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He doesn’t miss a beat, scooting down to eye-level and tucking my hair behind my ear. “Okay, beautiful, tonight we’ll stay at your place.” He kisses my nose and rolls out of bed. “Twenty minutes and I’m coming back to get you.”

He goes to his bathroom, my eyes trained on him until he disappears behind the door. The water starts, and I sigh, snuggling in and stealing his pillow. The whole bed smells like him, and I wonder if he’ll think I’m a nutcase if I refuse to leave. My eyes drift closed, but I don’t sleep; instead, I replay last night over and over in my head.

He didn’t have to try hard to convince me to stay. I was an easy sell. There was no hesitation.

“Stay the night with me, Emi,” he said, holding me close. “I want to wake up with you in my bed.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

See? Easy sell. No girl in her right mind would turn down the chance to spend the night in Walker Scott’s arms. After we cleaned up his kitchen, we moved to his sofa for another drink until he led me to his room and handed me a t-shirt to sleep in. You’d think I would have thought about a toothbrush right then, but instead, I shed my clothes easily, ran cold water over my face, and crawled in his gigantic bed.

When he came back into his room, I remember the way my heart started racing. He changed into loose shorts and nothing else. The picture of him in the boxing ring was nothing compared to the real-life vision. My eyes raked over his bare chest and ripped muscles, then landed on the tattoos that covered his left bicep and shoulder. When he got into bed, my hand instinctively reached out to touch them. His body went still as I traced each line, swirl, and curve of the intricate design. Halfway down his bicep was the American flag waving with a bald eagle in the middle, the words US ARMY underneath. Once I reached the last point of the ‘y’, he kissed me deeply, then shuffled me to lay on his chest. He ran his lips along my forehead a few times, and I curled into him quietly. My stomach was full of delicious food and three lemon drops, so I easily fell asleep.

My dreams were filled with the memories of the night: the way he looked at me when he picked me up, the way he kissed me that first time in his living room with all the deer staring at us, the way we made out until the steaks almost burned. Then the tattoos, his hard chest, the plains of his muscles beneath my fingers.

All of it drifted through my head as I slept on top of him until that damn buzzing sound. We may have to have a chat about this six-thirty wake up time.

But maybe early mornings with Walker could be worth it?

I’m dozing happily when his lips brush the back of my neck, and I grin into the pillow.

“Baby, how do you take your coffee?” He kisses along my earlobe. His cologne mixed with body wash fills the air around me. I inhale deeply, enjoying the fresh smell.

“Dash of milk and half a package of sweetener,” I answer dreamily.

“Meet me in the kitchen. We need to get a move on. I put the toothbrush on the counter.”

“I’ll get dressed and be there soon.”

“You don’t have to get dressed.”

“I’m in my panties and your t-shirt. I need to wear clothes home.”

“Throw on your jeans and keep the shirt. I like you in it.” He pecks my jaw and leaves, but surprises me by yanking the covers with him.

“Hey!” I yell when the cold air hits my skin. “What are you doing?”

“Getting you up. Saturday, we can lay in bed longer.”

“Ass,” I say under my breath and crawl to the other side of the bed.

His laugher doesn’t fade until I shut his bathroom door. As I suspected, I’m a hot mess. There’s not much I can do except whip my hair into a high bun and wash the remaining make-up from my face. I open the toothbrush and smile when I see it’s a rotating bristle, exactly like mine at home. After I’m done, I slip back into my jeans, throw my sweater in my purse, and head to the kitchen.

Walker hands me a mug of coffee but keeps it gripped in his hand, stepping close. “Is it safe to kiss you now?”

“I’m gonna say yes, but know if you wake me at this hour again, we may have serious problems.”

His grin grows wider right before he trails his lips across mine in a gentle, closed-mouth kiss. I don’t hide my disappointment when he steps back and releases the coffee mug.

“What’s on your schedule today?” He picks up his own cup and looks at me.

“Fraud, fraud, and more fraud.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“Maren will be at my house around five to drag me to her yoga class, pretending we need to exercise, but actually, she’ll drill me for details on last night.”

“Yoga, huh?”