Play Maker(36)

Quickly, James cleared his throat and placed his tray down on the bed. He grabbed two sets of silverware and passed one to me.

“Shall we?”

There wasn’t anything else to do but climb onto the bed, finding a place in between the sumptuous spread of food, and finally try the waffles that Maya had become so obsessed with. They looked good – I could see the dulce de leche drizzled across the top, peeking out from beneath a mound of vanilla ice cream. I gathered a large forkful and took a bite.

“Oh. My. God.” I moaned as the flavors exploded in my mouth. It was hot and sweet and buttery and rich, with the finish of already melting ice cream and the hint of salt from the dulce de leche. It was the most amazing thing I had ever eaten. I took a second bite and then another. The waffle was halfway done before I realized I hadn’t heard anything from James.

I glanced up to find him staring at me, his mouth hanging open. I would have been embarrassed if it weren’t for the intensity burning in his eyes.

“You should try them,” I told him, warmth building in my chest. “They are better than sex.”

“Trust me.” He finally tore his eyes away from me, digging into the waffle in his lap. “Nothing is better than sex. Though watching you eat the waffle came pretty damn close.”

I waited for him to take a bite, unable to hide my grin when his eyes closed, his face a portrait of ecstasy.

“Bloody hell,” he groaned. “Those are good.”

We both made short work of our plates and then turned our attention to the rest of the meal spread out on the bed. We attacked the rest of the dishes. It was all delicious.

“Try this.” James offered me a bite of the lasagna he was trying, holding out his fork. Without hesitating, I leaned forward and tasted it.

“It’s good.” I picked up a spoonful of the chocolate cake I had been eating. “How about this?”

He tried it and chewed thoughtfully. “Good,” he declared. “Though, it pales in comparison to my mum’s lava cakes.”

“Lava cakes?” I put the now empty plate down on the floor where the rest of the discarded plates were neatly piled. We were down to only a few remaining dishes, enough cleared off so that James could stretch out along one side of the bed, while I sat up among the enormous pile of pillows, my bare legs extended.

“Little chocolate cakes, but when you cut into them, a hot chocolate center oozes out. Very sweet.” He winked at me. “And very delicious.”

“Is your mom a good cook?” I asked before I could stop myself. What was I doing asking personal questions?

James shook his head. “She can make chocolate lava cakes – that’s about it. I grew up on beans and toast for the most part.” He glanced up at me. “What about you? Your mum have any specialties?”

I shrugged, pushing the last bites of spaghetti and meatballs around on my plate. “Not that I know of.” I put the tray down. “I don’t really want to talk about my family,” I told him honestly.

“I understand,” he said, though his eyes were full of questions.

The pillows were so soft behind me, that I couldn’t help snuggling down into them a little more. I was full of delicious food and wrapped in a warm robe on an expensive, luxurious bed. I needed to go home. Even though it was probably past my curfew, I knew I was going to need to get up early and make Mikey a special breakfast to make up for today. Maybe pancakes. My eyes drifted to the pile of plates next to the bed. Or waffles. Did we even have a waffle maker? I realized I was so tired, I was barely thinking straight.

“I should probably go,” I said, hiding a yawn behind my hand.

“Mmm?” James had lain his head down on the bed, his eyes closed.

“In a few minutes.” My own eyes felt heavy. I knew I had to get up. I had to get dressed and go home. I had to work tomorrow. I had things to do. I had my real life waiting for me. But I was so tired all of a sudden. I reached for my phone. It was late, but I could still get home before Mikey woke up. I’d set an alarm. Just for a little bit. I put a ten-minute alarm on my phone. I could just close my eyes for a minute. Just for a few minutes. Then I’d get up and go home. Just a few more minutes.





22





Nicole





I woke, snuggled up close to something warm and hard. I lay there for a moment, enjoying the feeling of being completely rested and protected. It wasn’t something I felt often. Then I opened my eyes and realized I wasn’t in my bedroom. I wasn’t in my bed. And that warm, hard thing I was snuggled up to? Well, that was James, his arms wrapped tightly around me, his hips pressed against mine. I could also feel a part of him that was extremely hard and enticing, firm against my ass.

Waking up had never felt so sexy. I knew that I needed to get up – that I had allowed myself to rest for too long. But I was so comfortable. The bed was soft and inviting, my robe fluffy against my skin and James situated so perfectly behind me. I realized how horny I was, which made sense since we hadn’t had a chance to get down and dirty before falling asleep. All I needed to do was wiggle my hips a little, maybe stretch against him. He’d wake up, roll me beneath him and—

Blinking, I peered at the clock on the nightstand.

Shit! I immediately jerked to an upright position. It was almost 7:00am. My alarm! What had happened to the alarm I had set. I was only supposed to rest for a few minutes – not the whole night. I scrambled for my phone and saw that the battery was dead. Fuck. Fuck, f*ck, f*ck. I was late. I was so so so late.