Sweet Sensations

Chapter Eighteen

Dominick

I woke at the same time every day, whether my alarm went off or not. For once, however, I didn't jump out of bed immediately, rushing to check my messages and start my morning routine.

How could I? Not when Xavier was curled up against my chest.

His breath was slow and steady, and our bodies fit together naturally. I laid as still as I could for a few minutes, feeling the heat of him and the warm pressure of his body against mine.

It hadn't taken much to convince Xavier to stay the night. After our explosive scene, he was so dazed and tired, he probably could have fallen asleep standing up in the middle of my living room. But after I brought him a glass of water and stroked his hair until he came back to reality, I was able to convince to come lay down in my bed.

After enough time passed, I lifted his arm and slid out from underneath from him. He was so exhausted, he didn't seem to notice my movement at all. I could hardly blame him. The adrenaline high from the night before must have made him crash. And anyway, I didn't mind having him there. It felt calming, in fact. Like there was more to my life than rushing to answer emails and put out fires.

A pair of boxers hanging off my hips, I padded into the kitchen and splashed some water on my face from the sink. Fumbling around in the cupboard, I ground some coffee and made myself a quick espresso, then threw it back in two quick swallows. I pulled a stool up at the counter and opened the laptop I used at home.

I liked to have a jump start on the work week, which meant forging ahead on Monday morning. After getting such an intense release the night before, I was glad that my ambition and hunger weren't dampened any. But I couldn't lie—having a guy like Xavier sleeping in my bed was a distraction, and my mind kept drifting away from my emails and considering different things I might make him for breakfast.

Which is when my screen filled with an incoming video call—Zachary, of course. I punched down the volume a few levels so as to not disturb Xavier, then accepted the call.

"Morning, sunshine," Zachary said, a big mug of coffee in his hand. With New York being two hours ahead, he was already dressed for the office. "You ready to start your Monday with a crisis?"

"What other way is there to start a Monday?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

Apparently, too low to keep a secret. Zachary's eyes lit up immediately, and he got that mischievous look on his face that told me I wasn't getting away with anything. "What's with the hush hush, Dominick? You got someone sleeping over?"

I rubbed my hand across my forehead. "You should have been a detective instead of a corporate executive," I said. "Maybe then you wouldn't have so many crises to deal with."

Zachary crowed out a laugh. "So you do have someone sleeping over! I was half-joking. I've never seen you entertain guests for the night. What's the story? You going to get engaged?"

I waved my hand in front of the screen to shush him and grabbed the laptop, carrying it over to the couch and further from the bedroom to be safe. "We had a late night," I said. "What, are you getting jealous? Have I been gone too long?"

I knew that I was acting a bit defensive, but Zachary always had a way of finding my vulnerable spots and teasing them for me mercilessly. Usually, teasing me about the guys I dated was fair game, but Xavier felt different. After all, I'd been searching for someone who could take the heat of my kinks and still stick around.

And when I found what I was looking for, I tended to get pretty damn protective of it.

"You have been gone too long," Zachary said, leaning back in his armchair. "That's why I'm calling."