Attraction

CHAPTER 5 Basic Concepts of Chemical Bonding

"Parker."

Fingers were in my hair, brushing it away from my face. Then the fingers caressed a path over my shoulder, down my arm, and fit themselves around mine, squeezing.

"Parker... Time to get up. Time to go." A mystery male voice reverberated in my head. It was a nice voice. It made my insides feel like a warm marshmallow, sweet and fluffy and melting.

I lifted my eyebrows but couldn't quite open my eyes; I asked in a sleep mumble, "Where are we going?"

"We're going to the beach."

The words sounded far away and my drowsy brain told me to ignore them. I began to drift.

"You're cute when you don't want to wake up." The mystery voice sounded both growly and amused. I liked the mystery voice.

I also liked the word cute, but not as much as its alternates. "Adorable, captivating, charming, darling..."

"What?"

"Synonyms."

"Okay. Come on, Cutie pie. Wake up." The hand was on my face, cupping my cheek. I noted that it felt exceptionally callused. A thumb brushed back and forth,whisper light touches over my bottom lip, sending little shivers down my neck to my spine.

I opened one eye, managed a squint at the fuzzy form, and recognized the owner of the mystery voice. It was Martin Sandeke. And it looked like he was sitting on my bed. I couldn't quite make sense of it.

"What's going on?" I rubbed my eyes with the base of my palms, still someplace between my dreams and reality, but closer to dreams.

This was a dream. I was certain. It was a dream within a dream or one of those dreams that felt eerily real. Maybe, if I was lucky, I'd be able to control the action of the dream and spend some naked time with Martin Sandeke's superior physique without the danger of his personality ruining things.

"I'm picking you up for our trip." His hand settled on my bare thigh. The weight of it felt very real.

I stopped mid-eye rub,opting for motionless contemplation instead of a gasping shriek.

"Martin?" I asked to what I hoped would be an empty room.

"Yes?"

I jumped to a sitting position, my eyes flying open. "Oh my God, what are you doing here?"

Martin was sitting on the edge of my bed toward the middle. I stared at him; he was wearing dark, faded jeans, a white T-shirt, and a smile. He was so handsome I felt like filing a civil lawsuit against his parents, claiming punitive damages, pain and suffering to my psyche.

"I'm picking you up."

I reached for my phone to check the time. It was 7:00 a.m.

"What? What? Why? What?"was all I could manage, because my alarm didn't go off.

I had fallen off to sleep, but forgot to set my alarm... Gah!

So, Martin was one hour early and he was here. In my room. Sitting on my bed. Watching me like he wanted me for...things.

He leaned forward, his gaze on my mouth somehow both gentle and wicked. Horrified that he might try to kiss me first thing in the morning, I scrambled to my feet and ran off the bed, jumping from the mattress like it was a spring board. I'm sure I jostled him on my way.

I reached for my bag and pulled out my Wintermint gum, unwrapping three pieces, and shoving them into my mouth.

"It's seven," I said sloppily around the wad in my mouth.