Chapter 8 #3
Jane sat next to him pretending to read for several minutes before she thought he’d fallen asleep.
She glanced over at him. His eyes were closed, his mouth was partly open, and he was breathing deeply.
She could see the hair on his naked chest and the way his arm muscles bulged even when he was completely relaxed.
In short, Storm was absolutely beautiful, and it was hard for Jane to come to terms with the fact that she was in his bed.
That he had his arm around her, holding her to him as if he was afraid she’d sneak away when he was sleeping.
Jane loved reading, fell asleep reading most nights. But tonight she didn’t need to lose herself in the words of her favorite authors. She was living her own beautiful romance, and she had no idea how she’d gotten there.
Storm wanted her to stay over more? Wanted her to leave some of her things at his place? Hell yes. She was one hundred percent on board with that.
Reaching over, she put her iPad on the table next to her and scooted down on the bed.
“Everything okay?” Storm mumbled, and Jane’s heart melted even more. Even half asleep he was worrying about her.
“I’m good. Go back to sleep,” she told him gently.
Storm turned onto his back but pulled her toward him. Jane rested her head on his shoulder, and his arm went around her. She snuggled into him and was rewarded with his contented sigh. Her arm rested on his belly, and his free hand lay hot and heavy on top of her forearm.
They were plastered together—and she’d never been more comfortable.
“Hopefully you won’t have nightmares sleeping in my arms, but if you do, I’m here,” he told her quietly, then turned and kissed her forehead.
Jane swore he was snoring seconds later, but it didn’t matter if he’d been cognizant of what he’d said or not.
She’d treasure his caring words and actions forever.
She had a feeling Storm had just ruined her for sleeping alone in her double bed. Closing her eyes, Jane sighed in contentment. Within seconds, she was dead to the world.
Storm woke first the next morning, and it only took a second or two to remember that Jane had stayed the night.
The light from the bathroom illuminated the room enough for him to see her.
She was currently sleeping on her side next to him.
He recalled pulling her into his arms the night before, but obviously sometime during the night, they’d both shifted.
But what had his heart beating faster was the fact that, while lying next to him, she’d reached out in her sleep to touch him.
Her hand was resting on his forearm and the slight weight felt like a brand. One he liked a hell of a lot.
How long he lay there watching Jane sleep Storm didn’t know.
It was still dark outside, but his internal clock told him his alarm would be going off soon.
They both had to get to work, but he knew he’d treasure this moment for a long time.
He hoped he never took it for granted, the peace and serenity he got from having Jane by his side.
He didn’t feel anxious around her, except for her safety.
The second his alarm blared, Storm reached out a hand to shut it off, then turned back to Jane. Her eyes were now open, and she was staring at him.
“Good morning,” he said softly.
“Morning,” she returned.
He loved the sleepiness he saw in her brown eyes. He wouldn’t mind seeing it every morning for the rest of his life…
That thought should’ve scared the hell out of him, but instead it merely felt right.
“Sleep well?” he asked.
“Better than I have in a very long time…not including last weekend.”
Storm smiled. “You want to shower first?” he asked.
“Yeah. You take two-point-three seconds to shower and it takes me longer to get ready,” Jane said without any heat in her tone.
It was true. He’d learned to take very short showers and hadn’t been able to break the habit. “I’ll go down and start the coffee while you’re showering. You want toast?”
“Please,” she said.
When he started to roll out of the bed, her hand tightened on his arm. “Storm?”
He turned back to her. “Yeah, baby?”
“Were you serious last night?”
“About what?”
“About me staying over more?”
“One hundred percent,” he replied.
“Good. Because I’m thinking there’s nothing I’d like more than to fall asleep in your arms and wake up to see you smiling at me. I feel like I’ve waited my whole life for you.”
Storm swore he could feel his heart swell three times its normal size…kinda like the Grinch’s did in the famous story. He leaned over and kissed Jane on the lips. Not pushing to deepen the kiss, but letting her know that her words meant the world to him. “I feel the same,” he told her quietly.
Then before he did something that would make them both late for work, he climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
After a quick pit stop, and then putting on a pair of cotton pants, he headed for the doorway.
He looked back and saw Jane walking toward the bathroom.
The boy shorts she was wearing had ridden up, and he could see the round cheeks of her ass sticking out the bottom. And just like that, he was hard.
Groaning quietly, Storm forced himself to exit his room and head for the kitchen.
He’d never lived with a woman before, not once in his forty-seven years, but he was definitely seeing the appeal at the moment.
But only because it was Jane. He knew she thought she wasn’t skinny enough, didn’t have the right job… but to him, she was perfect.
They had no time for anything sexual this morning, but on Friday night, all bets were off. He couldn’t wait.
Jane headed out of Storm’s townhouse with him and toward the parking lot.
“We should just go to the base together,” he told her.
Jane shook her head. “I love staying with you, but I need my car,” she told him. “Sometimes I do errands over my lunch break, and I know you sometimes need to leave base too. It’s more practical to drive separately.”
She thought it was cute the way Storm scowled. “I know you’re right, but I feel cheated out of your presence for even the ten minutes it takes to get to the base.”
Jane laughed. “I think we’ll survive.”
He put a hand on her arm and turned her to face him. “What have you done to me?” he asked.
“The same thing you’ve done to me,” she returned.
“I mean it. Two weeks ago I couldn’t think about anything other than work.
I lived and breathed it and dreaded coming home.
Now I think about you constantly throughout the day.
When my phone vibrates with a text, I can’t help but think it might be from you, and I get excited.
I’ve been thinking about ways to experiment with food to make things that I think you might enjoy.
I swear…I hadn’t truly been living until I met you. ”
Damn. That was the best compliment Jane had ever received. “I feel the same way,” she told him.
Storm took a big breath. “Okay, you’re right. It’s better if we have our own transportation, but that doesn’t mean I like it.”
She laughed.
“I’ll follow you. Be safe.”
“I will,” she told him.
It was still dark outside, since the sun hadn’t quite begun to rise yet. She’d always been startled how it could be dark one moment and then light the next. The sun seemed to sprint up into the sky once it finally woke up.
Storm leaned in and kissed her. It was a long, deep kiss that had Jane’s toes curling in her shoes. “I’ll walk you in when we get to our building.”
“Okay,” she agreed easily.
He kissed her once more, a brief kiss that time but no less powerful, then turned and headed for his car.
Jane unlocked her own reliable Camry and climbed inside.
She put her overnight bag on the passenger seat, now quite a bit lighter as she’d left her toiletries, her sleep outfit, and the clothes she’d worn yesterday inside Storm’s townhouse.
It had felt like a big step, and she couldn’t help standing in his closet and staring at her things mixed with his in his hamper.
Yes, they’d moved fast, but things between them felt right.
She wasn’t in her twenties anymore. She knew what she wanted—and what she wanted was Storm.
Smiling to herself, she started the engine and headed for the exit. Looking in her rearview mirror, she saw the headlights from Storm’s VW Golf behind her. Even though it was early, and she had a long day ahead of her, Jane had never felt more awake and energized than she did right at that moment.