Down Under With Dad’s Best Friend by Flora Ferrari

Chapter Twenty-Two

Candace

I wake up in his arms, and it feels so right that I know I’m going to be remembering this moment for the rest of my life.

Soft sunlight filters in through the window and falls over the bed, and it must have been the sun that woke me. I can’t see a clock from here and I don’t even know where I left my phone last night, but it doesn’t matter. I’m on vacation, after all. I have nowhere to be but right here in his arms.

Sean’s breathing is gentle and even, and when I manage to tilt my head up to look at him, he looks so peaceful. His face is smooth and blank, with no frown or even a smile on his face. He just looks like he’s getting great rest, and maybe having a good dream. I don’t want to wake him. He deserves to have this rest, given how hard I know he usually works.

The only thing is, there is one tiny problem. The fact that I have a very full bladder is complaining to me even now, and I don’t think it’s going to wait long enough for Sean to wake up.

I need to figure out a way to get out of bed without disturbing him.

I start with small, subtle movements. The good news is that we fell asleep without wrapping ourselves up in the sheets, in the perfectly climate-controlled hotel room. That means I don’t have to tug the sheets off myself and risk disturbing him that way. But it does send a light shiver down my spine at the thought of room service coming in and finding us like this.

I hope he put out the do not disturb sign. Or they have a set routine already and won’t disturb him until he asks them to clean the room. But I have no idea – and the only way to find out is to get out of bed. So, I have to do that, for two reasons now and not just one.

When I slide slightly to the left and overbalance, my head sliding off his shoulder and onto the pillow, I think for sure that I must be about to wake him. But he carries on sleeping, leaving me to thank my lucky stars. All I have to do now is figure out how to get out from under his arm, draped loosely over my chest and stomach and up to my shoulder, and I’m free to get to the bathroom as quickly as I can.

I shudder for real as I keep moving back. With every inch I get out from under his hand, it slips over my skin. It brushes over one of my nipples, sliding over both of my breasts before hitting the bed. I almost want him to wake up just to continue touching me. But then I hold my breath, feeling awful for disturbing him when he makes a noise in his throat and shifts slightly.

I let out a breath when I realize that he’s fallen back asleep immediately, and finally scramble out of the bed to go and relieve myself.

After the relief of no longer needing to pee, I turn to more pressing concerns. I have a whole new wardrobe here in this suite, but that still means I need to put something on. There’s nothing here in the bathroom, so I emerge and move around as quietly as I can, digging things out of the bags and putting them on.

I stop for a moment as I look down at myself, dressed in a simple blouse and blue jeans, tailored effortlessly to fit my body even though they were bought off the rack. I don’t know how the designer managed to make something this gorgeous. And I remember the price tag, too – and even though I can see how clothes this good can be worth it, it still makes me shudder to think of how much money he spent on me yesterday.

I look back at Sean lying in bed, still peacefully sleeping. Last night – yesterday – even this whole week. It’s all been so amazing. I don’t know what I did to deserve this fairytale. All I know is, I never want it to end.

I stroll out from the bedroom and into the rest of the suite. I only managed to take it in briefly yesterday, but now I see and notice more. It really is impeccably decorated, as one might expect from an expensive suite like this. Somehow, it’s perfectly suited to Sean, dark woods, black décor and fittings, everything masculine and powerful. There are even some art pieces, sculptures in blocky wood polished to a shine which take on abstract twists and shapes.

But all of it is impersonal, all the same. Sean’s only here for a week, just like me. I wish I could see what his home is like. What he fills it with.

Whether there are any pictures of family scattered around the place like I can imagine.

“Hey.”

I turn to see Sean watching me from the bedroom doorway, his mouth curved into an easy smile. He’s only bothered to put on his underwear, and my eyes can’t help traveling over his abs and the rest of his perfect body before returning to his face.

“Morning,” I say, smiling. “I was trying not to wake you.”

“You didn’t,” he says. “Although, I was a little disappointed when I saw you were gone. I thought you might have disappeared on me.”

“Never,” I say fervently, then blush a little at the fierceness of my own words. I don’t want to come off as desperate. I turn away slightly, pretending to look at the furniture again.

“Do you like it here?” Sean asks, coming up behind me. His hands resting on my stomach, his head ducking in close to my ear.

“I do,” I say. “Who wouldn’t? But…”

“But what?”

I swallow my nerves and put the thoughts I’d been having into words. “I would prefer to see your real home.”

Sean chuckles lightly. “My real home… I don’t know if I really have one.”

“What do you mean?” I ask. I still look forward, as if I’m really examining the decorative bookcase set up by whoever staged the room. It just feels so comfortable to stand here with his arms around me.

“I travel so much, I’m at home less than I am away from it,” he says. I might be imagining it, but it seems like there’s a tone of regret in his voice. “As a result, it’s not really somewhere that I’ve had time to… I don’t know. Personalize. It’s just a building with rooms, just like any other hotel. Somewhere for me to store my belongings when I can’t take them on the road with me.”

“What about…” I swallow again. “Sharing it with other people?”

“You mean you?”

“No,” I say, half-laughing. Although, yes, but maybe it’s a little early to start that conversation, right? “I mean, like… family.”

Sean kisses my neck lightly. “I don’t have any family.”

“What?” I turn around to look at him. “What do you mean? No family at all?”

His expression is soft, slightly regretful. Like he’s talking about an old pain that no longer hurts so much. “My parents both died within the last ten years, and I never had siblings.”

“And there’s never been anyone else?” I ask, unable to stop myself. “No… wife, or…”

Sean’s mouth twists in a rueful smile. “No wife or children,” he says. “There’s never been, anyone. I’ve been waiting for the right person for a long time, I suppose.”

He bends to kiss me lightly, then turns to walk back to the bedroom. I dimly realize he’s going to get dressed, but my mind is racing too much to think about it properly. I can barely even move. All I can think about is what he said.

No family. Waiting for the right person.

Could he mean…

No. No, I must be imagining it. I shouldn’t be so.. egocentric.

He can’t mean… me, can he?