Rolling over, I hugged the pillow next to me. It smelled like Jared, and I took in a deep breath. His scent was incredible—like line-dried laundry, soap and something else…the way it smells when it’s about to rain?—I couldn’t put my finger on it.

The only rooms upstairs were his bedroom and a closed door to what was likely the master bath. The far wall beyond the end of the bed wasn’t a wall at all, only a metal railing.

I heard Jared’s voice speaking to someone else in French downstairs. His company’s voice was distinctly female. They argued in hushed tones, and in my limited knowledge of French I thought I heard Jared reprimand the woman for waking me.

This piqued my interest, so I tiptoed to the railing to steal a glance at the woman below. When my fingers met the metal bar, I saw that Jared and Claire were both looking up at me. I waved sheepishly and bit my lip, feeling foolish for trying to sneak up on celestial beings.

“Good morning, sweetheart.” Jared said, almost crooning.

Claire’s expression was the polar opposite of Jared’s. She glared up at me with ice blue eyes, as if she wanted to scale the wall with murder in mind. I recoiled, suddenly feeling out of place.

While avoiding her eyes, I noticed crisply folded bedding at the end of the couch. Jared had slept downstairs.

“If you’d like to shower, fresh clothes are on the dresser. You’ll find everything you need,” Jared called up to me.

On the dresser sat a neatly folded stack of clothes, and beside them a pair of boots. My eyes darted to the opposite side of the dresser where my toiletries sat. They were all from my dorm room.

“Where did you get these?”

“I had Claire bring them,” Jared explained, making his way up the stairs. When he reached the top, he pulled me to him and kissed my neck.

I glanced down to Claire, who hadn’t ceased her death stare. It was clearly more than intimidation. If Jared hadn’t been near, I would have been afraid for my life.

“Don’t worry about her. She won’t bother you,” he assured me as he pulled me away from the railing. “Did you sleep well?”

His face was positively lit up; I couldn’t recall seeing him quite so cheerful.

“I must have. I don’t remember anything after we sat on the couch.”

I ran my hands over his light blue t-shirt, letting my fingers glide over the perfect highs and lows of his chest and abdomen. He was incredible. I’d seen plenty of physiques like his on posters, commercials for exercise equipment and movies, but never in person; certainly never within my grasp.

Jared tightened his arms around me. “I was careful not to wake you. You’re so peaceful when you sleep.”