The Collector's Curse

【03】The Glass Room

The mattress moving underneath me was what stirred me out of the deep sleep I'd fallen into. I wasn't ready to wake up, though, so I wriggled against it with a frown. It was so warm, and firm, and...trying to make its way out from under me.

Which wasn't something mattresses did.

Confused, I blinked my eyes open. They landed on intricate drawings of ink and the warm skin beneath them. I was half hauled up over Ulrik, covering part of him like a blanket. The lulling sound of his heart was right under my ear, strong and regular. Now that I was more conscious, I realized he was discreetly trying to remove himself from there without waking me up.

With unfocused eyes, I looked up to meet his gaze, which was already on me.

"There you are," he murmured, bringing a hand up to graze my cheekbone with his thumb. "Hi..."

"Hi."

His naked body against mine was enough to spark some desire within me, especially with his solid thigh pressed on my core. The effect this man had on me was beyond ridiculous.

Since I didn't trust my morning breath, I fought the desire to kiss him good morning, and flattened my lips onto his chest instead. As I began dropping more kisses onto his tattooed skin, I made my intentions crystal clear, writhing my hips, sliding my core against him.

"Kjære," he groaned, disapproving. My hand reached down his stomach, grasping his hardening shaft. "You had to wake up earlier for this."

"I'm awake now."

He reached for my wrist, which he pulled away from his growing erection. "As much as I would love to stay in bed with you all day, I'm afraid I need to get ready."

"For what? It's Saturday," I mumbled, pressing myself tighter onto him, still dropping kisses on his chest.

"I have two dozen people in New York who don't care about that. My abrupt departure has caused a few problems that need handling. And I couldn't quite do that yesterday."

I grimaced, understanding that the situation was indeed more important than satisfying my libido. My attempt at seducing him stopped at once, looking up instead to meet his gaze.

The thought had been far from my mind until this moment, but now that it was, I wondered just how bad things were because of it. "Do you—do you regret leaving like you did to get me?"

"Oh, definitely."

My jaw dropped open, half amused and half scandalized. But before I could say anything, he continued, "I'd much rather be doing what you have in mind than spending my afternoon locked in my office to put out the fires I've lit."

"Well, we can get back to this when you're done," I reassured him, kissing his chest one last time before freeing him from my hold.

But he wasn't so ready to let go, it seemed, since his arm underneath me came against my back to bring me closer. He lowered to kiss me, intently pressing his lips on mine.

As soon as things heated a little too much, he pulled away with a groan.

"Later."

Adamant not to let temptation win, he slid me away from him and pushed himself off the bed in a supple move. Rising to my elbow, I watched his amazing back and ass as he walked out of my room naked, pressing my lips together to hide my excited smile. Later...

I let myself fall back on the pillow, grinning like an idiot. With everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, I should have been drowning in questions and doubts. Whiplash should have thrown me out of my mind by a few miles.