"Morning, beautiful," a gravelly voice whispered as something nipped at my earlobe. "How'd you sleep?"
I didn't open my eyes. I'd had this dream a million times before. One hand slid up my thigh while a pair of tender lips kissed me along my shoulder blade. If I opened my eyes, I'd be alone in my apartment with Hemmingway, my mastiff, licking my cheek. For once I wanted to let the dream play out.
The brush of rough hair against my back and an itchy blanket on my breast caused my eyes to pop open. The memory of the night before rushed back as I bolted upright in bed and stared at the man lying beside me.
I couldn't have… I wouldn't have… I'd never…
"Oh…my…God!"
He stared at me. "Somethin' wrong, darlin'?"
I took a deep breath, trying to gather my scattered thoughts. I'd been in a bar, gotten drunk, talked about marrying some guy named Miller, and I'd actually left with him then… Nothing. I forced a smile and muttered, "Nothing, Mr. Miller. Nothing at all."
I slid out of bed, carefully taking the blanket with me as not reveal anymore of myself than was necessary. Still, I could feel him watching me roam around what I assumed was his bedroom (because clearly, small room that housed on king size dark wood four post bed, matching night stand with its brass desk lamp on top was not my bedroom.) I tried to keep what remained of my dignity and composure all the while searching for my clothes like a nudist on an Easter egg hunt. I reached down to pull my bra out from under his foot of his bed, but only one cup came up.
"Why is my bra ripped in half?"
He chuckled. "Sorry 'bout that, darlin'."
I shot him a dirty look. "Do you know how much that bra cost me? It's from Victoria's Secrets for crying out loud."
He stretched the length of the bed, completely unashamed of his nakedness. "I'm real sorry, darlin'. I'll buy ya 'nother one."
"That's not the point-"I stopped and stared at him, paralyzed by the sight of an absolutely perfect example of a man in front of me laid out like a gift from goddess Venus herself. "Oh…my…God."
He put his hands behind his head. He was truly a god among men. His entire upper body seemed to be cut from two beautiful pieces of bronze; the deep caramel color of his chiseled facial feature, neck and arms to the biceps blended into a slightly lighter tan covering the remainder of his upper body. His wide chest was covered in a V-shaped trail of hair that ended at his navel, reminding me of an arrow pointing directly to his…