Page 14 of Fragile Hearts (Hibiscus Hearts #3)

“You sure?” I blurt out, surprised she’s even suggesting it. I know we had a moment before and everything, but this feels like a whole new level now. Sharing a bed together.

“I mean, only if you want to. It’s fine?—”

“I want to,” I quickly say.

Sloane smiles, giving me a small nod as she says, “Okay then.”

I step into her room, Mochi bouncing in my arms, already excited because he’s figured out what’s happening. I do have to hand it to the little guy. He did well to orchestrate all of this.

I drop him on the bed, and he dances around, yipping his cute little bark as Sloane slides over to make room for me. Lifting the duvet, I slip in beside her, resting back against the headboard as Mochi turns in a few more circles before finally settling at Sloane’s feet.

“He seems happy now,” I say, pointing at the dog.

Sloane laughs, sliding down under the covers so her head is resting on the pillow.

I do the same, rolling onto my side to face her.

Mochi jumps straight up, trotting up between us before lying down again, his head resting on his front paws as he looks from me to Sloane before letting out a contented sigh and closing his eyes.

“I think maybe now he’s happy,” she says.

I reach out and pat him. “I think maybe this dog is very spoiled.”

“Oh, oh, are we raising a terror?” Sloane asks, smiling.

I scoff out a laugh. “Maybe, but there’s nothing wrong with spoiling someone you care about.”

Sloane meets my eyes now, a soft smile on her face as she watches me. She doesn’t say anything though and I can’t resist reaching over to tuck some loose strands of hair behind her ear.

“I’m glad you feel safe here,” I say, my words quiet.

“I do,” she says. “Thank you.”

Smiling, I pull my hand back, only for Sloane to catch it in hers, squeezing gently before she rests our joined hands on the bed between us.

“Anytime, Sloane.”

Mochi’s eyes open, and he sniffs at our hands, letting out a huff before closing his eyes again. The two of us laugh before Sloane says, “How’d he manage to get up on your bed?”

“Huh?” I ask, confused.

“Mochi?” she says. “When he first ran out of here, I went to get him and he was on your bed. You were in the shower so...” She trails off, that blush once again coloring her cheeks. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have come into your room. It?—”

I squeeze her hand. “It’s totally fine. I don’t mind if you do,” I tell her, meaning it. She’s welcome in my room, in my bed, in my everywhere, anytime she wants. “But to answer your question,” I add, chuckling a little, “I stacked a bunch of shit beside the bed so he could climb up.”

Sloane lets out a laugh, her eyes sparkling as she says, “You did what?”

I shrug. “He looked so pathetic trying to jump up all the time, so I figured why not help him out.”

“God, you are such a softie,” she says, laughing.

Grinning, I say, “Maybe.”

“Definitely,” she replies, and this time we both laugh.

I reach behind me now to switch off the lamp, and the room falls into a muted darkness, the moonlight coming in through the open blinds, enough that I can still see Sloane.

“Goodnight,” I whisper.

Sloane smiles before she leans over and gives me a soft kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight, Owen.”

The next morning, I wake early, Sloane’s bedroom bathed in sunlight. Mochi has disappeared, and instead, I’m lying in bed, wrapped around Sloane, her back to my front. She’s still asleep, and I’m trying to control my heart rate for fear the hard pounding of it against my rib cage wakes her.

Fuck me, it feels so good to wake up in her bed with her in my arms, and I can’t resist burying my face in her hair and inhaling her scent. Sloane huffs out a cute little breath before rolling over and blinking her eyes open, smiling when she’s finally awake.

“Hey,” she whispers, her voice still husky with sleep.

“Morning,” comes my equally husky reply.

Her eyes flick down, maybe noticing how close we currently are or that Mochi is missing. I half-expect her to move, but just as I lift the arm that’s still draped across her waist, she shocks the shit out of me by leaning in and kissing me.

It’s soft and slow, kind of sleepy like she still is, but it’s still more perfect and amazing than any kiss from Sloane I have dreamed about. Same with last night, kissing her on the deck as she sat in my lap. All of it was perfect and something I definitely want more of.

She slides her hand across my hip now, her fingers brushing the bare skin above the waist of my boxers. I groan, the sound a low rumble in my chest as she moves closer, only inches of space now between us.

I’m fucking hard too, which is pretty standard for most mornings, only now, lying in her bed, waking with Sloane in my arms, I’m beyond hard.

And she has to be able to feel it too.

But she doesn’t pull away. Instead, her hand flattens against my lower back, pulling me toward her so our bodies are now flush.

“Fuck, Sloane,” I groan, my fingers gripping her hip as I roll her slowly onto her back so my body is half lying on hers.

Neither of us breaks the kiss though. Deepening it, our tongues slowly sliding together in a languid, early morning, still half-asleep kiss. Everything about this moment feels intense and perfect and just un-fucking-believable.

Sloane slides her hands up my back, slowly dragging her nails against my skin. I can feel her nipples hardening beneath the tank she wears as they press against me. I slowly drag the hand on her hip higher, my palm ghosting over her warm skin as I push the fabric up a little.

“Owen,” she moans, my name a low whisper, a plea almost.

My hand tightens around her side, my fingers brushing against her ribs. I fucking love the feel of her body against mine, the way we so perfectly fit together, like she was made just for me.

“Sloane,” I growl, knowing I need to stop, though. That I need to stop before this goes too much further. “Tell me to stop,” I plead, my words almost begging.

She smiles against my mouth, like she’s going to do the opposite, but before she has a chance to speak, Mochi is suddenly in the room, barking his head off.

Pulling back, I exhale a ragged breath, turning to find him beside the bed, his paws up on the mattress as he barks loudly at us. Beneath me, Sloane giggles, and when I turn back to her, she shrugs as she says, “I guess this morning he’s being a cockblocker?”

I laugh, shaking my head as I reluctantly roll off her, knowing it’s probably just as well he is.

I slip a hand beneath the covers to try and readjust myself.

Not that there’s any point. I’m wearing a pretty fitted pair of boxer briefs, and with the hard-on I’m currently sporting, I don’t think there’s any hiding it.

“Is that what you are?” I ask, leaning over to pat him. “Last night you were all for matchmaking.”

Mochi lets out another yelp, and Sloane laughs. “I think he probably needs to go out.”

I turn to find her rolling out of bed. “I’ll get him,” I tell her.

She smiles at me, her eyes all dark and sexy as she says, “I’ve got it. You want to make us some coffee?”

I nod, wanting nothing more than to pull her back into this bed and finish what it felt like we were starting just then. But I know this is better, and that as frustrated as I am with Mochi right now, stopping is what needs to happen.

We were half asleep, caught in that hazy, dreamlike state where everything just feels...easy. And I definitely don’t want to take advantage of that with Sloane and do anything she might later regret. I want this woman, want her badly, but I want it to be perfect and right when it does happen.

“Sure thing,” I say with a nod.

Sloane walks out of the bedroom, Mochi hot on her heels as I sit back against the headboard, taking a few deep breaths as I attempt to get my dick under control. When I finally do, I throw off the covers and walk out to the kitchen.

Sloane is out on the back deck, her hands on the railing as she looks out at the ocean. Flicking on the coffee, I wander out, standing behind her, my arms on either side of her body.

“How did you sleep last night?” I murmur, my mouth at her ear.

She half-turns, a smile on her face as she says, “I slept great. You?”

“Really great,” I say with a smile as I wrap my arms around her waist, and the two of us stand together, looking out at the view. “What do you have going on today?”

Sloane’s hands move so they are covering mine as she leans back against me. “I have class this afternoon, but I might go surf this morning. Wanna come?”

Chuckling, I press a kiss to her neck. “Always.”

She nods but doesn’t say any more, and we stand watching the ocean and the surfers already out there.

When the smell of coffee starts to drift through the open doors, I reluctantly let go, heading back inside to pour us both a cup.

When I come back out, Sloane is sitting in one of the chairs, watching as Mochi runs around on the grass.

“Thanks,” she says, smiling as she takes the mug from me.

I take a seat beside her, still dressed in my boxers. Sloane is wearing nothing more than the tank and undies she slept in, and fuck, I love how comfortable this all feels. Like we’ve been waking up and sharing our mornings together like this for ages.

“What do you have on today?” Sloane eventually asks, turning to me.

“I have class this afternoon too,” I tell her.

She tips her head to the side. “Is it weird we’ve never seen each other on campus?”

I laugh, shrugging as I say, “I don’t know, maybe. It’s a big campus though.”

“True. What time’s your class?”

I blow out a breath, sinking into my chair as I say, “I think I’m like two till four.”

“Huh, me too,” she says.

Smiling, I look over at her. “You wanna go together?” I ask. “We could surf this morning, maybe grab some lunch, and then head to class?”

Asking her to go surfing or grab lunch or dinner is exactly the sort of thing I used to do when I was trying to get Sloane to give me a shot. Ninety percent of the time, she turned me down, only saying yes when our friends were also coming along, so it was not a date or anything.

It used to be a gut punch every time she did, but I still didn’t stop asking, wanting her to know that I wasn’t that easily put off.

Now though, this is the first time I’ve asked her since she’s been living with me, and while there is no denying we’ve grown closer, already surfing together with no one else around or having dinner together here, this somehow feels different.

Sloane watches me, a tiny smile on her face as she holds her mug in both hands, the steam rising in front of her face.

“Yeah, okay, that sounds good,” she eventually says.

“Yeah?” I ask, surprised.

She laughs now, nodding as she says, “Yes, Owen, surfing, lunch and class sounds good.”

“Alright then,” I reply with a nod, turning back to the ocean, a huge fucking grin on my face. Beside me, Sloane laughs again, and I glance over at her. “What are you laughing at?”

She smirks, an adorable little grin on her face. “The look of surprise on your face when I said yes.”

“I wasn’t surprised!”

“Oh yes, you were,” she says, still grinning. “It was actually really fucking cute too.”

I roll my eyes playfully. “Cute. Pfft.”

She laughs again, nudging my leg with her foot. I grab it, lifting it onto my lap, and Sloane follows with her other leg so they are both resting there. “Nothing wrong with cute,” she says as my hand curls around one of her feet.

“Mochi’s cute,” I say, gesturing to the dog with my coffee.

“Yeah, and Mochi’s adorable,” she says, groaning a little as I press my fingers into her sole.

I glance over at her. “You’re adorable.”

Sloane blushes now, hiding her smile behind her coffee as she takes a sip. I don’t say anything more, just take a sip of my coffee before putting the mug on the armrest. Then I grab her foot in both hands, slowly working my fingers along the heel as I massage it.

Beside me, Sloane is silent, and when I finally risk another glance at her, she’s staring at me. “You okay?” I ask, not stopping my fingers.

She nods. “Yeah,” she whispers, a secretive little smile on her face.

I lift her foot, pressing a soft kiss to her calf before moving my hand to her other foot, a smile on my face that I can’t seem to wipe off right now.

Fuck, things are definitely changing between us, and I am so here for it.