I wake up with his arms around me.
This is the first time Daniel has ever spent the night, and it’s the first time we’ve done nothing but sleep beside each other.
We edited side by side for half the night, complaining about an author’s penchant for overusing the phrase he ministered at her pussy to describe oral sex (“What does that even mean?” “I don’t know, but I’m terrified to find out.”). When we finished, all we could do was set our computers aside and pass out, tangled together.
I’m the little spoon, clutched tight to him, with his palm pressed against my belly. He has a knee between mine, and each of his soft breaths stirs my hair. I never want to move from this position, but the clock says it’s just after seven, and if he wants to go home to change before heading into the office, then we need to get up. Still, it doesn’t stop me from savoring it for a few more minutes, imagining a life where I could wake up like this every morning.
I want it more than I care to admit.
Before I can wake him, he starts to move. The arm around my waist tightens for an instant, then slacks. Instead of pulling away like I expect, he slides his hand down my stomach, strokes my hip and thigh, then works his way back to the curve beneath my ribs.
“I know you’re awake,” he murmurs, pressing gentle kisses to my shoulder through my T-shirt.
I roll over so we’re facing each other and throw my leg over his hip. I press as close to him as possible, meeting his sleepy brown gaze. “You stayed.”
A smile pulls at the corner of his mouth. His jaw is covered with more stubble than I’ve seen before. “I wasn’t interested in getting on the train at four a.m.” He dips his head to nuzzle my neck, drawing a contented sigh from me. “And maybe I wanted to know what it was like to sleep next to you.”
“Thoughts? Comments? Concerns?” I prompt, grinning. “I value all feedback.”
“Such a fool,” he chuckles.
I run my fingertips up and down his back, savoring the feel of his warm skin under his shirt. “Mm, first I’m oblivious, then I’m shameless, and now I’m a fool? You sure like your derogatory words to describe me.”
“They all suit you. And they’re always said with love.”
With one finger, I trace an I, an L, and a Y at the nape of his neck, then sink my fingers into his hair. “With love, huh?” I question softly with my heart in my throat, searching his eyes, waiting for him to take the words back.
But he doesn’t. He doesn’t look away, just meets my gaze full-on, long lashes sweeping his cheeks as he finally blinks. “Plenty of it.”
He leans in and presses his forehead to mine, doubling down. These are big words, scary words, thrown lightly and landing hard.
“What are we doing, Daniel?” I whisper, so vulnerable that I feel small in his arms.
He presses a delicate kiss to the corner of my mouth. “Making ourselves happy.”
It’s more than that, we both know it. But for now, this is what we’ll settle for. It’s enough. Though for how much longer, I’m not sure.
My phone alarm beeps, breaking the moment, and I reluctantly roll away to shut it off. It’s time for us to start the day, to face reality—one where we’re Selene and Daniel individually, but we can’t be Selene and Daniel together.
Yesterday’s concerns haven’t magically gone away. I still worry that I’ll give our relationship away to people who can’t know just yet. As we’ve already agreed, though, it’s worth the risk.
“If I wasn’t still too sore, I’d ask you to join me in the shower,” I tell him as I slip out of bed. I throw both hands up and stretch, my body still attempting to recover from what he put it through.
“Probably for the best that you are. Otherwise, we’d both be late for work.” He gets up as well and rounds the bed to kiss the top of my head. “I’m going to run home and shower. I’ll see you at the office.”
“Yeah,” I say as he gathers up his things. “See you there.”
He flashes me one last gentle smile before leaving.
I stare at the door for a few seconds after he’s gone, just breathing.
It’s going to be a long day.
Daniel beats me to the office.
It looks like everyone is already here, gathered in the largest conference room around the table. I check my phone. I’m only a couple of minutes late, and there are no Slack notifications on the screen, so I couldn’t have missed anything too important.
“Selene,” Nikki calls out, leaning around the conference room door. “Get your butt in here.”
I drop my bag by one of the long tables and slowly make my way over. Uneasy, I slip into the room with the rest of the production and acquisitions team. I freeze when Daniel moves to me, though he’s careful to stand a respectful distance away.
“I have a surprise for you,” he says, motioning to the table.
The crowd parts, and I spot it: a large cardboard box.
I eye him suspiciously. “Is it full of snakes?”
Nikki, Ella, and Zoe laugh around me, but I can’t stop staring at Daniel.
“Close,” he says, fighting a smile. But the sparkle in his eyes betrays him. “Open it.”
An excited Jim passes me a box cutter, and I make my way over to the table. I slice through the tape on the top of the box and gingerly unfold the flaps. And when I peer inside, all my breath leaves me.
The box is filled with books. My books.
“Surprise,” Daniel says from beside me, a little closer this time. “These proof copies arrived this morning. As soon as you approve them, I’ll tell our distributor they can go up for sale. We’ll start the advertising push immediately.”
I’m speechless. I knew Daniel was working on making this happen, but as I reach into the box and see my name on the front cover, I nearly have to pinch myself.
“I—I don’t—” I stammer, staring at the paperback in my hands. “Holy shit.”
“Holy shit is right!” Jim exclaims, bumping Daniel out of the way so he can pull a copy from the box. “I never thought I’d see these, but Daniel convinced me it was a step in the right direction for Naiad.”
“Did he?” I murmur, my eyes finding him again.
Jim nods. “Absolutely. You’ve got a real fighter in your corner, Selene.”
“Yeah,” I say. “I’m beginning to see that.”
Eventually, after a round of congratulations, everyone files out of the conference room. Mine will be the first of the physical Naiad-published books, but more of our catalog will be rolling out over the coming months. It really is a major development. Not just for me, but for the entire company. We’re about to reach a wider audience, and there’s definitely risk involved. This new endeavor could tank. But Daniel discussed the positive implications with all of us, and for the moment, my excitement outweighs my trepidation.
Daniel and I are the last in the room. The wall behind us is glass, and anyone could see us if they looked over, but I still stand shoulder to shoulder with him, staring down at the book I can’t let go of.
“Thank you,” I tell him softly. “Really.”
He reaches over to put his hand on mine. To anyone watching, it looks like he’s trying to take the book from me. “You deserve this and more.”
“Guess we’ll have to see how sales go,” I say, wishing I could lean over and throw my arms around his neck. “If they bomb, let’s pretend this never happened.”
He chuckles. “They won’t. Like you’ve been telling me for years, people want your books on their shelves.”
“Shit, now I guess I have to write more,” I joke, daring to glance at him from the corner of my eye. “My dream is to fill up a full shelf.”
“How wide of a shelf are we talking?” Daniel teases. “If it’s huge, you better stop talking and get back to writing.”
“Let’s start with a narrow one. Writing all this other content for Naiad keeps me busy enough.”
He watches me, searching. “You plan to keep doing it?”
I nod. “For as long as I can hold out. Stressful as it is, I really do love my job. It kind of feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you know?”
“That’s true,” he agrees. “If by once in a lifetime, you mean you could easily do the same thing at JotNote or any of our competitors.”
I snicker and elbow him in the ribs. “Dick. I was trying to be sentimental, but of course you had to ruin it.”
“That’s what I’m best at.” He hands the book back, leaving me to look at him full-on.
And, yep, there it is, my heart skipping a beat. Because I am undeniably head over heels for this man.
“Congratulations, Selene. Enjoy this.”
