here?! She wouldn't have known had you shut up!" He screamed.
I swallowed, hurt by his tone before realising that I had indeed made a mistake by blurting that in front of his mother.
"Fine, Zayden. I'll shut up from now on." I mumbled before pacing out of the living room.
———
I didn't expect silence.
Not from her.
Not from Aurelia Sinclair, who never missed a chance to challenge me, argue, throw in a sarcastic jab—or all three at once.
Yet here she was, sitting at the breakfast bar, scrolling through her phone with a blank face and zero commentary, not even sparing me a glance when I walked into the kitchen.
I cleared my throat.
Nothing.
I grabbed a glass and poured myself some orange juice. Loudly.
Still nothing.
I set the glass down with a deliberate clink. "Morning."
"Morning." She said dryly, not looking up.
I narrowed my eyes. "You're quiet today."
"Is that a problem?" She asked, tone flat.
I blinked. "Considering you usually never shut up, yeah. It is."
She raised her eyes slowly to mine, unreadable. "Don't worry. I'll do better."
I frowned. "What the hell does that mean?"
She didn't answer.
Just stood up, slid her phone into her pocket, and left her half-eaten croissant on the plate before walking right past me like I didn't exist.
I stared after her.
Something burned in my chest—irritation, confusion, and something else I didn't want to name.
She was pissed. Clearly. And fine, maybe I'd overreacted yesterday, but could she seriously not see that I didn't want my mother getting the wrong idea?
The couch thing? The spooning? That... morning situation?
I groaned, dragging a hand through my hair.
But even as I replayed it, a part of me hated the silence more.
Her silence was worse than any prank, any banner, any life-sized teddy bear stunt she could've pulled.
Because now she was pretending I didn't matter.
And somehow, that bothered me more than I cared to admit.
I stood there for a solid thirty seconds after she left, staring at the hallway she'd disappeared down like it had personally offended me.
What the hell was that?
I ran a hand down my face, cursed under my breath, then tossed back the rest of the juice like it was something stronger. Maybe if I'd actually had whiskey, I'd understand why it bothered me so much that she wasn't arguing back.
She was Aurelia. She was supposed to snap at me, roll her eyes, mutter something scathing under her breath and stomp away in irritation. That was her thing.
Not this cold, quiet version that just... walked off without looking back.
No. I didn't like that.
I set the glass down, maybe a little too hard, and headed down the hall. My footsteps echoed off the polished floors, purposeful and agitated.
I paused outside her door. It was slightly ajar.
I pushed the door open with a sharp knock. "We need to talk."
She didn't look at me. Just stood in front of the mirror, pulling her hair into a ponytail like I wasn't even there.
"Aurelia!" I raised my voice.
Still no response.
My jaw tightened. "Look, about yesterday—"
"I said I'd shut up," She cut in. "That's what you wanted, right?"
I sighed irritatedly. "So what? Now you're going to behave like an upset, little child?"
"You've always been like this," her sharp, cold eyes glared daggers at me. "Treating me like shit for no damn reason."
I inhaled deeply. "I yelled because you made it worse by explaining it. My mother didn't need details."
She let out a bitter laugh. "Oh sorry. Next time I'm on top of you and your mother walks in, I'll smile and wink."
I huffed, running a hand through my hair. "You know that's not what I meant!"
I stared at the fire in her eyes. The storm that was brewing in her eyes that she hid behind a look of nonchalance.
"Just leave." She said quietly.
I sighed again. "Aurelia, you're so infuriating. So hard to deal with."
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said coolly. "Next time I fall asleep beside someone during a thunderstorm, I'll make sure I don't accidentally cuddle them in my sleep and ruin their entire public image."
I stepped in again, close enough to see the tension in her jaw. "That's not what this is about."
"Get out of my room." She said curtly.
I frowned, becoming exasperated. "Fine." I mumbled, storming out of her room.
She could go to hell for all I cared.