Page 96 of Take the Plunge

Chapter22

Kian

The soft thump of a drawer closing brings me closer to wakefulness, and I rub my eyes.

“Hey,” I say.

Jett’s sitting on the edge of the bed, putting his socks on. “Hi. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

I rub my eyes again, trying to make myself feel more awake. “You should have done. You have to go to work.” Which means I need to be ready to leave too. “I’m getting up.”

I push the quilt away, but he puts a hand on my forearm, stilling me.

“You look tired.”

I flop my arm over my forehead. “It took me a while to get to sleep.”

He frowns. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I was just thinking about my stupid proposal. I ended up doing some research on my phone until—I’m not sure when exactly.”

“Did it help?”

“It sent me to sleep.”

He chuckles. “That’s not what I meant, but I’m glad you got at least some sleep.”

“And I’m glad I didn’t keep you awake.”

He strokes a few strands of my hair behind my ear. “It helped that you tired me out.”

“I kinda did, didn’t I?”

“Yes.” He leans down and presses a soft kiss to my lips. His breath tastes minty.

“Mmm. That’s a nice way to wake up.”

He looks a lot more alert than I feel. His hair is damp, and he smells of pear and cedar wood. He looks white-collar sexy in a pale blue shirt with the top button done. Even though his clothing is smart, he’s still wearing his silver rings and two bracelets. One is made of dark wooden beads, and the other has small linked chains. It makes me think of the pink furry cuffs Rufus tied us together with. I still have them. They live in my bottom drawer, beside my two dildos.

I trace the wrinkle on his forehead. “You’re scowling. I know, I know, I need to get up. What time is it anyway?”

“Just before eight.” He twitches his mouth and nose as though he’s trying to soften his expression. He’s like a cute bunny rabbit. A cute, grumpy bunny rabbit.

I go to push the quilt away, but he stops me again.

“I’m beginning to think you don’t want me to leave this bed, which would be awesome if you were going to get back into it with me.” I waggle my eyebrows. “Do you have time for a quickie?”

“Sadly, no.”

“That’s a shame. But if you don’t let me get out of bed, you’re going to be late for a boring reason. Do you mind if I jump into your shower? I don’t think anyone on the bus will thank me if I get on it smelling of yesterday.”

“Stay.” His voice quivers.

“Huh?”

“You’re tired, and you don’t have to go anywhere. Stay.” He doesn’t sound any more convincing than he did the first time.

I get it. Erica did a total number on him. Letting me stay in his flat while he goes to work is a big deal. It’s a step I don’t want him to feel forced into just because I’m a bit sleepy.