“I’m really tired,” I said.
“Come, let’s get you dressed then,” he said, turning the water off.
He talked me into resting on the couch for a bit with him before he had to go back downstairs for his meetings that afternoon. I laid down between him and the back of the couch, laying across his chest so I’d be plenty warm. I tried to stay awake as long as I could, but I think I lasted all of one minute once his fingers started playing with my still damp curls.
I woke up later, still laying across his chest. He was snoring softly, his arms wrapped around me. I lifted my head to look at him, which caused him to wake up. He looked down at me, smiling. “Feel better after your nap?” he asked.
I looked out the windows, noticing it was sometime in the afternoon. I nodded. “Why didn’t you’ wake me up? What about your meetings this afternoon?” I asked.
“The guys came up to check on you after you fell asleep. I had Viktor push everything to tomorrow. I didn’t want to leave you,” he said, pushing a stray curl back from my eyes.
“They came up here and I didn’t wake up?” I asked, surprised.
He chuckled. “They were here for like an hour or more and you didn’t wake up.”
“Oh,” I said, completely surprised that I had slept through that.
“Adrenaline crashes are no joke, solnishko. We’ve all been there. They were concerned about you, then they were concerned you were going to have nightmares when they found out you were sleeping. I showed them how you play piano on my chest when you’re happy sleeping.” He had one of my curls and was twirling it around his finger as he talked.
“I do what?”
“You play piano on my chest. Your fingers move in a rhythmic pattern, like you’re playing songs, when you’re happy sleeping. You also make a cooing noise when I run my fingers through your hair. It makes you snuggle into me more every single time. Not gonna lie, I do it a lot,” he said, running his fingers through my hair, making goosebumps rise over my entire body.
“It’s probably because you give me goosebumps when you do it,” I said, grinning at him,
“It’s one of my favorite things,” he said, kissing my forehead.
“You’re my favorite thing,” I said, wrapping my arms around him tighter, resting my head on his chest again. I heard him inhale deeply.
My stomach chose that moment to announce that she was feeling ignored. We both laughed at how obnoxiously loud my stomach was.
“You haven’t eaten since this morning. It’s also a side effect of the adrenaline crash. You feel like you could eat a house,” he said as we got up from the couch.
I stretched, my stomach growling loudly again. “Or two, apparently,” I said, laughing.
He grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the kitchen. “Come, we got you Vinny’s.”
This really is true love. It’s official,” I said, hugging him tightly as we walked toward the kitchen.
Sephie
“Are you up for some company?” Adrik asked after I inhaled my sandwich.
“The guys are still worried?” I asked, smiling.
“All of them but Andrei. He’s probably got a new training plan made out for you already, but he does want to make sure you’re okay with everything before he starts it.” He couldn’t help but laugh.
“Bubba loves being my trainer. He’s good at his job, too.” I smiled to myself thinking about Andrei being excited for starting new things in my training. “Tell them they can come over. I don’t want to be responsible for any of them sleeping poorly tonight.”
It wasn’t five minutes later and they all walked into the penthouse.
“You guys have been waiting for me to wake up, haven’t you?” I asked as they walked into the kitchen.
“Maybe,” Stephen said, wrapping his arms around my shoulders from behind. He squeezed my shoulders, surprising me by kissing my cheek. Stephen was the least affectionate of the guys, normally. He took a while to warm up to me, but it seems like since he was able to tell the guys what’s he’s been holding back all this time, he’s gotten more comfortable in his own skin. I was happy to see it.
“Did you eat yet, spider monkey?” Andrei asked.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.