Besides, not spending the night in this case was really him leaving me after we fell asleep together for a few hours and then woke up to that delightful half-awake sex, you know, when you’re barely conscious but your body has very specific demands that need to be met.

We dozed after that with me splayed across him like I was a blanket. I wanted his heat, his strength, his comforting presence. I slept the sleep of an innocent child when there’d been nothing innocent about our time together.

And then when the sky was murky, not yet sunrise but no longer night, he kissed me long and deep and tucked me in. He tucked me in! He pulled the blanket over my shoulders, making certain none of the night’s chilly air could reach my skin. His fingers lingered on my body with a tenderness I’d never received from a lover before. Then he planted a kiss on my head and quietly slipped away.

I wanted to call him back, but I didn’t. Given his rules and boundaries, I was going to have to take my cues from him. Besides, today was the day that I introduced Lexi as my big client to Miguel and Sophie so I needed to have my game face on. You’d think this would have given me at least a mild case of insomnia. Nope. I fell into the sleep of the utterly sated and naturally overslept. Way overslept.

Late. Later. Latest. That was me. I downed the scalding coffee. It burned. I spit it out, not sure I’d ever have feeling on the roof of my mouth again. I ran in and out of my shower, barely getting wet. I yanked on a long navy dress, brown ankle boots, and a floral scarf with the same blue and brown and some sassy pink tones. I threw my mascara and lip gloss into my shoulder bag to put on at the office, twisted my hair up into a ball on the top of my head, and ran for the door.

I yanked the door open and found a note. The blocky handwriting told me right away who it was. Nick. I pulled it off the door, feeling my heart flutter in my chest. I wanted to rip it open right there, but—shit!—I was so late. I stuffed it into my bag and made a run for it.

I wondered as I was dashing to the gate if Nick was watching me from the house. If he was, he was probably laughing his butt off at me, knowing that this was his fault, having worn me out the night before. I could just picture him, his chest puffing up with male pride. As I skidded past the keypad, where I knew there was a security camera, I paused to stick my tongue out, then I grinned before breaking back into a run.