For the second time today, I wake up in Hendrick’s bed. This time he’s in it with me and someone is knocking on the door.
“What do you want?” He barks in a deep rumble as he sits up and runs a hand through his messy hair. It’s sticking up everywhere. Probably because a wild woman had her fingers in it last night.
The knocking continues, forcing Hendrick to get up and answer the door.
He adjusts himself in his sweats before pulling it open. An amused Archer stands on the other side. “You’re alive.”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” Hendrick asks. He holds the door so his brother can’t see inside, but I nuzzle farther down in the warm sheets anyway.
“Uh. Maybe because it’s lunchtime and you’re still in bed. Your phone has been going off nonstop.”
Lunchtime?! I glance over at the window. At the edge of the blackout curtains is a small strip of sunlight. Crap. If it’s really that late, that means I missed both my morning classes.
I don’t hear the rest of what they say, but a few seconds later, Hendrick shuts the door and turns around to face me. He has his cell phone in hand. Archer must have brought it to him.
“Morning.” He crooks one arm behind his head to rub his neck. My stomach flips at this messy, rumpled version of my protector.
“Hi.” I sit up, feeling shier than I did last night while he went down on me. I knew where we stood then, but not now. “Is everything okay?”
I tip my head toward his phone. He glances down at it before replying. “It’s just Logan checking in about the email.”
And just like that, the real world pops my happy bubble. A knot forms in the pit of my stomach. “Does he know who sent it?”
“No.” Hendrick’s mouth pulls into a tight line. “Proving harder than expected to pin down who was using the computer at the time.”
“Oh.” I pull my knees up to my chest under the sheets. I knew that we weren’t going to wake up today and suddenly all my problems would be fixed, and Hendrick and I could just pretend that we’re two regular people that hooked up last night, but I thought there’d be time for more of all that before we went back to business as usual.
He’s my bodyguard. His priority is keeping me safe. He’s always been clear about that. And I have a pretty good idea that he’s about to remind me that he can’t do his job if we’re sleeping together. Still, I force myself to ask, “So what now?”
He sets his phone on the dresser and then grabs the T-shirt I was wearing last night off the floor. Leaning down, Hendrick covers my mouth with his in a quick kiss. “Well, you already missed your morning classes, so I guess we get dressed and have breakfast. I’m starving.”
“But what about . . .” I trail off as a giddiness replaces the fear. Did he not understand what I was asking? “What about everything that happened last night? Where does that leave us? Should we set new rules?”
“I think we’re a little beyond rules now, don’t you?”
“Really?” I let the sheet fall away and get to my knees on the bed. “I thought I was going to have to fire you again.”
One side of his mouth hitches up higher. He gives my naked body a slow, appreciative once-over and then pulls the T-shirt over my head before kissing me again. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
He pulls back with a little slap to my butt. “I’m gonna shower and then call Logan. When you’re ready, we can go grab something to eat before your sociology class.”
“Okay.”
I wait until he’s gone to let out the happy squeal burning my lungs. Then I quickly get dressed in jeans and throw on a sweatshirt over Hendrick’s old college T-shirt. He is already showered and on the phone when I come out of the room. I slip into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth, and I pull my hair up into a ponytail.
Some of my earlier shyness returns when I walk into the living room. Archer and Brogan look up from their matching giant bowls of noodles.
“Hi.” I wave and stand awkwardly next to the chair Hendrick’s sitting in. His brothers watch us carefully, so I do my best not to touch him or seem overly friendly. They obviously know we slept together in the same bed, but Hendrick doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who wants people in his business.
“Have a good time last night?” Brogan asks me with a smile.
“At the party,” Archer adds.
They’re both grinning at me, and I want to disappear back into the bedroom to wait for Hendrick. Deciding that’s exactly what I should do, I open my mouth to make my excuses, but Hendrick reaches up and places one hand at my waist and then guides me down onto his lap.
My cheeks flush as he holds me tightly around the waist and continues talking to Logan on the phone.
Something about him claiming me in front of his brothers has all the awkwardness dissipating, and a real smile takes over my face. I aim it at Archer and Brogan. “Yeah. I had a really good time.”
