I moaned when I took a bite of the scrumptious eggs and toast, and managed to finish most of it by the time Dane came back. He strolled in to my room, shuffling through a brown paper bag, and I decided to ogle him. I might have been in pain, but he was still pleasant to look at. His light blue jeans hung low on his hips, but it was the way it tightened around his thighs that caught my attention.
I knew what those thighs looked like naked. What they looked like mid-thrust…
“Okay,” he muttered, making me snap my head up. Luckily he was still busy looking through the contents of the bag, and hadn’t noticed me staring. “Let’s see…”
He sat down beside me again, and started taking out some ibuprofen and a small heating pad. He took out a bottle of water, and handed it to me.
“Take two ibuprofen,” he instructed, placing two pills in my hand. I swallowed them down, sighing when the cool water hit my parched throat.
“And then…” he took the heating pad out of the box, and faced me. “Lift your shirt.”
I nearly choked on my mouthful of water. “What?”
He couldn’t be serious? I felt like death warmed up, and he was thinking about sex? Granted, I would be too if my ovaries weren’t being karate chopped.
“Just lift your shirt, Kennedy.” Dane smirked as if he could read my thoughts. “Just enough to expose your stomach. Please.”
I did as he asked, and watched with rapt attention how he placed the heating pad just below my belly button. He set the temperature, and when the warmth started to settle into my skin I wanted to cry from the sheer relief. But how had he –
“I saw the calendar in your bathroom,” he said quietly, answering my unspoken question. “It’s obvious you have cramps, Kitten.”
Oh. Good. Lord.
Kill me now.
No, really. Please.
I looked down, but Dane wasn’t having that.
He tilted my chin, and my skin buzzed with the contact. I’d missed his touch. “Don’t be shy about this stuff. You don’t have to be with me.”
My cheeks were still on fire, and had more to do with this moment and Dane, than the fact that it was that dreaded time of the month.
“Thank you,” I said, pulling my shirt down. “For the breakfast, and for the other stuff too.”
Dane rubbed the back of his neck, and laughed nervously. “I’ve never done anything like this before, so uh, I’m glad I’m doing it right.”
I tried to smile, but it was overtaken by a yawn.
“You should get some sleep,” added Dane. I was somewhat disappointed that he was leaving, but I knew he must’ve had class again before his last football practice before we went on break.
He moved the tray onto my desk, and then started pulling off his shoes. I looked at him in confusion. “What are you doing?”
“I need a nap before practice, and I recall that your bed is pretty damn comfortable, Kitten. Now scoot over, and roll onto your side.”
I tried to look at least a little annoyed, but I was failing miserably. I rolled away from him, and found myself waiting in anticipation. His body sank into the bed, and instead of lying on his back, he curled himself around me, and held me to his chest.
“Stop overthinking it, Kitten,” he breathed into my hair. When had he learned to read me so well? “Just get some rest.”
My eyes started falling closed, but not before Dane’s arm came around my stomach.
I loved it when he held me like that.
Damnit.
I was starting to fall.
Hard.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Kennedy
I WOKE UP a few hours later when my phone started ringing. Dane was noticeably absent, but my slight disappointment dissipated when I found his note on the pillow beside me.
My grandmother’s name flashed on my phone, and I held the piece of paper to my chest as I answered.
“Hi, Grams.”
I could imagine her smiling on the other end of the line. “How’s my precious girl doing? I haven’t heard from you in a while, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I felt a pang of guilt. I should’ve tried harder to stay in touch with her and my Gramps, especially as they took me in after high school. I had nothing without them.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I’ve been so caught up with school, and my days seem to blend together at the moment.”
“Oh I understand sweetheart, we just miss you. The house is so quiet, and your granddaddy misses you on the ranch.”
“I miss you too.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You’ll tell Gramps that I’ll be there for Christmas?”
“He’s already talking about your visit,” she chuckled. “Crazy old man.”