How to Kill a Man in Thirty Seconds

Chapter 64: Stolen Too Soon

The first thing I noticed was a heavy arm lying over me when I awoke.

A large, sleeping body was pressed against mine, front flush against my back. A moment of confusion passed before the events of the night before came rushing back.

I could feel the length of his body from my head to my toes, so close that every tiny exhale he made reverberated through every cell in my body.

The blood rushed to my cheeks.

Adrian's soft breaths sounded by my ear; his face pressed against the crook of my neck as he slept soundly.

I could not believe what we had done. Did I regret it?

I wiggled underneath the weight of his arm, slung tightly over my waist, until I was facing him. My gaze flickered over his contented face, the long dark lashes fanning his cheeks, the soft black waves of hair that haphazardly fell over his eyes, even the barely-there curve to his lips as he slept soundly.

For perhaps the first time in my life, logic seemed irrelevant.

I was glad it had happened.

And that was that.

"Adrian?" I said softly.

A moment passed before his eyes flickered open drowsily, his hand immediately moving to cover his eyes from the sunlight that filtered in through my window.

"You should probably wake up before my mum does," I said softly, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, that one arm still slung over my waist.

His gaze widened slightly when it landed on me and the happenings of the night before must have come rushing back like a flash flood then for a soft smile flitted across his face, something like joy filling his eyes, "I probably should."

He made no move to get up.

Nor did his eyes leave mine, or the smile leave his face.

He also wasn't breathing, by the looks of it, so perhaps the last part was unintentional.

"You know how I always say you spout a lot of nonsense, Adrian?" I murmured suddenly with a grin, which broke Adrian out of his trance. His eyes rolled.

"Well, last night you said something that really got me thinking," I said.

He didn't blink, gaze dropping to my lips almost unintentionally, "I said and did a lot of things last night, Charley."

His lips curved when he saw the blood rush to my cheeks. I swatted his arm lightly, to which his grin widened.

"I meant," I clarified, with a roll of my own eyes, "The part where you said you were glad you met me."

My voice dropped an octave, my warm gaze flickering over his face, "I moved here four years ago. And you, one. I was just thinking... What if we had moved to different places? It's crazy how one decision can lead you down a whole different path."

He took a moment to process my words. Adrian's gaze softened, and a corner of his lips kicked up, "My mother used to tell me that everything happens for a reason."

My face burned as my eyes rolled, "Don't be a cornball, Adrian."

A low chuckle left his lips. His gaze didn't leave mine, the curve to his lips remaining.

I hated that I felt so content in that moment, somehow stark naked and my body nearly flush against his, his arm still curved securely around my waist. And yet it felt completely natural ... Was it wrong that I didn't want to leave?