She felt well rested and yet her body seemed to have sunk into the bed and it didn’t want to move. When she tried to open her eyes, she squinted at the brightness. She smelled bacon. She couldn’t think of the last time she woke up to that smell in her apartment. When she considered why there would be someone cooking in her apartment now, she closed her eyes and grinned. Her fingers curled around the top sheet as her mind slowly replayed the last twenty-four hours. She licked her lips: an instant recall. Rolling over, she opened her eyes a crack, focusing on the pillow next to her. When a bang and then a soft oath came from the kitchen, she couldn’t help laughing. After a deep stretch, she rolled onto her back, her mind wandering again to the dented muscles of his stomach, his strong right shoulder that she’d been careful not to grab too hard, and the way he’d cradled her against him, breathing slowing and deeply. Tess couldn’t wipe the grin from her face as she burrowed down deeper into the bed, pulling the blanket over her giggling mouth.
