Morning breath (I’ve made peace with it, mostly because I’m a horny, desperate gangster’s girl and practically wake up riding biker dick)
CATEGORY: Things That Are Surprisingly The Same
My obsession with spreadsheets
Coffee dependency
Johnson’s terrible code still needing debugging
Karen, no further details required
Jake stirred beside me, his arm tightening around my waist before he was fully awake. That possessive instinct never seemed to rest.
“Mornin’, darlin’,” he murmured, voice husky with sleep as he pulled me closer. “Have you been awake long?”
“Not long. I’m just mentally organising my new life into categories,” I admitted, rolling over to face him.
His hand slid under my (his) shirt, palm warm against my lower back. “That so? And what category am I in?”
“‘Things That Make Me Question My Sanity But That I Want Anyway.’”
He laughed, that low rumble now one of my favourite sounds. “Sounds about right.” His fingers moved lazily over my skin. “Speaking of things we want, we should probably talk about this.”
My heart glitched, caught between beats. In my experience, “we should talk” was usually followed by “it’s not working” or “I met someone else” or “your code has too many comments.” But the way Jake was looking at me didn’t match any of those scenarios, so I tried to calm my heart.
“About what exactly?” I aimed to sound casual while my brain ran doomsday simulations.
“About the fact that you’ve basically moved in.”
I swallowed. “And?” Was he about to tell me it was too much, too soon?
“And—” he pulled me tightly against him “—I fuckin’ like it.”
Oh.
OH.
“So, we’re really doing this? You want me to be here as much as I have been?” The questions flew out before I could stop them, and I immediately wanted to hide under the covers.
But Jake just smiled; the one that makes my insides melt. “Sweetheart, I haven’t looked at another woman since the day we met. As far as I’m concerned, there’s only you.”
The relief that flooded through me was embarrassingly intense. “Good. Because I don’t share well.”
“I’ve noticed.” His eyes darkened as his hand glided over my hip.
I winced. “That obvious, huh?”
“You practically marked your territory at the clubhouse last night.”
“I did not!” (I really did.)
He was trying not to grin. Failing epically, may I add. “You strategically placed yourself between me and Sarah three separate times. And you practically hissed the last time.”
Heat flooded my cheeks. “In my defence, she tries to get close to you a lot for someone who supposedly got the ‘we’re done’ memo.”
Jake’s expression turned serious. “Sarah knows exactly where I stand, and you have nothing to worry about on my end. But you need to understand something about club life.” He shifted slightly, propping himself up on his elbow. “There are complications I can’t always explain. People I have to work with even when it’s not ideal.”
“Including ex-friends-with-benefits who clearly want to upgrade back to benefits?”