The smell of coffee woke me.
I groaned and peeled my eyes open. Jordan stood with two steaming mugs in his hands. He was shirtless in nothing but a pair of black boxers. His hair was wet and floppy, as if he’d just gotten out of the shower.
“Is that for me?” I whispered, rubbing my bleary eyes.
“It’s almost noon.”
I yawned again as I took the coffee from his hand. “I was so tired.”
“I noticed that.”
“Did you already shower?” I pouted. “Without me?”
He laughed, sinking into the bed next to me. “I worked out this morning. Needed the shower.”
“How long have you been up?” I asked between sips of coffee.
The first time I’d stayed the night, Jordan had made the mistake of trying to talk to me before I had my coffee. And I wasn’t coherent enough for that. I wasn’t picky about coffee, but he was. He liked a French press or a Chemex or a cold brew. Anything but a pot or a Keurig. I’d rolled my eyes at him, but if he wanted to make me fancy coffee, then I wouldn’t complain.
“A couple hours. You looked like you needed the sleep. I wore you out last night.”
I snorted. “You mean, I wore you out.”
He grinned devilishly. “I could fix that.” He set his mug down and crawled onto the bed toward me.
I squeaked as I put down my precious life force. His lips landed on mine. He tasted like espresso and hazelnuts, and I could have drowned in his caffeinated kisses.
He rolled me over so that I was on top of him. I could feel him hardening underneath me, and I twirled my hips in a figure eight. He groaned, skimming his hands up to my face and pulling me in for another hot kiss.
“What are your plans for today?” I whispered against his lips.
“You.”
I laughed as he flipped me back over with him on top, pressing his cock against the front of my green lace panties. His hands roaming freely under the oversized white T-shirt he’d given me to sleep in last night.
“All day?” I teased as he pinched my nipple, forcing me to arch up against his hand.
“Have somewhere else to be, love?” He pushed up the shirt and replaced his mouth where his hand had just been.
I should have told him to stop calling me love. It wasn’t the first time though. I’d thought it was just a joke. He always said it in such a teasing manner that it had to be. He knew the arrangement. He was also too busy for anything but whatever we were doing right now.
Not that it explained him reaching for my hand in the hospital cafeteria.
“Work,” I finally got out as he slid down my front.
His mouth landed hot on my core as he blew against my panties. I squirmed uncontrollably. Then he hooked his fingers underneath the material, slipping two fingers inside of me before I could say anything else.
“Work can wait,” he told me.
And he wasn’t wrong. It could wait.
He worked me until I nearly climaxed before removing his fingers from inside of me. I clenched down, trying to hold him there, trying to reach that point where I fell over and off into oblivion. But he just smirked at me as he pulled the panties off and tossed them to the floor along with his boxers.
His hands gripped my hips, and he flipped me over, pulling my ass high into the air before settling between my legs.
“Mmm,” he purred.
He slid his still-wet fingers over my opening. Swirling them around and around until I thought I’d come. I was teetering on the edge. Then his cock pressed against the opening of my pussy, and he slid in easily. I was so worked up that it took no effort, even from that angle. In one deep, long thrust, he was inside of me. Then he built a rhythm that bordered on painful. If I hadn’t been so turned on, it would have hurt more. But right now, all I could feel was how fucking amazing this all was until I was screaming into the pillow as I came apart.
Jordan kept going. Holding on as I finished, and then just as I came all the way down, he let go, digging his fingers into my hips and emptying himself inside of me.
We both collapsed, breathing heavy, before I padded to the bathroom to clean up. I returned to the bedroom with him naked and satisfied on the bed. He was lying in repose, his eyes closed, face tranquil, and arms over his head.
“Good morning,” I murmured, taking a sip of my coffee, which had since gone cool.
He cracked open an eye. “Morning.”
I grinned, downed the rest of the coffee, and snuggled into bed next to him. “What do you have to do today?”
“I already told you.”
I giggled as he nuzzled my neck. “Yeah, but besides me.”
He groaned. “Are you making me think about work after fucking you so thoroughly?”
“How’d the winery thing go yesterday? You never told me.”
He buried his head between my breasts and murmured incoherently.
“That bad?”
He looked up at me with his big brown eyes. “Someone made a higher offer. We countered. We’ll find out today if the other people make another offer.”
“And what happens if they do?”
“I curse Julian and Hollin for ever involving me in this.”
I chuckled and brushed my fingers across his brow. “You want it, too. I know you do. Who put in the other offer?”
He propped himself up on his elbow. “That’s the thing. It was anonymous. They don’t have to tell us even if it’s not, but Larissa is good at her job. We got her because she has an eye for these things.”
“Frustrating.”
He shrugged. “What do you have for work?”
“I need to study later, but I promised Jen I’d meet her at Sutton’s work. She’s taking some pictures for the bakery.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Sounds nice.”
“And Sutton said she’d go with me to find something to wear to my Dallas interview.”
“That’s next weekend?”
“Yeah, I leave Thursday. I’ve had a ton of interviews, and it still makes me nervous to think about.”
“I can understand that. You never know what to expect.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “What are your plans until you meet your friends?”
I snuggled in closer as an answer.
“Why don’t we go for a run?”
I groaned and rolled over. “Must we?”
“You said you wanted to start working out again.”
That wasn’t what I’d meant. Just the thought sent shivers down my skin and made my throat close up.
“Yeah, but running…”
“You used to run all the time.”
“I know,” I said.
But Jordan didn’t know the specifics of why I’d stopped running. He didn’t know about Maverick. He didn’t know about any of it. And I didn’t have any desire to tell him.
I scrambled out of bed. “You’ve already worked out. You don’t need a run, too.”
“Annie…is everything all right?”
“Fine,” I ground out. “It’s fine. I just don’t want to run, okay?”
“All right,” he said, holding his hands out. “We don’t have to run. Would you like breakfast?”
“You know, I think I’m going to go.” I found my bag, pulling on sweats, a T-shirt, and a hoodie.
Jordan threw his feet over the side, and I could feel his stare on me. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Wrong?” I asked as if I were confused. “No.”
He huffed as if I was being purposefully dense. I was. I didn’t want to talk about Maverick. I didn’t want to go running. It had been four years since he collapsed next to me, but after three years in med school, I was prepared to fix the situation now. Not discuss it.
“You don’t have to go,” he insisted.
“I know.” I ran a hand down my face as I shouldered my bag. “It’s fine. I have so much studying to do anyway this weekend. I shouldn’t just lie in bed.”
He shot me a disbelieving look. “Are you sure? I could make breakfast. I’m pretty handy with French toast.”
I smiled, tight and guarded. I couldn’t manage my more carefree smile. “That’s all right. I’m not hungry.”
He followed me as I headed for the front door. “Are you going to tell me what happened here?”
“Nothing. I just need to study.”
Jordan reached out and took my shoulder. “Hey. You know you can talk to me, right?”
“We’re not dating, Jordan,” I said, sharper than I’d intended.
“I know that,” he said tersely. I narrowed my eyes at him, but he held his ground. “We’re just friends. And friends tell each other why they just freaked out.”
“I didn’t freak out,” I said with an eye roll. “I just don’t want to run.”
“Then we don’t have to run, but you don’t have to run out of here either.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. “This is why I can’t do relationships right now.”
“Why?” he demanded.
“Because I don’t have time for this.”
He kept his deep, dark eyes on mine. “Fine, Annie. Run out of here and don’t explain yourself. Use our arrangement as your scapegoat.” He shrugged and crossed his arms. “Are you coming over tonight?”
“No,” I bit out. “I’m going to study.”
“All right,” he said, just as irritated as I was.
I could see the frustration roiling through him. That I wouldn’t tell him what this was all about.
But it wasn’t that I wouldn’t.
I just…couldn’t.
No part of me was ready for that conversation, and I certainly wasn’t going to have it here.
So, I turned on my heel and left. Left behind all the unanswered questions and expectations. We weren’t dating, and I didn’t owe him anything.