Ryan
Something didn’t feel quite right. I was achy, and no matter how I twisted or turned, I couldn’t seem to get comfortable. Was this like “The Princess and the Pea?” Had somebody jammed my mattress full of hard, little peas to torment me? Who in the world would do such a thing?
Wait, that didn’t make any sense.
Slowly, I cracked my eyes open, waking up fully. I frowned as I took in my surroundings, but then I quickly remembered that I was in Sam’s room, sleeping in her bed. Her bed which was quite a bit lumpier than my stupidly expensive mattress. Really, her bed wasn’t that bad. I’d just apparently turned soft and spoiled and overly picky about my comfort.
With a groan, I rolled over, flinging my arm out to grab her and pull her against me again. My hand slapped against bare mattress, and I blinked in surprise. Sam wasn’t there. What the hell?
I sat up and looked around. There was no sign of her, and I felt a jolt of panic. Shit, did she leave? Did she regret our night together?
Wait…it was her house. Why would she leave? That didn’t make sense.
I scrambled out of bed and grabbed my boxer briefs off the floor, tugging them on as I hurried out of the room. I needed to find her and convince her not to give up on us just yet, to let me have my second chance.
I made it to the first floor and bolted to the kitchen. Sliding through the doorway, I came to a halt and felt a wave of relief wash over me.
Sam was standing at the stove, wearing a tank top and shorts, cooking. She turned and spotted me.
Grinning, she said, “Good morning! I’m making pancakes. You hungry?”
I swallowed and choked out, “Starving.”
She turned back to the stove. I took a deep breath, calming my racing heart before I crossed over to her. I slipped my arms around her waist and dropped my head onto her shoulder.
“You okay?” she asked with a surprised chuckle.
“Yeah,” I said with a smile, lifting my head. “Just realizing how much I like waking up and being with you.”
She put her spatula down and turned in my arms. Tilting her head back, she gave me a flirtatious grin before pulling me down for a kiss.
“I like waking up with you, too,” she murmured.
We kissed again, and then, she turned back to work on the pancakes. I went around the kitchen, grabbing plates, silverware, butter, and syrup, and I set the table.
“I made coffee,” she said, pointing to the coffee pot in the corner of the counter.
I fixed myself a cup and returned to her side at the stove.
“You know, you’re pretty sexy like this,” I told her.
She snorted. “Barefoot in the kitchen? You would think that.”
I gave her a light smack on her butt. “Sexy and sassy.”
“Those are the perfect words to describe me.” She shot me a wink as she flipped the pancake. They looked delicious. Fluffy, golden-brown, and perfect circles.
“Damn, you are good at this.”.She shrugged a shoulder. “Henry loves pancakes. I’ve had a lot of practice.”
One of the straps of her tank top slipped down her arm, baring her shoulder. Unable to resist, I pressed my lips there. She let out a shuddering breath, which had my dick hardening in an instant.
I reached around her and turned the stovetop off and moved the pan off the burner.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a breathy tone.. I grabbed her hips and spun her around. I didn’t say a word as I pulled her in for a hard kiss. She slipped her arms around my neck and clung to me as I picked her up off the floor. I carried her to an empty spot on the counter and set her down. Our mouths clashed as I slipped my hands under her top to cup her bare breasts.
She bit my lip and groaned. I knew if I slipped my hand down her shorts, I’d find her wet and ready for me.
Just as I was about to tug her top off her body, though, my phone rang. Startled, I broke our kiss and looked around. I’d completely lost track of my phone the night before but hadn’t really noticed until now. It was sitting on the other end of the counter. I hesitated, not wanting to leave Sam, but I knew I probably had several voicemails and messages from New York, and this call was probably yet another attempt to reach me.
“Go on,” Sam said. “Answer it, and I’ll finish the pancakes. We can continue this later.”
I sighed. “All right, but we will pick this back up.”
I helped her off the counter and quickly went to pick up my phone. Glancing at the caller ID, I frowned.
“It’s Jason.”
Sam looked at me and frowned. “What does he want?”
Shrugging, I answered the call. “Hey, man. What’s up?”
“Were you with Sam last night?”
I tensed. Shit, what did he know? He couldn’t know that we’d slept together again, could he?
“Um, yeah. We had dinner. Why?”
“So, you were there when she found her door vandalized?”
I just managed to hold back an audible sigh of relief. “Yes, I was.”
“What the hell?” Jason exclaimed so loudly that I had to move the phone away from my ear. “What happened? What did the cops say? Who did it?”.“Woo, easy, buddy,” I said. I didn’t want to cause him any undue stress, especially the day before his wedding, so I scrambled to come up with a way to explain the incident without making it seem as scary as it really was. “Sam’s okay. It was just some spray paint. The cops thought maybe it was a prank, but don’t worry. I’m taking care of things.”
“You’re taking care of things? Why?”
I rolled my eyes. “I just am, all right? Sam and I are both fine.”
“Where are you right now?” Jason suddenly asked, his voice dripping with suspicion.
I gulped. “Why do you ask?”
“Are you at her house right now?”
“Why would I be at her house?” It wasn’t exactly a lie. I was just turning his question back on him.
"I can think of one reason, and I don’t like it.”
I cleared my throat. “Look, you’re freaking out for no reason. Just calm down and focus on Mandy and your wedding, okay? I’ve got Sam. We can talk about this later, all right?”
Jason didn’t respond right away. I could practically hear him grinding his teeth through the phone.
“All right,” he finally growled. “You’re lucky I’m getting married tomorrow, or I’d hunt you down and find out where you are.”
“Lucky me,” I replied dryly. “Okay, Sam and I will see you at the rehearsal dinner tonight. Bye, buddy!”
I hung up before he could reply and dropped my phone back on the counter with a groan.
“What he’d say?” Sam asked, carrying a plate full of pancakes to the table.
“He heard about the vandalism,” I answered. “He was worried.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I’ll probably have to deal with him later.”
“I think he also suspects that we slept together.”
She closed her eyes and pursed her lips. “Shit, that’ll be harder to talk him through.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I think he’ll hold off grilling you until after the wedding, though.”
“Well, that’s somewhat of a relief.” She sat down at the table and jerked her chin to the empty chair across from her. “Come on. Sit down and eat. I’m sure you’ve got a busy day ahead of you.”
I did, so I slipped into the chair and grabbed a few of the pancakes off the serving plate. I drenched them with syrup, cut a small chunk, and shoved them in my mouth.
“Oh, my God,” I groaned. “These are perfect.”
Sam chuckled. “So glad you approve.”
I devoured the rest of my stack and grabbed a few more. When I finished those, I was full, but I wanted more. They were just that good.
“You should open your own pancake place,” I said, sitting back in my chair and patting my stomach. “You’d make a killing.”
Sam grinned. “Well, I appreciate that. I’d much rather run a bookstore, though, so pancakes will just remain an appreciated hobby.”
Standing, I grabbed my plate and took it to the sink. Grabbing my phone again, I checked and saw that I did have several messages and emails waiting for me. Sighing, I turned back to Sam.
“I have to go,” I said. “I’ve got some things I need to take care of before tonight.”
Disappointment flashed across her face, but she quickly hid it.
“All right. I’ll see you at the rehearsal dinner, yeah?”
I nodded, crossing back to her and pressing a kiss onto her forehead.
“Yeah, definitely. Let me know if you hear anything from the cops, okay?”
“Okay,” she murmured.
I didn’t want to go. I wanted to spend the whole day with her in my arms, but I knew I couldn’t. I had to work, and I had to figure out this whole Bill situation. I didn’t want him getting anywhere close to Sam or Henry.
“See you later,” I said, tipping her chin up to kiss her on her lips.
Forcing myself to break away from her, I made my way back upstairs to get dressed and then hurried out of the house, determined to protect the family I was desperate to hold onto.