Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
NADIA
When I wake up, it takes me a solid ten seconds to remember where the hell I am.
When I pry open my eyes, I’m not in my own bed.
I’m not even in my own apartment. I’m stretched out across the soft leather sofa with a fleece blanket tangled around me and a hot, hard wall of human at my back.
My hair is tangled around my head, and my jeans are bunched around my waist. Salty is sitting on my chest, two inches from my face, staring down at me.
The second he sees my eyelids flutter, he launches a full-scale tongue assault, licking my nose, my lips, and, when I try to squirm away, the inside of my left nostril.
“Ahh—okay, okay, I’m up!” I splutter, fighting the world’s most aggressive alarm clock.
Jay shifts behind me and, for one split second, I think he’s still asleep. His face is nuzzled right at the junction of my shoulder and neck, one hand fisted in the hem of my sweater, the other splayed possessively across my ribs.
Then he mumbles something directly into my neck. It’s mostly muffled vowels, but I catch, “—best morning ever,” before he blinks and looks at me with these soft, molten-brown eyes.
Salty, satisfied with his work, climbs off my face and wedges himself between us with a deep, dramatic sigh.
“Good morning,” Jay says, voice still thick with sleep.
I try to laugh, but it comes out as a half-choke, half-giggle. “I can’t believe we slept on your sofa.”
“I wasn’t about to give up the chance to spend the night with you in my arms,” he says, deadpan. Then he tightens his grip like I might try to run.
I wince, knowing how I normally look in the morning. “I’m sure I’m a hot mess right now.”
Jay grins, all sleepy and sinful, and drops a kiss to my temple. “You look perfect.” Then, as if reading my mind, he adds, “Best night of my life. No contest.”
Then, as if on cue, Salty explodes into a paroxysm of morning energy, running laps around the coffee table and whining until Jay drags himself off the couch.
“Let me take His Majesty for a walk, then we can have some coffee,” he says, stretching and giving me a full view of the sort of muscles that belong in magazines, or maybe on marble statues.
“I’m going to head to my place to shower and change clothes while you guys go out for a walk.” And brush my teeth. Eww. My breath tastes like I ate some of Salty’s dry dog food. “Then I’ll come back for coffee,” I add, because I really want to spend more time with them.
“We can ride down the elevator together,” Jay tells me as he kneels down to put a harness and leash on Salty.
We leave Jay’s apartment, Salty trotting along like a furry bodyguard. In the elevator, Jay crowds me into the corner and presses his mouth to mine, slow and deep, until I’m dizzy and practically forget my own name. I definitely forget about morning breath and all that.
The elevator stops on my floor, and he follows me off. “You don’t have to walk me to my door,” I tell him, watching as Salty does a very dramatic potty dance.
“Sure, we do.” Jay takes my hand in his and walks side-by-side with me while the little Frenchie leads the way.
I unlock my door, barely step inside, and Jay just hauls me right up against him, like he can’t stand to be an inch away.
His hands are huge and hot, one braced on my hip, the other sliding up my back.
I barely have a second to catch my breath before he crushes his mouth to mine.
Holy. Shit.
It’s not a polite, see-you-later peck, either.
It’s deep and hungry and hot enough to fry my last two brain cells.
My body lights up, every nerve ending screaming for more.
I fist my hands in his shirt and just melt into him, because how could I not?
The kiss is all tongue and teeth and pure, raw need.
Down by my feet, Salty does zoomies around our legs, barking like the world’s most enthusiastic chaperone.
Jay doesn’t give a single fuck. He crowds me up against the door, lips glued to mine, and kisses me until I forget my own name.
The Frenchie’s growls turn to whimpers, and Jay finally pulls back and lays his forehead against mine.
“I’m going to take Salty down for his walk, then I’ll grab us breakfast at Gobble Me Up,” he whispers against my lips.
“Why don’t you shower and meet me back at my place in thirty minutes? ”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” I tell him and step into my apartment.
The second the door shuts, I throw my back against it and sag, clutching my chest like I’ve just survived a natural disaster. My heart is thundering. My lips are swollen. My entire body is still trembling from that kiss. I can smell Jay on my skin, masculine and sharp and holy-hell addictive.
I practically power-walk across my shoebox apartment, peeling off my jeans and sweater as I go, like I can outrun the sleep still clinging to my skin.
I nearly stumble over my own feet, but I make it to the shower and crank the water to scalding.
I step under the steamy water and let it burn away the last of my drowsiness.
I stand there as the spray pounds against my shoulders, clearing the rest of the cobwebs from my mind.
When I step out, I wrap a towel around myself and catch sight of my reflection.
Oof. I have a lot of work to do. I wrangle my wild hair into a bun, then yank on my battered A&M hoodie and a pair of black leggings.
I slick on Chapstick, trying to pretend the flush in my cheeks is just from the shower.
Then I grab my purse and keys and head out the door.
The second I step into the hallway, I have to stop and lean back against the wall just to catch my breath. My heart’s still doing backflips remembering Jay’s kiss.
Somehow, I make it down the hall and up to the sixth floor. I take a deep breath and knock on Jay’s door. My hand is literally shaking. I have never in my life been this nervous.