Page 21 of Unwritten Rules

It doesn’t matter how many times we innocently slept side-by-side before; this is now – and everything’s changed. I can pretend all I like, but he knows now that my feelings run deeper than just friendship, and I wish with all my might that I could rewind to that night so I could take it back.

So that I could continue to have the part of him that he’d so easily shared with me before I’d misread signs that were in no way there.

Dropping my gaze from his, I tip my chin to acknowledge the unspoken words between us before sliding over onto my right side to cuddle tight to my Mitzi whilst facing away from him.

“Night,” I call over my shoulder.

His response is a deep murmur as I slide my hands under my cheek. Despite the emotion roiling inside me, it takes no time before sleep has again enveloped me in its lush embrace.

* * *

The first thing I register is the heat. The second is the heavy weight on my hipbone, making me tilt my head down to spy the sexiest fucking hand known to woman resting on me.

Somehow, at some point in the night, Nate must have slipped in beside me – though I have positively zero recollection of when or why this happened.

His inimitable scent, simultaneously comforting and arousing, surrounds me. And, at the same time, a feeling of absolute contentment like I’ve not felt in months imbues me. His deep, even breathing indicates that he’s still fast asleep.

I impulsively decide to grab this unexpected gift with both hands, so I burrow back against his hard body. However, I come to an immediate and unexpected halt when my legging-covered ass nestles back against him, coming right up against an unmistakable, positively gigantic morning boner.

“Ooh!” My eyes pop open wide, and I clamp my lips together tightly when my whispered exclamation sounds thunderous in the stillness of my bedroom.

Although I would love nothing so much as to lie here in this delicious untruth, I know things will be awkward when he wakes if we remain entangled. Finally, after several slow minutes of edging out from under his hold, I feel his hand drop from my hip onto the bed at my back.

But he gives me no time to allow the disappointment I feel at the loss of his touch to course through my body. Hell no!

He surprises the hell out of me when he nuzzles closer, his hand slowly running along my hip, up my side and gently cupping my breast.

His soft, even breathing skates across the nape of my neck, telling me he’s still asleep, but damn if my body isn’t screaming out for his touch.

“Mmm, you feel good, baby.”

My heart rate speeds up, and goosebumps break out across my entire body as a kaleidoscope of butterflies swarms to life in my stomach. Is he awake?

Oh, please, be awake!

The palm gripping my breast tightens, sending a zing of awareness straight to my core. Nate squeezes softly once, then twice, and on the third pass, his thumb and forefinger unerringly find my rock-hard nipple.

My body moves of its own volition, arching my back so that my ass grinds against his hard-on. At the same time, his hand alternates between gently caressing and roughly squeezing my aching breasts.

His groan of pleasure when he pumps his hips against mine is too much, and I’m entirely helpless to stop the low moan that escapes my throat, the sound filling the silence of the room.

Abruptly, his body stiffens, and sheer disappointment fills my chest before he ever utters a word. I’m an idiot who still hasn’t gotten the clue. He just doesn’t see me that way.

My heart sinks at the thought that he’s obviously dreaming of whoever he’s been screwing in Surrey.

Fuck’s sake, Mila. How many ways does he have to drive it home?

So, rather than wait to be confronted with an apology – because that’s who Nate is; above all else, he’s a gentleman – I stretch my arms above my head and go the denial route.

“Good morning, Nathaniel!” Affecting my most easy-breezy tone, I shift on the bed over onto my back, rolling my head across the pillow to face him. “How did you—”

I stop dead in my tracks, my words fizzling into nothing in my throat.

His black pupils are fixed on me with an unrivalled intensity. His jaw is clenched so tightly that I think he may just chip a tooth. And his body is vibrating with some barely concealed emotion I have never witnessed from him before.

I swallow roughly, eyes bugging out of my head before he speaks hoarsely.

“You were crying.”