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“Can you believe that she wore the—” I turned towards her.

But Zarina was asleep, buried under her pile of pillows, with her mouth slightly open.

I smiled, and considered getting up and carrying her to bed. Then the ‘Are you still watching?’ notification popped up on the TV screen and I sighed.

I moved Zarina’s legs and pulled the blanket off the side of the lounge chair, draping it over her. Then I moved to the kitchen and turned off the lights before I laid back down at the other end of the couch, so our legs were touching.

And then I pressed ‘Play next episode’.

* * *

I woke up that morning because the sun was shining brightly through the large windows in Zarina’s high-rise apartment. I blinked against it, and sighed from happiness when a dark spot shielded my eyes.

I opened one eye and looked up, finding Zarina standing above me with her hands on her hips.

“You made me miss nearly all of season 18.”

I yawned, stretching out.

“I can update you, if you want. First, Khloe decided?—”

“No!” Zarina lifted a hand as if to smack me. “No spoilers!”

I hooked my hands around the back of her thighs and pulled her towards me.

“You look beautiful,” I said, my finger tracing up and down the back of her leg.

God, she was smooth all over.

Her skin was like the most expensive silk and I wanted to run my hands, my teeth, my tongue, all over it.

She was already dressed for work though, in her pointed high heels and long sleeved dress that hugged every delicious curve of her. It fell mid-way at her thighs, those tanned legs seemingly going on forever.

“Thank you,” she said, like she was surprised to hear it. “Now, get out,” her voice dropped into a serious tone and I chuckled.

“Fine, fine,” I groaned as I stood and stretched.

As soft as the couch was, it was still a cramped space to share, given the height of both of us. I slipped into my boots and Zarina followed me to the door. She reached for the handle, but I reached for her jaw, catching it in my hand and pulling her face up towards mine.

The gasp she inhaled was a sound that I’d probably play on repeat forever. That delicious little breath of surprise she let out as I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her maroon-red lips.

Don’t ask why, because even I didn’t know why I did it.

It was automatic. Natural. Like I had been kissing this woman goodbye for most of my life.

When I pulled away, her mouth remained parted, only making me want to do it again.

“I’ll see you round, darlin’.” I shot her a wink, leaving her to stand in her doorway as I strode towards the elevator without looking back.

Couldn’t look back. Had to get as much space between us as possible before I locked us both in her bedroom until we had done every single dirty fucking idea that had ever crossed my mind.

I cursed the bright sun as I made the walk to the next block where I had parked my bike.

The traffic was peak-hour thick, but I filtered through the lanes, manoeuvring into the gaps and making my way forward in the strange meditative state that the bike brought out in me.

My brain didn’t kick in again until I parked at the back of the studio and headed in through the rear entrance.

The music was already going, and Jess’s playlist was instantly recognisable. The three of us had made a deal a while ago that whoever got to work first got to pick the music.