Sea Breeze 02 - Because of Low

just nodded and reached over to sprinkle onions on the pizza just so my arm could brush against hers.

    “That was one of the best pizzas I’ve ever eaten,” I admitted after helping Willow clean up our mess in the kitchen.
    “We make a good team,” she said throwing me a grin over her shoulder as she put the DVD into the player.
    I sat down in the straight back chair leaving the sofa available for her. There was enough room for both of us on it but I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable with my sitting beside her. Willow turned around and frowned at me.
    “I don’t bite Marcus. You can come sit on the comfy old couch with me. That chair is incredibly uncomfortable.”
    Just the opening I needed. I jumped up and sat down on the end of the couch and stretched my legs out in front of me.
    “You don’t have to tell me twice. I was just being polite.”
    Willow chuckled and brought a blanket over to the sofa with her. She didn’t sit at the opposite end which surprised me. Instead she sat down next to me just far enough away that our bodies didn’t touch and held up the blanket, “Wanna share?”
    “Yeah,” I wasn’t the least bit cold but an offer to get under a blanket with Willow wasn’t something I was going to pass up.
    “Alright,” she announced as she spread the cover out over both of us, “here we go.”
    The dark room was illuminated by the television screen. The warmth from Willow’s body was so tempting. I wanted to close the distance and run my fingers through her hair. I’d been dying to see if it was as soft as it looked from the moment I’d opened the door last night to see her standing there in tears. As if reading my mind she scooted over toward me and laid her head on my shoulder.
    “I hope you don’t mind but I’m a cuddler when I watch movies.”
    I almost choked on my words. “Uh, no I don’t mind.”
    Even though she’d closed the distance I forced my arm to remain on the back of the sofa and not find its way to her hair.
    “I didn’t even get a romantic comedy. I thought about you when I rented it and you don’t appear to be a romantic comedy type of guy. I went for Sci-Fi instead.”
    With her snuggled up against me on the couch I would watch the damn Princess Diaries I abhorred since my sister had forced me to watch it over and over when she was little.
    “Sci-fi is good,” I assured her knowing I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything with the sweet smell that reminded me of honeysuckles wafting up from her hair.

    Chapter Three

    Willow

    “Low,” Marcus voice whispered in my ear. I snuggled closer to the sound and breathed deeply. He smelled so good I wanted to curl up inside his clothes.
    “Low, you need to wake up,” his voice said a little louder. I stretched and opened my eyes. It took a second for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. But the first thing I saw was the very defined six pack of Marcus Hardy’s stomach peeking out from underneath the dark blue t-shirt he was wearing. My next realization was my head was in his lap.
    “I’m sorry I had to wake you but it’s after two and I figured you might want to get to bed before Cage gets home.”
    The warm cotton of his shirt was clasp tightly in my fist. I stared at my hand and quickly released the grip I’d had on his shirt. What the heck? Had I been trying to undress him in my sleep? God, I hoped not.
    I sat up and a yawn escaped.
    “I’m sorry I fell asleep on you,” I mumbled feeling my cheeks grow warm.
    He grinned and his green eyes twinkled with mischief, “Don’t be. I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed a night this much.”
    I ducked my head and bit my lip to keep a silly grin from breaking out on my face.
    “Me too, well except when I fell asleep.”
    His deep chuckle sent a warmth through me I didn’t recognize. It wasn’t something I was familiar with but it was nice. More than nice. It could be addicting.
    “You’d better get to bed. You’ve got that early class,” he said softly.
    I nodded then stood up and made my way to Cage’s bedroom door. Turning back before I disappeared inside I called out, “Good night.”
    “Good night Low,” his deep voice rumbled in the darkness.

    “Hey baby, I’m home and I’m clean. I scrubbed in the shower and used half a bottle of mouth wash,” Cage murmured as he crawled into bed beside me. I forced open my sleepy eyes to see the sunrise on the horizon. I nodded and rolled over to get another hour of sleep before I needed to get