Slowly, a new reasoning sneaks up. I can give her what she asked for. I can give her such a good experience in our short time together that she’ll know how a man should treat a woman. This way, she’ll steer clear of the jerks who come her way in the future.

I ignore the sour taste that fills my mouth at the thought of future jerks.

I’m staring at the ceiling when Autumn plasters herself to me. I wrap my arm around her naked back, and the feeling of her soft breasts crushing against my side has me shivering in the warm, cozy room.

“I…I couldn’t be with anyone in these four years,” I whisper into thin air, answering the question she’d asked before the start of the night.

But she surprises me with a drowsy kiss on my chest and mutters a sleepy “Thank you” before going back to sleep.

23. Autumn

23

AUTUMN

When I stretch out my feet, they don’t hit the cushioned couch arm, and that’s how I realize I’m sleeping on the bed. And that realization is soon followed by several more. Like I’m naked and not alone.

I turn around, making as little sound as possible, and come face to face with Lukas. He’s sleeping on his stomach, with one arm under his face. It’s the first time I’ve gotten such a close look at him. Okay, it would also have been last night. But I was too nervous then.

Right now, I’m no longer worried about my inexperience. I’ve crossed that bridge—in fact, we crossed it beautifully and with a bang.

A five o’clock shadow frames Lukas’ face. The way his chin rests on his arm, it makes the cleft on his chin more pronounced. He looks young in his sleep—younger than I’ve ever seen him.

His pink lips pucker, and I can’t believe I kissed them less than ten hours ago. In broad daylight, last night seems almost like a dream.

Thank God it wasn’t.

I mumble and Lukas’ eyelids flutter open, transitioning from the drowsy pretty boy to the daredevil Lukas Spencer. He throws off the covers and pulls a gun from the nightstand.

“What was that sound?” Lukas looks around.

“Why do you have a gun?” I ask at the same time.

“Sound, Autumn?”

“What sound?” I mutter sheepishly.

“Something like a…whine.” He looks at the gun and puts it back into the nightstand drawer, deciding a whine wasn’t a threat big enough for a gun.

My eyes graze his body, starting from his arm and to his chest, his perfect abs, and his morning wood in all its glory. That thing could put a tree trunk to shame.

Lukas tips my chin up and asks once again. “Was that you?”