Two weeks scarce of my eighteenth birthday, I woke to soft breath on my neck, alcohol intoxicating my nose, and a warm chest pressed against my back.
I turned toward Jameson, expecting his alert eyes to be fastened on me. To my surprise, though, he was still asleep.
Jameson Winchester Hawthorne didn't sleep.
At least, not in his own bed.
With my presence beside him, however, his habits seemed to be persuaded otherwise.
I curled closer to Jameson without touching him. While I had chosen to sleep under my sheets, he was sleeping on top of them.
Not to mention he was shirtless.
I would've scolded him had I not known his body's nature heat tendencies. The Hawthorne boys seemed to share the gene — or at least that's what Libby and Max had attested to.
Grayson was still a mystery, though I didn't necessarily want to know the details on that matter.
The feeling of Jameson's long, lean body wrapped around mine was blissful — especially with his lips buried in my unruly morning hair. As I shifted closer, he trailed kisses along the back of my neck, signifying that he was awake. At least partially.
A warm hand brushed my hair out of the way, allowing his lips easier access to my ear. He arranged a pattern of soft, slow kisses on my tender skin, his breath willing my body even closer to him.
His lips were smiling when they brushed my earlobe.
"How did you sleep, Heiress?" Jameson murmured to me, his voice husky.
"Good," I admitted.
His crooked grin appeared. "I work wonders, then."
I raised an eyebrow. Clearly, I hadn't been working hard enough to keep his ego in check.
"Sleeping isn't a problem for me," I told Jameson, turning until my chest was pressed against his.
"Maybe," he conceded. "But you can't deny that your quality of sleep improved with me here."
"I can deny that, actually."
Jameson put his hand on my waist, fingers teasing a strip of bare skin between my tank top and pajama pants. "There's no use, heiress," he murmured, pressing his forehead to mine, "because I know when you're lying."
Trying not to smile, I nudged closer, guiltily enjoying the heat of his body wedged against mine. Our hips aligned as we watched one another, eyes invested in a staring contest of sorts. The only reason I lost, however, was because Jameson started teasing my waist with his hands again.
My gaze dropped for half a second, making Jameson smirk. As his gaze remained on mine, his fingers traced my arms, the inside of my wrists. "I have to say," he said, voice low, "I prefer your bed over mine."
I couldn't help but wonder if his preference was based off the bed, like he claimed, or the girl that slept in it.
Before I could ask, though, Jameson continued, his hands slipping into my hair. "If you don't mind, heiress, I think I'll keep sleeping in here. My bedroom doesn't live up to this."
"I have a hard time believing that." Cocking an eyebrow at the Hawthorne boy, I reminded him of his neglect to show me his bedroom.
Jameson lay back in my bed. As he rested both hands behind his head, I forced my gaze to not stray below his shoulders. He released a sigh before murmuring, "Really, Heiress. It's nothing special — I was never the old man's favorite."
"But you were the smartest grandson," I reminded him, rolling over to lay a hand on his chest.
Jameson's lips curled into a wicked grin. "You think I'm smarter than Gray?"
"I think you're more reckless than Grayson is," I said, meeting his unusually soft green eyes. "But the risks you take usually pay off."
I made sure to emphasize the word "usually" to remind him that I wasn't always happy with his decisions.
But I dealt with him, nonetheless.
Still wearing his famous crooked grin, Jameson latched his hands on my hips and pulled me onto his chest. As I stared down at him, my hands around his shoulders, the Hawthorne lifted his eyebrows at me. "I've taken lots of risks," he agreed, resting a hand on the small of my back, "but you were the biggest one."
Our lips collided in a plethora of heat from both parties.
As the kiss got hotter, however, Jameson pulled back a couple inches to murmur, "You, Heiress, were a very risky gamble."
