Chapter 358

"Noco, baby," I say softly, laughing and reaching out to stroke his cheek. "We have to get up! There's a whole day waiting for us. And pancakes. And coffee. And little raspberry pastries."

He groans, slipping a hand down my back so that it settles at the dip of my spine, pulling me tight against him so that our bellies are flush. A warm rush pulses through me as I loop my leg over his, because I love that - love how he wants every inch of his skin pressed to mine, just as I want it too.

"No," he mutters, stubborn, shaking his head. But then he pauses, considering. "Well, the raspberry pastries..we can have those. But someone can bring them here, and slide them under the door, and then we'll eat them in bed."

"Okay, baby," I whisper, pleased, still stroking his hair and his face. "Whatever you want."

A little smile grows on his lips when I say that, and his eyes open, moving slowly over my face. "I like this," he murmurs, nodding. "Waking up with you here, in my bed. We should do this...every day."

"You don't mind that I apparently sleep on top of you?" I ask, grinning.

"No, I like that," he answers, his voice all growly and rough.noveldrama

"You don't mind me passed out on your chest? Collapsing your ribcage in the night, making it all hard to breathe?"

"You are light, like a sparrow," he murmurs, leaning forward to press a kiss to my cheek even as I laugh. "Plus, I liked feeling you there, when I would wake up. The weight of you - it makes you feel...very real. Not like a dream."

"Do I sometimes feel like a dream?" I ask, my voice wandering a little, my thoughts still sleepy and disconnected.

"You've always been a dream," Jackson replies, easy, like it's a fact. "It's only when I have you here, warm against me, that I have proof that you're real. That I didn't just make you up."

I smile, shaking my head, hardly able to take the sweetness of him as I wrap my arms tight around his neck and pull him as close as I can. Jackson growls again, liking it, tuming again and taking me with him so that we get all tangled up in the sheets, so that I'm again laying on his chest and looking down into his face. My hair falls around us, a little, making a private curtain. He tucks one side back behind my ear, wanting to see me.

"I don't deserve you, Jacks," I say on a happy sigh, relaxing against him as I gaze down into his face. "No one does. You're too good and sweet."

"What a ridiculous thing to say," he murmurs, raising a hand to cup my cheek. "When we're all aware that you're way out of my league, Ariel."

I burst out laughing, shaking my head at him. "Jackson!" I protest, smacking him lightly on the chest. "Why would you even think that!?"

"Because you're a brave, talented, beautiful, charming princess who is clever as a fox. And I don't even know what a walk-in closet is."

I burst out laughing at this, tilting my head back and glancing over at the door to the closet, which I'm sure my mom has already filled with clothes. "Minor details, baby," I whisper, turning back to smile down into his face. "Knowledge of interior architecture aside, you're perfect."

Jackson grumbles discontentedly but wraps an arm around my shoulder, pulling me down so that my face rests again against his chest, where we started. Long moments pass and I feel my mind start to drift back to sleep, completely comfortable. Which is why Jackson's next words startle me so completely.

"I think that Luca..." he murmurs, awake and thoughtful, clearly musing aloud, "makes more sense than I do, as your mate, your match. At least on paper, as they say."

My eyes immediately fly open and I sit up a little, staring into Jackson's face.

"What?" I breathe, shocked, appalled. Because Luca is wonderful, but Jackson - I never, ever want him to doubt our connection. "What...where is this coming from, Jacks!? Why the hell would you say that!?"

He raises a hand to my cheek then, cupping it, looking at me a little sadly. "I saw everything last night, Ariel," he says, his words an apologetic whisper. "Every moment of the fight, and what you did to help him. And what you were like...with him. I saw...the way he made your smile."