WITH THE CURTAINS drawn, the room was still dark when I woke the next morning. Somehow Preston had managed to turn himself sideways in his sleep so that his head was on my stomach and his feet were close to dangling off the side of the bed.
My lips quirked as I watched his back rise and fall with slow, heavy breaths. I didn’t know how that position was comfortable, but it felt good to have any kind of contact. I didn’t need my own side of the bed when I was with someone, and Preston curling up to me in any way was a welcome thing.
I fought the urge to run my fingers through his hair as I watched him sleep, not wanting to wake him just yet. It still felt early, like we’d only just fallen asleep after spending hours tangled up in each other. Preston’s words played in my mind, that it was one of the best nights of his life, and though I hadn’t said it at the time, I felt the same. He made me feel alive, like before him I’d only been going through the motions. I thought I’d been doing all right, staying busy with work and the Elysium, especially since Serena moved out, but I realized now that I’d been missing something vital.
Preston.
I’d even moved around my schedule to work from the suite today instead of going into the office, something I never did.
And Preston—
I sat up with a gasp, reaching for my phone on the nightstand to check the time. Preston groaned as he slid from his position on my stomach. Groggy eyes looked up at me.
“What’s wrong?” he murmured, curling up beside me on his own pillow.
Blinking, I did a double take at the time. I never slept in, and the clock read a little after nine thirty. “Shit, you have to go. What time’s your first class?”
In all my awesome planning, I’d neglected to remember that he had to go to school.
Oh my God. It still wasn’t clicking that I was spending time with someone in college.
Preston’s eyes stayed closed as he lay on his side and reached out to pull me closer. “Doesn’t matter. Come here.”
“Yes, it fucking matters. You’re not missing school for me.”
Those words made me cringe, but they were the truth.
“Too late,” Preston said, running his hand up my chest.
I caught his wrist. “Absolutely not. You’re going.”
“I’ve already got it covered.”
“How?”
“I have someone in each class taking notes. It’s fine.” He tried to pull me down to him again, but I resisted.
“Preston, if we’re going to do this, you can’t skip school, or this ends.”
His eyes opened. Finally, I’d gotten through, or at least I thought I had until—
“You’re skipping work.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Really? I didn’t see any fancy suits hanging up in the closet.”
“That’s because I’ll be working remotely while I’m here, something that’s not an option for you.”
“Ah, right.” Preston dropped his arm and rolled to his back. “You’re the boss.”
The way he said it told me that he was annoyed I was trying to be the boss…of him?
I sighed. “Preston—”
“No, I get it, but here’s the thing. I never skip class. I never do anything I actually want to do, because I’m too busy doing what I should. So if I want to take a day off to spend with you, then that’s my choice. My decision. Not yours.”
When he put it that way, I couldn’t resist his logic. But it still didn’t mean I wanted to encourage bad decisions.
“All right,” I said, lying back down on my side to face him. I reached for his chin, turning him to look at me. “I won’t say another word about today. But let’s not make this a habit. And yes, I’m talking to myself too.”
Preston nodded, and I relaxed, wrapping an arm around his waist, pulling him back into me. I pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “I guess that means you’re stuck spending the day with me. Whatever shall we do?”
“I can think of a few things. I thought you had to work remotely, though?”
I shrugged. “If you can skip a day, then I can too.”
Excitement lit his eyes. “Really?”
“Really. So, what did you have in mind?”
“Hmm.” Preston pursed his lips, making them impossible to resist, but he put a hand to my chest before things got out of control. “Why, Mr. Carrington. I wasn’t suggesting we take the day off so we could spend it in bed.”
I rocked my hips against his, loving the feel of his hard body as it molded to mine. “No? Because it sure feels as though you like the idea.”
“What kind of boy do you think I am?”
I lowered my head until my lips were by his ear. “A naughty one who skips school and wakes up naked in older men’s beds.”
He gave an unrepentant grin as he surged up and rolled me to my back. “Only one man’s bed. But yes”—he wriggled around, making me groan—“he’s definitely naked.”
I grabbed his hips, stilling him before we really did end up spending the day here. “What do you want to do?”
“Do you ice-skate?”
Of all the things I’d expected him to say, that was literally the last. “Ice-skate?”
“Yeah. You know, where you strap blades to your feet and try to stay upright on a rink made of ice.”
“Thanks for the breakdown, but no. I don’t ice-skate.”
A look of pure shock crossed Preston’s features. “Ever?”
“Since I was at least in my twenties.”
“Really? But you live in New York, and it’s so much fun.”
“Yes, but broken bones are not. Especially when you’re in your forties.”
“Oh my God.” Preston rolled his eyes and hopped off me, grabbing the robe from the end of the bed. “You need to stop acting like you’re ancient.”
“Ancient?” I sat up against the headboard and tried not to grimace at my weary muscles. “I do not think I’m ancient, thank you very much. But with age comes an understanding of my limits, and—”
“I wore you out last night.”
I opened my mouth, about to protest, but then admitted, “Let’s just say I’m not too keen about the idea of trying to balance on razor-sharp blades.”
“Archerrr.”
I sighed and swung my legs over the bed, and when I got to my feet and Preston’s eyes roamed over my naked body, I hooked my finger in the belt of his robe and drew him in close. “You really want to go ice-skating?”
Preston looped his arms around my neck and nodded. “I really do.”
“Then let’s go ice-skating.”
The smile that spread across his lips lit up the room and warmed my heart, and I wondered if there was anything I wouldn’t give him in that moment to keep him smiling at me like that forever.
THE WIND WAS biting today as we stepped outside of the Plaza and headed toward the end of the block, making our way into Central Park. We’d bundled up in our scarves, coats, and gloves, but somehow the chill still managed to make it through all those layers.
I glanced to where Preston was walking close by—but not actually touching me. Both of us had decided we knew too many people in the city to risk the exposure. But knowing he was there with me, and how we’d spent last night, was enough for right now.
It had to be.
“Just so I know how embarrassed I’m going to be out there, do you do this a lot?” I asked.
Preston glanced at me, his eyes twinkling as we made our way through the park, making sure to keep out of the way of any joggers or cyclists.
“I make sure to get down here a couple of times each winter. I like Wollman Rink or the one in Bryant Park much better than Rockefeller. It’s smaller and gets way too packed. Especially around Christmas.”
“So what you’re saying is, I’m about to look like an absolute fool.”
“Is that what I’m saying?” Preston chuckled. “Why not look at it like—if you fall, I’ll be right there to catch you.”
I stopped in my tracks, and the horrified expression on my face made Preston laugh. “That is not making me feel better.”
“Really? I thought it was kind of cute.” He leaned in and said under his breath, “The idea of you falling for me.”
“On my ass?”
“Well, I said I’d catch you.” The slight quirk of his lips told me he was finding my apprehension far too amusing. “You know, this might be the first thing I’ve found that you’re not good at.”
I scoffed. “And that makes you happy?”
“Not happy. It’s just nice to know you have some flaws.”
“Trust me, I have plenty.”
“Really? Could’ve fooled me. From where I’m standing”—Preston made a show of giving me a thorough once-over—“you are pretty much perfection.”
Damn he was good for my ego. “I’m not perfect.”
“Uh huh, well, tell that to all the single men—and women—in New York. You’re a catch, and that pretty much makes you perfect.”
I cocked my head to the side, trying to decide if he was being serious or messing with me. “Just because I’m single—”
“And good looking.”
I snorted. “—and so good looking, doesn’t mean I’m a catch.”
“Yes it does.” Preston eyed me with a wicked grin. “And if they knew how good you were in bed?” He whistled.
I reached out and shoved him in the arm. “Stop it.”
“Okay, but seriously, why are you single?”
“Other than today, I’m a bit of a workaholic, if you haven’t noticed.”
“Oh, I noticed. I just figured if you were with someone you wouldn’t be.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I haven’t really been looking.”
Preston arched a brow. “So you’re blaming the fact that you, New York’s most eligible bachelor, are single because you’re a workaholic, yet somehow I managed to convince you to take a day off to go ice-skating?”
“In all fairness, you were naked and straddling me when you asked.”
“So all it takes is a… What did you call me? A pretty young thing stroking your cock?”
Giggles broke out behind us as a couple of women in running gear overheard. Once they passed by, I shot Preston a look.
“Really?”
He smiled, utterly unrepentant. “Was I wrong?”
As the rink came into view, I shook my head, because no, he wasn’t. What was it about him that had me willing to go out of my comfort zone and actually enjoy it?
“Well, just so you know,” he said. “I’m flattered.”
With that bright smile still on his face, he brushed his hand against mine, and the urge to link my fingers with his was overwhelming. Caution held me back, though, because even with the people we knew at work or in school, I really didn’t want an unwelcome surprise like Jacques last night.
I had to shove my hands in the pockets of my coat so I didn’t touch him, but before he could even look disappointed at that, I bumped his shoulder with mine.
“Come on. Let’s see how many times you’ll have to catch me.”
“You’re playing hooky to be with me,” Preston said smugly. “Looks like I already have.”
