I lift my head and look up into his eyes, giving him a tired smile. “That was amazing.” I run my fingers along his jaw then up and around his lips.

“That’s what I like to hear.” His tone is soft, along with his eyes, and I shake my head at his smugness.

“I’m in like with you,” I tell him, getting lost in his eyes.

“Yeah?” His eyebrow rises and he kisses my forehead. “I’m in a whole lotta like with you too, baby,” he says softly, pulling my head back down to his chest.

We sit there for a few more minutes before he stands us up, quickly rinses us off before turning off the shower, and then pulls a large towel out of the cabinet to wrap around me, getting one for himself off the hook on the back of the door. I watch as he dries his body, my mouth going dry as a tingle begins stirring in my core again.

“Stop looking at me like that.”

I jump and quickly look away at his words, feeling my cheeks pinken as I start to dry myself off. Hearing him laugh, I turn my head, looking over my shoulder.

His eyes drop to my ass and he shakes his head. “It’s gonna be a long night,” he mumbles.

I look down at his hard-on before lifting my eyes to his again.

He wasn’t wrong; it was a very long night.

Chapter 8

It’s Not Past Tense

I wake up when I feel lips touch my shoulder, a hand slide around my waist, and warmth hit my back. I smile into my pillow then roll over to face Kenton.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.” He pulls me up his body so I’m lying on his chest.

“Yes, you did.” I laugh, cuddling into him while breathing in his scent.

It’s been three weeks of us being an ‘us.’ At first, it was difficult living together plus being in a new relationship, but things have seem to have fallen into place. He’s still an ass every now and then, but he’s my ass.

The day after our first date, Kenton woke me up early, dragging me out of the bed and into the shower, where he proceeded to make love to me before telling me to get dressed because we had to go shopping. I got dressed in a pair of shorts and a light T-shirt before meeting him downstairs. I was exhausted, a little sore from being kept up the night before, and in no mood to go shopping, but he seemed so excited about it that I couldn’t exactly tell him that I hated shopping and to go alone.

When we got in his car, we headed to Nashville. I’d expected him to take us to the mall, but instead, he took us to a large furniture store.

“Why are we here?” I asked, looking at the store in front of us then over at him.

“I need a new bed,” he said, hopping out of the car.

My heart fell into my stomach. We had just had sex for the first time yesterday, and he was buying a new bed to leave mine already? I waited until he opened the door for me to get out. I wanted to claw his eyes out of his head for being such an ass, but instead, I swallowed down the hurt I was feeling, determined to find some other way to get back at him.

He took my hand in his, leading me inside the furniture store. A man in his mid-thirties with a bad comb-over and an even worse suit greeted us as soon as we entered the store. I looked around, trying to clear my head as Kenton and the guy spoke quietly.

When Kenton grabbed my hand, twining his fingers with mine, I was admiring a king-size bed with a canopy top. The set also came with beautiful side tables that were round in the middle with thin legs that curved out and a dresser and armoire that were similar. All the wood was dark with notches in it, making it look like it had just been chopped down in the forest. I could imagine a princess sleeping in that bed amongst the furniture.

“Do you like this one?” he asked.

I looked over at him then back at the bed. I could see him in it as well. The ruggedness of the wood was manly enough that the whimsical element to the design was toned down.

“It’s really nice,” I said softly, not knowing how I felt about picking out a bed that would basically guarantee that he wouldn’t be sleeping with me anymore.

“Is it something you would buy for your own room?”

“Yes,” I told him truthfully.

“Ralph, we’ll take this one.”

Ralph nodded and we followed him to the register, where he rang up the order. The whole set was over six thousand dollars, and Kenton pulled out his wallet, pulling out a shiny black card and handing it over to Ralph without even an ounce of regret on his face. When we were done, Ralph told us that he would have it delivered this afternoon.

When we left the furniture store, I thought for sure we would head home, but he drove us to a bedding and home goods store, leading me inside and right to the bedding department, telling me to pick something.

“What do you mean ‘pick something’? It’s your bed. You pick something,” I told him, crossing my arms over my chest in order to not punch him in the gut. My feelings were hurt. All I wanted to do was go home. I knew it was dumb, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t feel like crying about it.

“I need help,” he said, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

I bit my lip, looked around at every bedding set, and one caught my eye. It was white with a large design of a tree on it, and it had a green border that was made out of silk ribbon. I knew it would look amazing with his new bedroom furniture, but I also thought it was too feminine for a guy’s room. I walked over to the wall of blankets, grabbed a Bed in a Bag set that was mostly browns and blacks, and handed it to him. His eyes went from the bag to my face and then narrowed.

“What?” I asked, wondering what was wrong with the set I’d picked. I’d done what he’d asked me to, so what was his problem?

“You would have this in your room?”

“No, but this isn’t for my room,” I said, pointing at myself. “This is for your room.” I shrugged and started to walk away, but I was grabbed by the back of my jeans, and his hands slid along my stomach.

“Who do you think will be sleeping in my bed with me?” he asked against the shell of my ear. He’d found out the night before that that was a very weak spot for me.

“I don’t know,” I said, feeling stupid tears sting my nose. I didn’t want to think about anyone in his bed.

He turned me in his arms and I ducked my head, not wanting him to see the emotions I was sure were written all over my face.

“What’s going on?” His concerned voice caused my eyes to lift. I shook my head and started to look away, but his hand cupped my cheek, forcing me to look at him. “You’re the most difficult woman I have ever met.” He shook his head and started to laugh. My eyes narrowed, and he looked over my face before laughing harder.