The Hookup (Moonlight and Motor Oil #1)(33)

“I knew it.”

He chuckled.

Then he let me go, shoved me gently toward the bed and his hands went to the button on his jeans.

I crawled into his bed with his T-shirt on.

He joined me and reached out to turn out his light while I did the same with the one on my side.

I settled in and didn’t have time to begin to wonder if he would hold me on an occasion where I didn’t pass out in his arms due to lots of insanely good sex.

He pulled me into them, tucking my back to his front and curving his body into mine.

“You need me to set the alarm?” he asked.

“Isn’t it set?”

“It’s set for six thirty, not five.”

I was usually on the road to work at six thirty.

“I have an internal alarm,” I told him.

He kept hold of me with the arm under me but rolled his body away. I heard a beep and then he was back.

“Just in case,” he muttered.

I hated it that I totally could fall in love with this man . . . but I couldn’t.

I hated it that he was all mine and I was all his . . . but only when we were having sex.

I hated that I knew when it was over that I’d miss this and miss it badly . . . but I’d rather have it while I could than not have it at all.

But I had it now and it was beautiful.

It was also guiding my way to understand what to look for that was right and good for my future.

The problem with that was, I was terrified what was right and good was only right there in that bed with me and nowhere else on this earth.

I didn’t hate that.

I didn’t allow myself to think of it.

If I did, I didn’t know what I’d do.



I didn’t know what woke me.

I just woke.

I also didn’t know how I knew instantly Johnny wasn’t with me.

But I did.

I rolled to my back, tentatively reaching out an arm to his side of the bed.

He wasn’t in it.

I heard a whine, and as my eyes adjusted to the dark, I saw Dempsey at the door in the wall of windows.

Outside it, I could barely make out Johnny’s chest where it was positioned at the railing, his face as well, his bottom half and hair blended in the night because his hair was dark and he was wearing something dark down below.

He was turned, looking toward the creek, like the first time I woke up in his house.

I rolled back and looked at the clock.

It was just past two in the morning.

I didn’t know what to do.

However, my body did.

It scooched to the side of the bed, and with experience, my feet carefully found their way to the floor, knowing Swirl would be asleep there beside me so I’d have to find my way without stepping on him.

He was there.

I felt him move to lift his head and murmured, “Shh, baby. Just going to check on Johnny.”

He settled back in and I got out of bed.

Dempsey came to me.

I gave him some head scratches then headed to the door.

I saw Johnny more distinctly from closer as I opened the door and his head turned to me.

I shoved my body in the narrow crack I’d opened the door, so Dempsey wouldn’t come out, and called softly, “You okay?”

“Come here.”

“I don’t want to intrude if you need—”

“Come here, Eliza.”

Keeping Dempsey back, I slid out the door, closed it and moved to him.

Even though I was only going to position myself close enough to have a conversation with him, weirdly, powerfully, almost violently, the instant I got close enough for him to reach out to me, he did, yanking me into his arms and holding me tight.

Not loose.

Not casual.

Not sexual.

Not nonchalant.

Tight.

Oh my God.

“Are you okay?” I whispered, rounding him with my arms too.

“I’m a dick.”

“What?”

“I’m a dick.”

“Johnny, if you mean what happened earlier, it’s okay—”

“Shandra called yesterday.”

My body turned to stone.

“Out of the blue, haven’t heard from her in years, she calls.”

Again of their own accord, and I didn’t stop them this time, my hands slid up his back over his shoulders so I could curl them around either side of his neck.

That neck bent so he could stop looking over my head and instead look at my face.

“Her dad’s sick. She’s coming back.”

The blow that caused after two breakfasts, two dinners, one phone call, one text exchange and lots of sex was far more extreme than I was ready for.

But I withstood it without letting on I endured it.

And I did that for him.

“Okay,” I whispered.

“I should have changed our plans and met you at Home. Shared it there. Let you go back to your place knowing where things were at. I shouldn’t have brought your dogs here, made you come here, fed you and fucked you and acted like a dick to you and let you be cute and sweet, all this making me a total dick.”

“You want her back,” I surmised.

“Fuck no,” he stated tersely.

The pads of my fingers dug into his neck.