Page 40 of Code Word (The Atrous #3)

“Let me get you cleaned up.” I gave him a parting kiss and went to find a washcloth in his bathroom. My knee wasn’t overly happy but I didn’t care. I’d worry about that tomorrow. Tonight, my only concern was Luke.

I cleaned us up and crawled back into bed with him, pulling him into my arms, and he clung to me. “I never thought I’d have this,” he murmured.

“Well, you’ve got me forever now,” I replied, squeezing him tight and kissing his temple. “I never knew love could be like this,” I admitted quietly.

He looked up at me in the dark, his eyes shining. “I had no idea you were such a romantic.”

I snorted. “I’m not. Well, not normally. Not with anyone else. But with you? I see roses and sunshine, blue skies and rainbows. It’s pathetic. Don’t tell anyone.”

He chuckled and snuggled in. “It’ll be our secret.”

The next morning, I woke up to find Luke watching me. He was bathed in sunlight, a soft glow filled the room, and there was nothing but peace and silence. He was sleep-rumpled, unshaven, and I’d never seen him look so beautiful.

“Morning,” he murmured.

“Morning,” I replied, unable to keep from smiling.

His smile gave out to a soft laugh. “So,” he said, “last night happened.”

“Yes, it did.” Then visions swam through my mind, of him beneath me, moaning, writhing, his body, his tears...

I put my hand on his face. “Do you feel okay?”

He gave a nod. “I’m still not entirely sure any of this is real.”

“This? Us?”

“It’s like I keep waiting to wake up. I might need you to pinch me every now and then.”

I pinched his nipple.

“Ow!”

“Was that real?”

He rubbed his pec. “Dickwad.”

I snorted. “Want some coffee? I’ll go make it.”

“I need to shower,” he said. “I’m a bit...” He grimaced, his cheeks tinting pink. “My ass...”

“A bit what? Are you sore? What can I do, tell me?—”

“No,” he said quickly. “Well, I don’t know. I haven’t tried to sit up yet. I’m just a bit... sticky.”

His ass was sticky?

Oh.

Oh .

“Oh,” I said with a laugh. Because I came inside him… “Right. Yeah, well. Okay, so that’s kinda hot.”

He shoved my shoulder. “Jesus.”

I rolled out of bed and my knee said hello . “Ooh,” I said, taking my next step with more caution.

“Your knee,” Luke said, shooting up out of bed, and he pulled up sharply. “Ow. Yep, there it is.”

I laughed and hobbled over to him. “Babe, are you okay?”

“Just a twinge,” he said. “It’s not so bad.”

“My sore knee, your sore ass. Is this the reality you wanted to wake up to?”

He chuckled as he walked to the bathroom. “Coffee. And I think there’s bread in the freezer. It’ll be fine for toast.”

I pulled on some sweatpants, pretty sure they were his. “Is that your way of asking for toast with your coffee?”

He stuck his head out of the bathroom. “Toast with coffee? Great idea, thanks.”

I grabbed my phone and made my way out to the kitchen.

I put on some mellow tunes, made some coffee, and found the frozen bread.

I stared at it for a while, tried to pry some slices apart to no avail, considered whacking it against the kitchen counter, then googled what to do next.

Then I just decided to have breakfast delivered.

So much easier.

The beauty of living in LA was that everything was deliverable—which reminded me to start a grocery order—and I was bringing the breakfast delivery into the kitchen when Luke came out, all shower-clean and fresh-shaven. “You ordered in?”

“Yeah. The frozen bread was a lost cause. I didn’t know what you’d feel like, so I got a bunch of stuff,” I said, sliding the oversized bag onto the counter. “But I made us coffee, and I started a grocery order.”

He pulled out some bagels and croissants and those little egg things he liked. “You bought all the things you know I like.”

“Of course I did. I know all your favorite foods, drinks. TV shows, movies. And all your annoying habits.”

He totally spoke with his mouth full. “I don’t have any bad habits.”

It made me laugh.

We ate a few bites in silence and I sipped my coffee. “How’s the sticky situation?”

He chuckled as he chewed, cheeks heating. “It’s fine. How’s your knee?”

“Meh. I’ll wear the brace after my shower. I will have to call my doctor, though, and try to get an appointment this week. Just to be safe. And we’ll have to go to Malibu at some point this week too.”

“We should look online at some houses,” he said.

“Hell yes, we should. I can’t wait to have a place that’s ours.”

He smiled as he sipped his coffee. “Do you still want to look for a place in Mexico? We’ll need to have our lawyers look into property laws and visas, that kind of shit.”

I threw my arms around him and kissed the side of his head. “I’ll go anywhere, as long as I’m with you.”

He leaned his head against my cheek. “Same.”

“Okay, you smell amazing, and I smell bad,” I said. “I need to shower. Finish the grocery list and put the order in. I thought I could try cooking a few things, if you’re game.”

He laughed and patted my arm. “I can supervise. So we don’t die.”

That was probably fair.

I showered, pulled on some clean sweatpants—mine, this time—and a long-sleeve T-shirt.

I carried the knee brace back out to the kitchen. “You’ll be pleased to know I didn’t leave my dirty clothes on the floor. ”

Luke was looking at something on his laptop, which turned out to be real estate photos.

“Oh, find anything?” I asked.

He kind of shrugged. “Your phone rang,” he said, nodding to where I’d left it.

I already knew who it was going to be...

“It was Maddox.”

Yep. Guessed it.

“He’s tried calling a few times,” Luke said. “And messaging.”

“I know.”

Luke nodded slowly and he crossed his arms, which wasn’t good. “You know how you said it was actually good to see our families without any warning because then we just got it all over and done with without any time to overthink anything?”

I was pretty sure I also knew where he was going with this.

“Yeah.”

“Good. Because all the guys are coming here for lunch, Maddox and Roscoe included.” Luke’s eyes met mine, determined and serious. “And you and Maddox are gonna sit down and talk.”