I giggled. “You’re a perv.”

“I’m just speaking the truth.” His mouth closed over a tip and his tongue did wicked, delightful things. “Best damn birthday gift I’ve ever gotten.”

“Seth—”

He moved up, swiftly and with startling precision. His mouth closed over mine, cutting off my words. Wasn’t complaining, not when his tongue moved along mine. Not when my chest was suddenly flattened against his. And definitely not when he did this thing with his hips, rolling them into the perfect spot that really, really made me want to bypass the scenic route and get right to the promised land.

I lifted my leg, draping it over his as I lifted my hips, following his lead. Seth moaned into my mouth, a hot masculine sound that sent a rush of sensations pounding through my body. His hips moved again, and I thought maybe this morning, because it was his birthday, we’d—

The alarm on the nightstand went off, shrill and jarring. It screamed that it was time to get up and get to training.

Seth lifted his mouth and groaned. “Damn.”

My grip in his hair tightened. “We can ignore it.”

“That would make me a very bad trainer if we did,” he replied, his lips brushing over mine. “And I’m trying to be a very good trainer.”

“It’s your birthday,” I reasoned. “We can get a late start.”

His palm brushed over the tip of my breast. “Not a good enough reason.”

“It’s Monday.”

He chuckled. “Josie.”

“What? That’s a damn good enough reason.”

Seth kissed me as he pulled the straps of my top up. I was officially shut down. “You’ve improved in the last couple of weeks, but you still have a lot of work to do.”

I started to frown. “Gee. Thanks.”

Laughing, he rolled off and swung his legs over the bed, standing. He did this with such little effort and with so much grace that I wanted to throat punch him. “Get that sweet ass up and ready. Time to get to work.”

I lurched out of the bed, moving like a slightly high Godzilla. “Just because you’re a Pollyanna, Sethie, doesn’t mean you can boss me around.”

He shot me a bland look. “Apollyon, Joe. Repeat after me. Apollyon.”

I grinned.

His eyes narrowed. “You drive me crazy.”

Sidestepping him, I looked over my shoulder as I headed to the small adjoining bathroom. “In a good way?”

“Undecided.”

“Ass.”

Seth’s lips curved up on one corner, making him look downright wicked. He was lucky it was his birthday, so I was going to let the whole “Joe” thing slide. I opened the bathroom door.

“Josie?”

“What?” I turned, startled to find him standing right in front of me. I still couldn’t get over how quickly and quietly he could move.