Chapter 9 #3
“I thought you wanted me to leave,” I managed as he tried to guide me back to the bed.
“You know,” he mused, “at first, I thought you couldn’t hear. Now I’m convinced you just hear what you want.”
“Obviously not, because I don’t want to hear any of this.”
“Hooty-hoo,” he hollered. “I think my dick unlocked your premium attitude.”
I opened my lips, but he shushed me. “It’s time for a lesson.”
“A lesson?” I wondered.
“In cuddling.”
My stomach dropped. Hit the ground and rolled right under the bed. “W-what?”
Grunting, he swept me into his arms, my feet dangling over his forearm. “If you aren’t going to listen, I’ll just make you.”
“You can’t.”
His brow arched. “You saying you don’t want to cuddle with me?”
Of course I wanted to. But I admitted nothing out loud.
“That’s what I thought,” he mused, placing me back in the bed. “Make room for me.”
I slid over, only to have him grab me back when he sat down. “Where do you think you’re going?”
I didn’t bother replying. He was the one who told me to make room.
“The rules of cuddling are as follows…”
“There are rules?” I asked.
“Sacred ones, my guy. Sacred.” He lay on his back, pulling me with him.
“Rule one: No blanket hoarding,” he announced while pushing my face down toward his chest. “Blanket hoarding will not be tolerated. This is a partnership, not a rebellion.”
I wiggled closer, enjoying the way his voice hummed through his chest when he talked.
“Rule two: Leg tangling is absolutely required,” he said, spreading his legs so my top one fell between them, and then he hooked an ankle around mine.
“Rule three—”
“Are you making this up?” I wondered.
“Rule three.” He continued as if I didn’t speak. He was totally making this up. “Whoever gets up from cuddling first is sus.”
“Sus?”
“Suspicious. Probably emotionally stunted.”
“What?” I wondered. I was beginning to think maybe I did have a hearing problem because half of the stuff he said made no sense.
“Rule four: Bladder breaks are legal and do not meet the criteria of abandonment.”
I sniffed. “You’re only saying that because you just went to the bathroom.”
“Oh, did you want to cuddle with me and the used condom?”
I wrinkled my nose. He must have felt it because his chest bounced with a light laugh. I wrapped my arm around his middle, and the arm beneath me folded around my waist.
He was warm like a furnace, and his scent this close was concentrated.
“Rule five: Forehead kisses make it more romantic.” The second he said the words, I felt his lips brush against my forehead. My hair was messy and in the way, which kept me from feeling it all the way. So I pushed it back, hoping he would get the hint.
This time, his hand wrapped around the back of my head, cradling it while his lips came down, breath whispering across my skin before gently landing, lingering for several heartbeats.
“Oh,” I purred, hand starting to explore his midsection. I loved the way his muscles bunched and reacted to every light caress.
He made a throaty sound, settling against the pillow, fingers carding through my hair. “Six: Hair play is elite.”
Maybe these rules weren’t so stupid after all…
“Drooling is not a deal-breaker.” He went on, my lashes fluttering closed.
My fingers paused when they met a mark on his skin. It was easily the size of a silver dollar, the tissue hard and raised. I brushed across it again, and he caught my wrist, pulling it away.
“Did it hurt?” I asked, a sense of sorrow weaving around my heart as I considered what could have happened to leave a scar that big.
“I survived.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Silence filled the motel room. His hand went back to playing with my hair. “Most important…” he said.
Did I mention I really liked the sound of his voice?
“The little spoon has protection rights.”
My eyes popped open. “Little spoon? What’s that?”
“Listen to me giving all these lessons for free,” he commented before pulling from beneath me and dodging my attempt to pull him back.
“Rule three,” I tossed out. “You’re emotionally stunted.”
“I never said I was perfect,” he quipped. Then, “But slow your roll, Pip. I’m not going anywhere.”
To prove his point, he pushed me onto my side, facing away from him. I didn’t like it. The air was a lot colder without his body heat, and I already missed the feel of his sk—Oh.
His body curled around mine from behind, fitting me against him, surrounding me completely. His arm draped over my side, pulling me in snug as his breath ruffled my hair. One leg draped over mine, he scooted a little closer, fitting my ass right against his groin.
“The little spoon is safe with the big spoon wrapped around him,” his voice purred above my ear.
Without thinking, I reached for his hand, tangling my fingers with his. He adjusted until his fist completely wrapped around mine, protecting that part of me too.
My heart turned inside out, the most delicate parts exposed for all the world to see. But then I realized no one would actually see because he was shielding me.
And so I lay there flayed open, completely inside out, more vulnerable than ever but also safer than I’d ever been.