Chapter 4

Iwake up cozy, warm, and utterly satisfied. My bones feel limp, my whole body so relaxed I want to sink into this heavenly mattress for the rest of my life and never move.

The deliciously strong arms wrapped around me right now might be swaying that desire, too.

I turn my head to take in the sight of Jared, still asleep, pressed against me. I'm tangled up in him, my leg between his, my arm draped over his chest. There's a small ache between my legs that I relish because God was it worth it. I lost track of how many orgasms this man wrung from my body last night, but I'm certain it's about double the amount of hours of sleep I got.

I've never been so happy to be tired.

That is, until an alarm blares through the room and makes both of us jerk fully awake. I don't recognize the sound, so I know it's not my alarm, but Jared grabs his phone from the side table and taps the screen to silence the head-splitting noise. As he does, I catch a glimpse of the time.

"Oh, shit!" I squeak, kicking free of the covers and practically falling out of bed. I catch myself as my weak legs threaten to give out from under me, and I blush when I feel the sticky reminder of just how thoroughly Jared took careof me last night. Despite the fact I absolutely could not survive another round right now, my core gives an empty pulse that half convinces me it'd be worth it.

"What's wrong?" Jared asks, concern obvious in his voice. He chucks his phone onto the bed and rushes to my side to comfort me.

Shit, this man is too perfect. "It's 8:35!" I tell him, eyes wide and scanning the floor for clothes. There's no time to stop by my place to change, so I'll need to make do with yesterday's clothes…if I can find them. As it is, there's no way I'll make it to class on time.

"Is that bad?" Jared asks, obviously not understanding my freakout.

I find my bra and yank it on, groaning when the stupid clasps slip against each other instead of hooking. Jared bats my hands away and hooks my bra on for me, making my heart feel all warm and fuzzy from just that simple action.

"My first class is at nine." That mushy feeling intensifies when he drops to his knee to grab the tank top he stripped off me yesterday. I let him help me dress, secretly loving the way he's dressing me with the same dedication as he undressed me the day before. "And there's no way in hell I'll get from here to there in time. It'll take like forty minutes to walk there."

"Ah." Jared nods. "Well, I can't have you running through the streets. Or going to class on an empty stomach. Get dressed, little fairy, and let's go."

I swear to God I swoon, despite the mild panic at how badly I've overslept. For a second, all I can do is stare at the still-naked and beautifully sculpted man in front of me, wondering if I've dreamed him into existence. But no, I couldn't have. Not even my dream man was as amazing as Jared. I break myself out of my trance to yank on my clothes and run my hands through my hair in a failed attempt at taming the strands.

Jared glances at me and chuckles. "I only have a comb, I'm afraid," he teases, handing over a comb that will probably snap if I try to tug it through my hair. "I'll make sure to get a proper brush for next time."

My heart skips a beat at that. Yup, it's official. I'm royally screwed, head over heels for this man. After like…two days. Is it possible to be in love with someone that fast? There's no other explanation for the way my heart is doing somersaults and the hundreds of butterflies taking flight in my stomach.

I don't have time to untangle my thoughts or my hair, which I just put up into a strategic messy bun, because the second I shove my shoes on, we're out the door. Jared takes my hand, jogging with me to the elevator and out of the hotel.

"Get in, I'll be back in two seconds." He tosses me his car keys and gives me a wink before he darts back inside.

Confused but not complaining, I take the keys and head around to the car park to climb into the passenger seat. I don't have a license, so there's no risk of me stealing his insanely fancy car, but I'm still slightly honored at the fact he trusts me like this anyway.

Three minutes later, Jared returns, a paper bag and coffee cup in his hand. I take both eagerly as he throws himself into the driver's seat and heads to the college.

I sip the coffee and moan at how good it is, thanking him at least five times when I see a huge chocolate croissant in the bag, too. I wish I could kiss him, but with the way he's driving with utter determination to get me to class on time, I don't want to distract him.

When we stop, I jump out, clutching my goodies in my hands, and rush round to his side. He rolls the window down, and I'm about to sneak a kiss in thanks before I run to the classroom when someone shouts my name.

"Juliet! There you are!" Laura calls.

The sound of my best friend's voice makes me jump, nearly spilling my coffee, and I take a huge step back from the car. Shit. She nearly caught me kissing her dad.

Laura walks over to us and frowns when she sees who's just dropped me off. My heart races in my chest, and I try to hide the guilt that sweeps through me. I don't regret anything that's happening between Jared and me, but that doesn't mean I don't feel bad about the fact I'm screwing my best friend's father.

"Dad? Wait, Juliet, why were you in my dad's car?" Laura asks, no accusation in her tone at all, just confusion.

I scramble for an explanation that's something, anything, other than the truth. "Oh, uh, I missed my alarms," I stutter out, taking a swig of coffee to try and compose myself. "I was running like a lunatic when Jared spotted me. He recognized me from the showcase, so he offered me a lift. Lifesaver!"

I'm too enthusiastic with the explanation, but I hope the smile I give Laura is enough to endear her to my story. I've never lied to her before, and I hate doing it now but the truth is absolutely not an option. Not yet, anyway. Not until I've spoken to Jared about how the hell we're going to deal with this.

To my utter relief, Laura returns my grin and rolls her eyes at her dad. "That's Dad," she says with a laugh. "Always taking care of people. Thanks for helping her out."

The blush that hits my face is nothing short of burning. Laura's words remind me of Jared's last night when he praised me for letting him take care of me. My thighs squeeze together at the memory, and when I risk glancing at Jared, I know by the way his gaze darkens that he's recalling it, too.

Laura grabs my arm to drag me into the building. Jared drives off, and I sigh in relief. I survived that interaction. Now I just need to survive the rest of the day without bursting into flames.

I yawn as we shove into the changing rooms, and I thank my past self for always keeping a spare change of clothes in my locker for emergencies.

"Tired?" Laura teases, wiggling her eyebrows at me. "That wouldn't have anything to do with that hickey on your neck, would it?"

Crap.My hand flies to my neck where Laura's gaze is locked onto me, as though I can hide the mark in retrospect. There's no hiding the way I'm blushing bright red, though, and my best friend is oblivious to my internal moral battle when she tips her head back and laughs.

"So…who was it?" she presses while we quickly change into our dance clothes. The aching in my muscles from working out all night tells me that working out in class today is gonna suck.

"Oh, uh, no one you know," I babble in response, turning away to shove my stuff back in my locker so Laura can't see the grimace on my face. "Just some random."

It feels so wrong to call Jared ‘some random' because he's so much more than that. He's…well, he's quickly becoming everything.

"Well, don't hold out on me, girl! Tell me the details! Was it good?" Laura continues, nudging my shoulder with hers as we start to head out of the changing room to the studio.

Oh dear God, how am I supposed to tell her that it was amazing and incredible and I can barely walk straight today and oh also, it was your dad? Nope. Not happening.

Thankfully, I'm saved from answering that when we get to the rehearsal space at the exact same time as our teacher. Immediately, we're thrown into a brutal warm-up that leaves no room for doing anything other than panting and trying to breathe.

Not being able to talk doesn't stop my mind spinning, though. Even as my hips scream in a split stretch, my thoughts are utterly focused on Jared. It's silly but I miss him already. I don't want to go home alone, not when I know how good it feels to sleep wrapped in his arms now.

I glance to the right, where Laura is stretched out like all the other dancers around us. My heart thuds. I don't want to lose her, but I don't want to lose him either.

Whatever it takes, I have to figure out how to make this work.