Hustle (Book 1 in The Hunted Hearts) - SYTYCW Winner #action #comedy #romance

Hustle | Chapter 22

Copyright 2013 - All Rights Reserved

Hustle By Claire Chilton

22

The Morning After

Ellie moaned softly and snuggled into the warm pillow. She was in the place between asleep and awake. The world around her was a dream, where reality tentatively hovered on the sidelines. She relaxed amid the soothing rhythm of the waves crashing against the shores of a white sandy beach that could only be a dream. She stretched on the hot white sands in an attempt to wake up.

Come on, sleepy head. Time to get up. There's a lot to do.

She couldn't remember exactly what she needed to do today, but she always had something she had to do. There was rarely a time when she woke up with a lazy day ahead of her.

"Never stop trying, kiddo, no matter how impossible it all seems. The minute you quit, you're bound to fail."

Whose voice was that? She frowned. It had interrupted her dreams. She knew the voice though. She just couldn't remember.

Dad? It was something Dad used to say when I was about to give up.

She shook her head.

Silly Ellie, wake up.

Her fingers trailed over warm supple skin, and the dreams faded as stark reality hit her like a brick in the face. She shot awake and peered down at the tawny flesh she was fondling. Her pillow appeared to be a muscled chest, which was rhythmically rising up and down beneath her fingertips. The sound of the ocean was Jacob Hawkins's deep snores.

Oh God, what did I do?

The warm tingles all over her body told her exactly what she'd done, but she peered under the blanket all the same. Her body was naked and sprawled across Jacob's equally naked form. She dropped the blanket and closed her eyes, but the image of his muscled thighs remained in her vision. The image of her thighs wrapped around his waist last night swiftly followed.

She frowned and looked up to his face. He lay on his back with his chin resting on his shoulder. His dark lashes fluttered on his cheek as his eyes moved beneath the lids, but he remained fast asleep. She stared at his jaw and parted lips, the sudden urge to kiss him causing her skin to heat up.

Oh, this is not good.

There were so many reasons why it was a bad idea, even if it had felt amazing. She fought the urges of her body and carefully rolled off the bed, trying not to wake him.

Once standing, she glanced back to ensure that he was still sleeping. Her pulse sped up as she pulled on her clothes, quickly fastening her shorts and shrugging into her vest.

I need to make sure Jimmy is okay before I deal with this.

She glanced around the small cabin, pausing when she saw the open bag on the floor at the end of the bed. Barefoot, she tiptoed over to the bag, trying not to wake Jacob.

She snatched the cell phone out of the bag and then picked up her boots by the laces, planning on sneaking out to make a quick call. One of the laces unwound, and a boot hit the cracked wooden floorboards with a loud thud.

Her heart jumped into her mouth as she spun around to see if Jacob had been woken by the sound. He mumbled something before rolling onto his side and hugging his pillow.

She waited a beat for him to resume snoring, which he did with even louder snores. She exhaled, feeling relieved that he was a deep sleeper. She snatched the offending boot off the floor before hurrying out of the cabin.