London Bound: New Adult Romance (Chase Brothers) (24 page)

“Do we have any more condoms?”

His eyes fluttered open as his brain had a panicked start.
Condoms.
Damn. They’d used three last night. He only brought a pack of four. If he was staying the weekend, they’d need more.
Lots
more. “I only have one left.”

“Hmm, that is a problem. We can raid Tamsin’s chest, but more than one, and she’d probably notice. We’ll eventually have to go get some more.”

He shuddered as her hand slid down to the root, then back to the tip again. The pressure she used was exquisite. Last night, between lovemaking sessions, they’d spent hours exploring each other’s bodies. Touching, experimenting. In a few short hours she’d become an expert on how to drive him to the brink of madness.

Unable to take her teasing anymore, he snatched up his wallet, grabbed another condom and tore open the foil. He rolled away from her and quickly slid the condom on before rolling onto his back. “I see you like to tease me. You like the control.”

She smiled at him. “A little.”

“Then come here, love. Show me what it feels like to have you in complete control of my body.”

She levered a bare thigh over his waist and positioned herself over him. As she slid down over the length of him, he knew how much danger he was in. He was falling in love.

* * *

Abbie woke with a start to violent thrashing next to her. Quickly, she scrambled out of the way to avoid an arm.

“No, God, no, please stop. You’re hurting me, please.”

Abbie shook as her heart thundered. What the hell was he dreaming about to provoke such a violent reaction? “Lex,” she called out. “You’re okay, you’re having a bad dream.” She watched him carefully, but he still tossed in the bed, with his legs tangled in the sheets. “Lex, I need you to wake up.”

“Oh God, oh God, oh God, what did I do? What did I do? Everyone will know. What have I done?” His voice was tinny and raw, not like the man she knew, but more like a small child’s. Shit, what was it they said about waking someone one from a dream? Was she supposed to wake him or was she supposed to let it play out? Fuck her, she had no idea. But she sure as hell couldn’t leave him like this. He might hurt himself.

Scooting marginally closer to him, she called out again, “Alexi. Alexi, it’s me Abbie. I need you to wake up. It’s okay. You’re safe. I’m here, but you need to open your eyes now, okay?”

His head shook violently from side to side. “No, no, no, no, no. What have I done? What have I done?”

All right. That was enough. She had no idea what he was dreaming about, but she wasn’t going to watch any longer. With a hand on his shoulders, she shoved him…hard. “Alexi, wake up!”

He sat up with a jolt, eyes wide and panicked. He stared at her, blinked several times, then sagged into the pillows.

Abbie inched closer to him. “Are you okay?’

He cleared his throat. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Fine? I hardly call that fine.” She gestured to the tangled sheets around his legs along with his sweat-soaked T-shirt.

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Sometimes I have nightmares. It’s fine.”

She frowned. That was no regular nightmare. “How long have you had them?”

He shrugged. “Since I was a kid. It’s no big deal. I’m sorry you had to wake up to that. I usually sleep alone.”

She tucked that bit of information away. Him sleeping alone was a very good thing. Although, that could also mean he kicked out his sexual conquests after the deed was done, which was bad, but she’d worry about that later. “I was really worried. How often do you have these nightmares?”

“It used to be only every once in a while with stress, then in the last couple of months, they’ve been coming more frequently. A couple of times a week. Sometimes more than once a night.”

“And you don’t know what they’re about or what’s triggered them?”

His eyes shifted away. “No. I’m sorry I woke you. Let me make you breakfast.”

She stiffened. She knew a dismissal when she heard one. He seemed so relaxed now. No, scratch that, more like resigned. “Look, you don’t have to talk about your nightmares with me, but don’t act like I’m crazy, okay? I’m only trying to help, but I guess talking about you isn’t part of the package.”

He quirked a brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I get it. You want me, but you don’t actually want to have to talk to me.”

“Shit, Abbie, it’s not like that.” He yanked his shirt up his back, then over his head.

She tried to focus on his eyes and his words, not his six-pack. “Then what is it like?”

“I don’t know why I have them, and I mostly just deal with them. Don’t be mad. Please. I’m not shutting you out. I’m not used to sleeping with anyone. So, I’m not used to anyone asking about them. If we’re going to be sleeping together, I need to figure out what triggers them so I don’t wake you or I stop having as many, but perhaps that’s something we can figure out later?”

Abbie bit her lip. Maybe he wasn’t ready to have this conversation, but they’d have to have it eventually. Just not today. “Okay. I can live with that.”

He immediately changed gears. “So how about I make you breakfast?”

* * *

An hour later, she smiled up at him. She could get used to this. Sexy shirtless Alexi, making her breakfast. It really should be a crime to have him walk around like this. If she didn’t have her camera in her hands, she’d be tempted to forget all about taking it slow with him.

He looked up from the sizzling sausage in the pan and gave her a devilish grin. “What are you staring at?”

“You.” She snapped a photo, oblivious to the light or the surroundings or the composition. She only wanted to capture him as he was. She held up her camera. “Do you mind?”

Something flashed in his eyes, but then he shook his head. “Not as long as you’re my photographer.”

She giggled. “This could get very dangerous, very quickly. There’s nothing sexier than a man cooking. Add to that he looks like you and he’s running around shirtless, and…”

He raised a dark eyebrow. “And what?”

Abbie grinned. “And you’d probably burn your sausage.”

Laughter burst out of him, and he tossed a dishtowel in her direction. “You have a dirty mouth, Abena Nartey.”

“You know, it’s weird, you are
not
the first person to ever tell me that.”

“Somehow, I had a feeling.” He cracked eggs into a bowl one-handed, and Abbie could only stare. Evan had never lifted a finger in the kitchen. Neither had her father, for that matter. Her mother had forced her and her sisters to watch her cook from the moment they could sit in the highchair, so they would eventually be able to make Okra stew, Kankye, and Oxtail, for their husbands.

He checked the fridge. “Do you have any mushrooms?”

“Oh, no. I’m allergic. EpiPen and everything.”

He winced. “Got it. No mushrooms in your omelet then. I’ll tuck that away for future reference. Is it bad? Like do you need the hospital or anything?”

“Not if I use my EpiPen right away. I usually just need to rest for a bit.”

“That’s pretty scary, Abbie.”

She shrugged. “It’s not so bad. Mushrooms are pretty easy to avoid.”

She studied him intently and snapped another photograph.

“You keep staring at me like that, and I’m likely to forget I promised to nourish you.”

“I can’t help it. You’re beautiful.”

His skin flushed, and she snapped another photo. Was he embarrassed? “This can’t be the first time someone has pointed out how good-looking you are.”

He shook his head slowly. “No, not the first time. But it’s the only time it’s come from someone who mattered or didn’t want anything from me.”

Abbie bit her lip. “Well, given last night, I want all kinds of things from you.”

He groaned. “Jesus, Abbie, you’re killing me. We actually have to leave the flat today, okay?”

“Why?”

He stalked toward her, then looped an arm around her waist and nearly crushed her camera between them as he kissed her. When he backed away, he ran his hands through his hair. “Because if I keep thinking about the fact that I have you here to myself, those pictures you’re taking will get a whole lot more naughty.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” What was wrong with her? She was never this open with anyone. Sexual banter wasn’t exactly something she did. With Lex, it came naturally, easily.

Alexi’s smile sobered as he leaned forward on the kitchen counter. “So what are we doing here, exactly?”

Abbie froze. “Wasn’t that supposed to be my line?”

“When I want to know the answer to something, I ask.”

Abbie used her camera like a shield. This was not a conversation she’d mentally prepared for. “I’m not exactly sure.”

He nodded. “Okay, then let me be blunt. I’m falling hard for you. I know it’s soon. I know you are just coming off something, but I want you to be aware. You can take your time to figure things out. I’m not going anywhere.”

He was falling for her? She shook her head, trying to right the fantasy. But all she saw was this half naked, sexy, god of a man standing in her kitchen, making her breakfast. Everything inside her wanted to say yes. God, yes. That she wanted to be with him. But she didn’t have a clue how.

“Alexi, I want you.” She licked her lips nervously. “You’re like this fantasy come to life for me. I’m having a hard time believing this is real. That you exist. That you want me. I—is it okay if I go a little slow? I’ve had crappy instincts for years. I want to be able to trust them again before I jump in with both feet.”

Alexi turned down the stove then flipped the omelet. Slowly, he sauntered over to her with a smile. “Like I said, we’ll take this as slow as you want. I can wait for you to figure out how to trust me.”

“It’s not that at all. I trust you. It’s me I don’t trust.”

“Hush.” He kissed her forehead. “It’s okay. Just know that I care about you. We can figure out the rest as we go.”

“You’re sure about that? Our friends, at least Sophie and Tamsin, will start dissecting you and us with a microscope and very sharp scalpel. Can we just keep this between us for now?”

He studied her, his face inscrutable for a long moment. “As long as I get to see you, and I get to be with you, I don’t care if you never tell them.”

As man lotteries went, she’d won the freakin’ jackpot. But she didn’t want him thinking she was trying to hide him. “I’ll tell them. I just need to sort through everything first.”

“Fair enough.” He nodded. “Actually, I’m thinking, why don’t we do something out of the ordinary.”

“Like what?”

“Have you been to Paris? We could catch the train, spend the night. Catch a flight back in the morning and I’d have you back before your class.”

Paris? He was kidding right? “You’re not serious.”

He shrugged. “Why not? I could use a trip out of town for a bit. And it is the most romantic city in the world. And I’d love to show you some of my favorite spots. What do you say?”

This was his version of going slow? Except, Paris. The longing to live a fuller, more adventurous life pulled at her. But reality crashed in. She couldn’t exactly afford Paris. If even for a night. “I wish I could, but funds are a little tight right now. I still don’t have a job so it’s not the best idea for me. But I would love to see Paris with you. I’ve never been.”

He chuckled. “Silly, beautiful girl. I’m asking you to go to Paris as my guest. Think of it as our first date. How long will it take you to pack?”

As first date ideas went, okay, that was kind of baller. But a niggle of unease tickled the nape of her neck. “Alexi, I love the imagination, but that’s too much. I can’t let you pay my way to Paris.”

“Why not?” His brow creased. “I owe you a proper first date. Where I take you out and we eat and we can explore.”

“And I don’t object to that. Or ultimately to Paris. I just object to you paying for it.”

“It’s not a big deal. I want to.”

And she wished that for once she could take the generosity and not think about it, but she couldn’t. “I’m sorry. It would make me feel funny. Like I’m being kept or something. I’d rather go somewhere on my own steam. Ya know?”

He nodded, but his frown remained. “It’s only money, Abbie. I don’t mind.”

“But I do. Maybe we can have fun in this city instead. There’s still so much I haven’t seen or explored.”

For a second it looked like he wanted to argue with her. But then his brow smoothed out and he kissed her softly. “Fine, have it your way. Now, go get a shower woman. Breakfast will be ready soon, then we’re going to go out and have some fun.”

“We could have fun—”

He laughed as he shook his head while waving a spatula in her direction. “We’re going to have fun
outside
, so I don’t lock you in this flat and torture both of us by taking my time with you over and over again until neither one of us can walk. Now go.”

He swatted her on the ass before turning back to his cooking sausage. She could get used to this feeling. Freedom and excitement and longing.

Chapter 25