Robin des Bois ✓

twenty-eight. This Too Shall Pass

I woke up with a start, disoriented and startled, my heart pounding, my pulse a frantic throb in my throat. As I blinked at the glare of the morning sun streaming in, I tried to disentangle dream from reality –for a moment I couldn't figure out what was real and what was just fantasy conjured up by my subconscious in the dead of night.

But the memory of last night was engraved into the soreness of my body, into the unfamiliar throb in between my legs and it slowly came back to me in waves. I was stuck somewhere between disbelief, mortification and satisfaction –hadn't I gotten exactly what I'd wanted after all?

I gathered the covers and pulled them up to my chin, revelling in the warmth and softness of them against all of my naked skin, never wanting to get up and face the inevitable awkwardness that would probably ensue.

I heard footsteps coming up the staircase –I tried to keep my breathing steady, willed my heart to stop pounding so very frantically, but to no avail –it kept up its tribal rhythm, my pulse hammering away.

"Hi." His voice was soft, a lover's caress. The mattress dipped slightly beside me and Gabe's hand rested on my arm, gentle yet firm. I tried to drown the memory of the way those same hands had travelled and mapped my skin and the constellations of freckles all over my body just hours ago.

I risked a peek over the covers. "Hi," I rasped out, cleared my throat and tried again, my voice slightly clearer. "Hi."

He smiled, a bit sheepishly, his other hand at the nape of his neck.

"I'm sorry to wake you up. I made breakfast and I've got to head out to work in –" he glanced at his watch, "about an hour's time."

"Oh," I whispered, pushing the cover further down, until my chin peeked through as well.

He nodded at the chair neatly tucked under his desk. "I put your clothes there. I got you a clean shirt of mine, but I think you're gonna have to wear the same shorts you had yesterday. And I left a fresh toothbrush for you next to the bathroom sink."

He stood up and I appraised him –Gabe wore a crisp white dress shirt, half open, a tie hanging loosely around his neck, still undone. He looked glorious, as always, and heat surged in my cheeks at the recollection of the way he'd been last night, so full of intensity, his gaze brimming with lust.

He turned away and once he'd disappeared from view down the stairs, I jumped out of bed, rushed to the bathroom where I took the quickest shower I could, changed into his clean tee and my jean shorts and brushed my teeth. I tried to arrange my curls into a semblance of order, but after what I'd put them through, they refused all cooperation, forcing me to throw them into a messy bun at the top of my head, with stray strands sticking out everywhere –I would have to deep condition and detangle them as soon as I got home.

I rushed down the stairs –the last thing I wanted was to make Gabe late for work. I took a seat opposite him at the small kitchen table, inhaling the eggs, bacon and toasts he'd made in a few ravenous bites.

"I thought what you did wasn't exactly the nine-to-five type thing," I said between two forkfuls, trying to sound nonchalant even though my curiosity had been more than piqued.

Gabe looked at me through slightly lowered lids, an unreadable smile playing on his lips –God, I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and never let go, slip into him and curl up there forever, lulled by the beating of his heart and the rush of air in his lungs.

"That's a pretty recent change, but I've got an office job now, added to my regular... gig. Marco is exploring new business venues, he bought a few ventures he wants to make into clubs and lounges and he made me the director of the project." He shrugged as if it were no big deal at all, but my jaw dropped and I was pretty sure a piece of bacon I'd been chewing dropped to my plate. I tried to recover quickly and snapped my mouth shut, but still stared at him with unhidden amazement.