Chapter 17: Waking In His Arms

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Waking In His Arms

The first rays of morning sunlight slipped through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling across the enormous bedroom in pale ribbons of gold. They crept slowly over the tangled sheets until they reached Iris’s face, warming her closed eyelids and coaxing her awake.

She frowned and a soft groan escaped her lips as she tried to burrow deeper into the pillows, determined to steal a few more minutes of sleep.

Every muscle in her body felt pleasantly heavy, wrapped in the kind of exhaustion that only came after an emotionally overwhelming night.

She instinctively shifted slightly and tried to turn onto her side, trying to escape the light, but she couldn’t get very far because something heavy held her in place.

Her eyes fluttered open. For several long seconds she simply stared, still caught somewhere between sleep and reality.

Her sleepy mind struggled to understand why she couldn’t move until she looked down and saw that a broad, muscular arm rested securely across her waist.

She froze, her breath caught...for one terrifying second, her heart forgot how to beat.

Then...everything from the previous night came rushing back. Her going to Obsidian with Zoey, meeting Alexander, dancing with him, the drive to his penthouse, what happened in the elevator, the kisses and finally having sex with him.

Heat rushed into her cheeks so quickly she thought she might actually burst into flames.

"Oh... my God." She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her burning face behind both hands.

"Since when have you become this bold, Iris Carter?" she whispered to herself, her voice barely audible in the quiet room. "Or reckless." She wasn’t entirely sure which word fit better.

The woman lying in this luxurious penthouse felt like someone else entirely.

Yesterday morning she had been planning a romantic anniversary dinner with the man she thought she would spend the rest of her life with.

Twelve hours later...she had walked away from that life forever. And somehow...somehow she had ended up here, in bed with a stranger.

A tiny, almost guilty smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "I really did it."

Once she had realized what she had done, funny enough, there was no panic in that realization, nor did she have any crushing regret.

She was only in disbelief. Disbelief that she had lost the innocence she had guarded for years, not to the man she’d spent three years loving...but to a stranger whose last name she didn’t even know.

Strange as it was, she couldn’t bring herself to regret it. Last night with Alexander hadn’t felt empty at all, It hadn’t felt forced. And it certainly hadn’t even felt reckless.

For the first time since walking into Jason’s apartment last night, she’d forgotten what heartbreak felt like. And she found that it felt lighter to breathe again.

Her fingers slowly lowered from her face. "Well..." she murmured, trying to sound far braver than she felt, "mission accomplished."

Her birthday had certainly become unforgettable for her and she was no longer a virgin. Her mom would be proud.

Now she thought, came the difficult mission... leaving here unnoticed.

Slowly, she lowered her hands from her face and very carefully, Iris turned her head and glanced toward the man sleeping beside her.

Alexander was still asleep and he looked different. Even in sleep he looked unreal.

Dark hair lay slightly tousled across his forehead, softening features that yesterday had seemed almost intimidating.

Without those piercing blue eyes fixed on her, he looked younger somehow...Peaceful...and less like the powerful and intimidating man who had effortlessly commanded every room he entered and more like someone finally at peace.

Now...he simply looked exhausted.

His breathing was slow, deep and steady. She looked down again at the arm wrapped possessively around her waist and she sighed worriedly.

"Okay..." she whispered. "Step one...remove giant arm without waking the handsome stranger, so this doesn’t turn awkward for us."

Slowly...very slowly...she slid both hands beneath his forearm, intending to lift it just enough to slip away from him. It moved perhaps half an inch, then Alexander frowned in his sleep.

Before Iris could react, the arm tightened around her and a startled, tiny squeak escaped her lips as she was effortlessly pulled backward until her back rested firmly against his chest.

"Oh!"

His body radiated warmth. He was unnaturally very hot and Iris wondered if that was supposed to be normal or if he was sick.

She could feel every slow breath he took, his breathing never changed which indicated that he was very much asleep.

A second later, still asleep,he instinctively buried his face against the curve of her neck.

Iris froze. She felt him inhale her scent deeply, almost as though he were unconsciously memorizing her scent. As though her scent alone had settled something restless inside him.

The tension in his body visibly eased and his brow relaxed. Then he raised the same arm that was wrapped around her and took her breast and fondled it. Which earned a gasp from Iris.

He squeezed the breast, twirling her nipple, squeezed it again and finally dropped the hand back on her waist.

A low, satisfied sound rumbled deep inside his chest before he settled back into sleep, still holding her as though letting go wasn’t even a possibility.

Iris blinked shocked. "Did.. he just fondle her?" She frowned to herself. "And...did he just sniff me?"

The thought sounded ridiculous, but Iris remained perfectly still. She didn’t want to make a noise and wake him, so she waited. When she was certain he had fallen into a deeper sleep, and heard him snore softly, she smiled.

Carefully, she tried again to free herself from his grasp. She shifted one shoulder, then her hips.... still nothing. His unconscious hold was surprisingly impossible to escape.

"You have got to be kidding me." She bit back another sigh. "I’ve been kidnapped by a sleeping man."

She tried once more, and tried again...still nothing. Alexander merely sighed contentedly in his sleep, holding her tight.

Iris shook her head. "I surrender." She sighed dramatically.

"Fine. If brute force doesn’t work..." A mischievous smile slowly appeared. "...maybe distraction will."

Turning carefully in his embrace, Iris found herself face to face with him. For several quiet moments she simply watched him. The morning light traced gentle shadows across his face.

Being this close to him...it almost seemed unfair for one person to look this handsome. She studied him without worrying he’d catch her staring.

Without thinking, she reached up and brushed that stubborn lock of hair away from his forehead. Her fingertips lingered there and she marveled at how he really was unfairly handsome.

She studied every detail with quiet curiosity, the strong jaw, the faint shadow of stubble that had appeared overnight, the surprisingly long eyelashes resting against his cheeks. He looked almost too perfect to be real.

"You may have been really dangerous when awake," she murmured. "But not when you’re asleep. You just look completely harmless." The thought made her smile.

Acting on an impulse she couldn’t explain, she leaned forward and pressed a featherlight kiss against his forehead. Then another against his temple, another against his cheek.

Immediately, the corner of his mouth twitched, and a low, guttural growl rumbled from his throat, so unexpected and primal that Iris immediately froze and her eyes widened.

"...Did he just growl?"

She stared at him. The sound he made... It wasn’t quite human...it sounded more animal than man—and yet, it was laced with a possessiveness that sent a shiver down her spine.

Alexander shifted slightly, his brow furrowing before relaxing again, the strange sound disappeared as quickly as it had come.

She blinked several times. "I definitely imagined that." Didn’t she? Before she could think about it any longer, the sound shifted his body, loosening his hold just enough and seizing the opportunity, Iris carefully slipped free beneath it.

She moved with exaggerated caution, scarcely daring to breathe until both feet touched the floor.

She turned back toward the bed, looking to see if she wakes him, but Alexander hadn’t moved...Only then did she allow herself to breathe, and a quiet smile tugged at her lips.

Her legs felt strangely unsteady as she stood, and she felt sore and a little bit of pain between her thighs. She turned toward the bed to gather and wear her clothes scattered across the floor....and her gaze caught the faint red stain against the white sheets.

She stopped, breathing heavily. The room suddenly felt very quiet at that moment, her fingertips brushed self-consciously against her lips.