“Crowe.”

“You got nothin’ to worry about,” he repeated.

“I don’t think –”

“Shut up, Jules.”

It was my turn for my brows to knit over narrowed eyes. “Seriously, for the last time, don’t tell me to shut up.”

Crowe ignored my attitude, stepped away from me and looked around the room.

“Why are we standin’ in the kitchen?” he asked.

I blinked at him, not keeping up. I thought we had begun to bicker. I kind of liked bickering with him. His question threw me.

“What?” I asked.

“Lots of better places for us to be,” was his answer.

Then before I could reply, he leaned down, put a shoulder in my belly, a hand at my wrist and an arm around my thighs and lifted, wrapping me around his neck. He turned and started walking toward the hall.

I shouted, “Crowe!” as if I minded him carrying me to bed.

Um.

Hardly.

I didn’t mind at all.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chopped Liver

I woke up to heavy kitty footfalls on my body.

I felt Vance’s warmth against my back, his body spooning mine, his forearm resting just below my waist.

I decided this was my Number One Most Favorite Sleeping Position with Vance and I was looking forward to ranking alternates.

Boo walked back and forth across Vance and me. I could tell he was doing this because his kitty feet would leave me and then come back to me a lot further down or up my body.

I opened my eyes. It was still dark, nigh on winter so the days were short but I knew it was too early for Boo Breakfast.

When Boo was four-footed on my body, I did a jerk, he lost his position and slid clumsily down my belly with an angry, “Meow!”

I wrapped an arm around him and tucked him into my body. He started purring loudly.

“Would you break up with me if I killed your cat?” Vance’s sleepy-rough voice sounded against the back of my neck.

“Probably.”

Vance’s arm moved, his hand sliding up my belly, midriff, then came to rest cupping my breast.

I was wrong, there was only a subtle change but this was my Number One Most Favorite Sleeping Position with Vance.

* * * * *

I woke up again and it was later. I didn’t know how much later but I instinctively knew there wasn’t much time before the alarm went.

I rolled to my belly, dislodging Boo and Vance’s arm. Vance moved automatically, falling to his back. I turned into him, ready to say something but when I lifted up on my elbows I realized he was still asleep.

I wished I could turn on a light. I’d never seen him asleep. He was always up before or with me.

I studied him. There was something about him asleep from what I could see in the near-dark, he seemed almost… boyish.

God, I wanted to kiss him as in really wanted to kiss him.

This gave me pause for reflection. Not as to why I’d want to kiss him because that was obvious but as to why I didn’t. He was my boyfriend (or whatever). We were exclusive. He was sleeping in my bed. We’d had incredible sex not seven hours earlier.

Why not? Why couldn’t I kiss him?

So I kissed him.

Not a full-on, full tongue, let’s-have-sex-right-now kiss but I touched my lips to his.

When I pulled back, his eyes were open.

“Good morning,” I said and smiled.

He stared at me and he didn’t look boyish anymore.

Um.

Maybe I shouldn’t have kissed him.

As he kept staring at me, my smile began to fade.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake –” I started.

Then he moved, arms going around me, body rolling in to me, thigh pressing between my legs, mouth on mine.

His kiss was a full-on, full tongue, we’re-going-to-have-sex-right-now kiss and I responded. I had no choice however if I was given one I’d have said yes.

He was all over me and it became clear very quickly he wasn’t in the mood for me to be all over him. I figured this out because he eventually pinned my hands to the bed, his at my wrists and he did magnificent things to my mouth, neck and br**sts with his mouth and tongue and, shockingly but very effectively, with his teeth.

When I was making noises I couldn’t control and struggling at his hands in order to touch him, he went lower, letting my wrists go so he could spread my legs then his mouth was there.

Yay! My brain screamed.

My hands slid into his hair, his hands tilted my h*ps and very shortly after I was panting, rocketing to Grade Ten with my entire body on fire and enjoying the ride.

“Vance,” I whispered, coming close.

He kept going and my rocket ride kept ascending.

“Vance,” I breathed before I hit the stratosphere, dazzled by the stars and Vance came up over me. I was still flying high when he rolled us, him on his back, me on top. He pulled up my knees so I was astride him, came up with me and reached to the shelf, nabbing a condom.

“I’ll do it,” I whispered, still breathing heavily.

“Quiet.”

Obviously he didn’t feel like playing around. One second he was tearing the packet open with his white teeth, the next second he was inside me.

My head fell back.

He rolled again, him on top of me but not for very long. He kept my legs bent, lifted up his torso, coming to his knees, he pulled up my h*ps and drove into me. The whole time he moved inside me, he was watching me and I was watching him.

Even though he was far away, the intimacy of our connection, the beauty of him, the way he was watching me with that fierce “mine” look on his face overwhelmed me and although I’d descended to a Grade Six or Seven after my orgasm, it started coming over me again.

It was helped when his hand took mine, moving it between us so I could feel him sliding inside me then his fingers pressed mine deep, just at the right spot and manipulated them. It didn’t take long before I let go, saying his name again.

* * * * *

While Vance went to the bathroom, I laid in bed thinking that I’d spend my newly-free evenings trying to learn how to knit so I could make Vance sweaters.

I was mentally designing a sexy turtleneck when the alarm sounded. I rolled over and slapped the off button, rolled back and cuddled into the pillows.

Boo said, “Meow,” which meant “Breakfast.”

“Not now, Boo, Mommy just had two orgasms. She’s recovering.”

Boo was not impressed with this new and unusual excuse and gave me a kitty pouty face.

Vance came back and curled me into his arms, full frontal, thigh pressing between my legs so I was forced to wrap one around his hip.