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chapter fifteen

Jillian

T he sun was already bright on my eyelids as I stirred awake, naked and groggy in a bed that wasn’t mine.

I blinked until my eyes adjusted, my backside cold but the front of me warm against Graham’s skin.

I was still clinging to his body in the same position I’d fallen asleep in, one arm on his chest and one of my legs draped over his.

I was only awake for a few seconds before I registered the pain radiating through my hips and thighs. Even my head hurt, but that might have been from all the drinking and the total disruption to my sleep routine.

The muscle aches in my lower body felt like a cruel betrayal. I must have jinxed myself when I half-joked about canceling my appointment at the Gardners’ last night. Guess it was a good thing I hadn’t.

Graham’s fingers began stroking my hair, slowly combing through the tangles. It was a touch so satisfying it nearly made me forget the pain. Before I could let it lull me back to sleep, I lifted my chin to look at his face.

“Good morning, darling,” he said with a smile, his voice rough.

Somehow, those words were even more satisfying than his fingers stroking my scalp.

I melted into him, nestling closer against his skin and inhaling his familiar, masculine scent.

I couldn’t control the grin on my lips when he kissed my forehead.

“I feel gross,” I said, pressing my face against his skin.

No way I was letting him smell my breath.

He chuckled softly and tightened his arm around me. “You could never be gross.”

“I have to do a gross walk of shame back to my car in front of the Gardners’ house.” My voice was partially muffled by his chest. “I wonder if they’re awake over there.”

“I’m not sure what time it is,” he said, glancing at the window, “but it seems like late morning. I bet Xander and Abigail are already gone.”

Something twisted in my stomach at the mention of Xander’s name. I couldn’t remember the exact words I’d said the night before, but I knew they hadn’t exactly been kind. And then, of all the men I could’ve rebounded with, I chose the CEO of our company.

What the hell was wrong with me?

Except… it didn’t feel like a rebound when he called me “darling,” or when he kissed my forehead. In his arms, I felt safe and content and wanted.

Maybe that was the bigger problem.

I had crushes on a lot of men, most of them short-lived, fizzling out not long after the guy decided to open his dumb mouth and shatter the illusion. But the more Graham opened up, the more he drew me in.

Everything from the tenderness in his voice when he talked about his kids to the gentle way he stroked my hair made me crave something more with him.

And then there was the way he took control last night, commanding me to watch and touching me exactly the right way. Fuck… how was I supposed to move on from all that?

I took a deep breath and sat up, pulling the gray sheet around my nakedness.

I would need to get up and put my clothes on soon, but there was no way to do that gracefully with my hips and thighs aching like they were bruised.

It was like I’d just run a marathon and got hit by a truck at the finish line.

Graham’s fingertips traced down the center of my back. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I…” I licked my lips as I turned to look at him. “I know this is silly, but would you mind not looking at me when I get dressed?”

He didn’t hesitate at all before pulling the sheet up over his head. “You’re safe.”

I let him think I was just being modest, but the truth was, I didn’t want him to notice me wincing in pain as I pulled myself up out of the bed.

Those first few steps were always the hardest, and this morning was no exception.

I closed my eyes and cursed under my breath as I picked up my undergarments.

There I was, eleven years younger than him, moving like a slow, rigid old woman.

I felt like I was about to turn a hundred, not thirty.

Once my dress was on, I cleared my throat and approached the bed. “Will you zip me up?” I asked.

Graham pulled the sheet away and knelt behind my back on the bed, taking his time tugging the zipper upward.

When he reached the top, he didn’t move away; instead, he gingerly wrapped both arms around my midsection.

I clenched my eyes shut and braced myself to be pulled down on top of him, which would inevitably raise my pain levels all the way to eleven.

Instead, Graham gently twisted my body around to make me face him. “You’re in pain,” he said, his hands resting on my hips.

My lips parted. “How did you know?”

“I’m getting pretty good at reading you.” He swallowed, peering up into my eyes. “But you said you were feeling okay yesterday. Jill… did I hurt you?”

“No,” I said quickly, sitting down on the bed.

He shifted from his knees to sit on the edge of the bed beside me, the sheet still slung low across his hips.

I tried not to let my eyes linger on his abs.

“No, you didn’t, Graham. Certain… activities enhance the pain sometimes, but it doesn’t matter what I do. Mornings are always hard.”

His brows drew together. “Is there something I can do to help?”

“I don’t know what that would be.”

Graham ran one hand along the stubble of his jaw, the little grays there catching my attention. There was a faint smile on his lips. “I guess… I guess I’m asking this as your boss, not the man who just spent the night with you.”

“Oh.”

He let out a sexy chuckle, and after a moment, his face turned serious again. “I mean it, though. What can I do to make things easier for you at the studio? Say the word, and I’ll make it happen.”

I felt a mix of gratitude and guilt.

Grateful, because I actually felt seen.

But guilty because he didn’t owe me this kindness, and I wasn’t sure I deserved it. Even though I knew in my heart his concern was genuine, something about the offer to “make it happen” made this whole exchange feel a little… transactional.

It didn’t matter that we connected on an emotional level. I was still the employee he’d just fucked. Accepting a favor under these circumstances just felt… wrong.

“You’ve already given me your daughter as my intern, and she’s been a tremendous help,” I said, tucking my hair behind my ear with a gentle smile.

We looked at each other for a beat, and both of our smiles faded.

The weight of the consequences of our night together was fully sinking in for both of us.

Graham’s eyes widened with a flicker of horror. “Well, this is awkward, innit?”

As if the whole sexy professor thing wasn’t enough, he’d just spoken those words with the faintest hint of a British accent. God, he was so infuriatingly adorable. “A little bit,” I answered. “Awkward might actually be an understatement.”

Graham inhaled slowly, staring at my knee. “Yeah. Then it’s a good thing you just came over to rest on my couch until you sobered up, and I was a perfect gentleman who kept his hands to himself.”

His eyes lifted to meet mine, and I nodded, accepting this alibi of ours. I swallowed. “And it’s a good thing I kept my clothes on the entire time.”

I turned to the mirror, and his gaze followed. “ Look at us.” I looked absolutely wrecked from my smeared mascara to my wrinkly dress. And he was still naked, only partially covered with a sheet, looking sexier than ever with his unshaved face.

He was everything I wanted. And everything I couldn’t have.

Graham pulled on a clean pair of boxers and to walk me to his front door.

Again. And we hugged… again. “I’m glad this happened,” he said, brushing my hair away from my eyes with both hands.

I lifted my chin and kissed him on the mouth one last time, wishing it could linger forever.

He held my face in his hands, tilting my head to deepen the kiss.

His cell phone rang from somewhere in the living room, forcing us apart. “Bye, Graham,” I said, slipping out the door without another look.

That never happened , I told myself as I unlocked my car in front of the Gardners’ house.

But I could still taste him on my lips.