texting Bren to ask if he had a condom I could have. Maybe two. Or three. Depended on how late Collins slept and how she felt about morning sex.

Knowing Bren, he would have come prepared for his weekend with Madie, and Collins said their hotel room was just down the hall.

It was probably too early, though. The clock on the bedside table read seven in the morning, but my brain was still wired from last night, from the best freaking sex of my life. And even though I was exhausted, I couldn't sleep. The night kept replaying over and over again in my head.

Instead, I flicked through the room service menu, keeping a careful eye on a peacefully sleeping Collins. I had no clue what she'd want for breakfast, which just highlighted how little I really knew about her, apart from how amazing she was in bed.

I could get to know her, though. I planned on getting to know her.

At least, that is, until an hour later when Collins woke up and shattered that thought into a million pieces that I didn't think would ever fit back together again.

—

Collins was wild in bed. And I didn't mean wild like how she was last night. I meant that she tossed and turned and tossed some more while she slept. It didn't wake me up in the night, but now it was past her usual seven-thirty wake-up call, and she was still thrashing around.

Of course, her tossing and turning didn't bother me in the way that she'd been giving me quite the view, naked and tangled in sheets that barely covered her. But it did bother me in the way that I worried she was having nightmares or flashbacks.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, I pulled her into me with hopes that a bit of stability would help her settle. Luckily, it did. She buried her face in my neck with a sigh, and even though she still squirmed a bit, each tiny movement brought her closer. Like she was trying to find me in the dark, even though it was morning.

I'd been able to put my worries aside to enjoy the last few days with Collins, soaking in every minute of being finally able to call her mine. But it was a new day now. Another day, another morning after sleeping together. And I couldn't keep my brain from running back to how last time we woke up together like this, she'd left me. I couldn't keep my brain from thinking about why she'd left me.

It drove me up the wall that I couldn't remember Mr. Colorado's last name. I wanted to fucking end him and his family.

Around ten, I slipped out of bed to grab some coffee before settling in next to Collins again. Even those thirty seconds out of the room scared the living daylight out of me, though. What the hell was my problem? She didn't have a magic fucking wand, and yet a part of me worried she'd be gone when I walked back in the room. Like she'd vanish in a blink of an eye.

But she was there. Of course. She'd curled up with a pillow in my absence, soundly sleeping with the pattering of light rain in the background, so I let her be and sat beside her as I sipped on my coffee.

Nearly an hour passed before she stirred.

"What time is it?" she mumbled.

"It's almost eleven, sleepyhead."

"What?" Her expression was baffled as she lifted her head, blinking sleep out of her eyes as she looked up at me.

"Yeah, I didn't want to wake you." I chuckled. "I know good sleep is hard to come by."

"Not with you." Collins rolled onto her back with a stretch, giving me a great view. A truly wonderful view that I'd never take for granted again. Naked and beautiful. God, I wanted her. Again. Last night was fucking amazing, but I wanted more already. "Are you going to get annoyed if I want to sleep in your bed every night?" she asked.

My stomach flipped at the question, a question that insinuated that she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Although it was also a ridiculous question. Annoyed? Collins could live in my bed, and I would sing praises in her name.

"Never." I grabbed the hands she'd thrown over her head while stretching, pinning them down into the pillows as I rolled on top of her. "In fact, I would do anything to keep you here with me all the time."

Collins' brown eyes flew open as she sucked in. It seemed to me that someone was finally awake. "But—"

"Do you need convincing?" I cut her off. After all, there was no possible rebuttal. "I could tie you to the bed."

Please need convincing. Please need convincing.

"Beau." She moaned as I rolled my body over hers, giving her a little taste of just how much I liked having her in my bed. She struggled against the grip I had on her wrists, but I didn't loosen it. I wasn't going to have her slip away from me.

"Yeah?" I dipped my head, creating a trail of kisses down her neck.

"I have to—" The words came out breathy, barely audible, and Collins had to try again. "I have to get to the bookstore on campus. It closes at noon on Sundays."

"That's a whole hour away." I coasted my free hand down her sides, tickling bare skin. When I reached her hip, I gripped it, encouraging her to tip up toward me and feel how goddamn hard I was.

"Fuck, yes." She hummed a little in satisfaction before trying again. "But Beau—"

I frowned at her protests, which, although weak, were definitely persistent. "Is it because you're sore?" I asked, releasing her wrists to slip my hand between her legs and work my palm over her in slow massage.

Collins's lips parted with a gasp. "No—well, maybe a little. But I—" Her eyes closed as I moved the heel of my hand in leisurely circles. "I have to shower and dress and look up all the books I need for my classes."

"I'll look up your books while you shower," I murmured. "And then we can go to campus together."

"Uh-uh." Collins pushed up onto her elbow abruptly, catching me off guard enough. I fell to her side, and she glared down at me. "You're not allowed to come with me."

"Why not?"

That stung a little there, sweetheart. Not gonna lie.

"Because I know you'll find a way to pay for all my books, and I don't need you to drop hundreds of dollars on me."

I shrugged. "I dropped thousands of dollars on you last night, so a few hundred shouldn't be a big deal."

While continuing to narrow her eyes at me, Collins wrapped herself up in one of my sheets, sliding to the edge of the bed. It was kind of cute, even though she was angry. Although, her being angry might have been what made it so cute.

I would definitely have to work on her if she was mad about a little trip to Oregon and me wanting to buy her some textbooks. I had all sorts of plans in mind for spoiling Collins Bryant.

"You are not helping your case, Beau Martin."

Collins planted her feet on the ground and took off for the door to my bedroom faster than I imagined, but she wasn't fast enough to get into the hallway before I caught her. Yep, I could have competed in the goddamn Olympic trials with how quick my feet moved. Hundred-meter dash, here I come. Like fucking lightning over here and for one simple reason: there was something about watching her leave that made alarm strike my heart.

"Not so fast, baby girl," I said, pinning her to the door before she could open it. She was drowning in the sheet, and I had to tug at the bunched-up fabric to find bare skin, digging my fingertips into her hip again. Collins gasped, and I snuck into her tight cocoon before draping the sheet back over both of us, pressing my body against hers.

It was fucking cold in this room, and I had a few things to say. I wasn't about to stand there with my ass hanging out.

She immediately moaned as my erection grazed her ass, and I saw how her eyelids fluttered, her forehead knocking against the door.

"Let me come to the bookstore with you, and I promise I won't buy anything."

It felt desperate, and maybe it was, but I had the strongest urge not to let her out of my goddamn sight today.

"I don't believe you," she said while simultaneously popping her hips back, widening her stance to allow better access.

Swallowing a little laugh at how her body betrayed her, I brushed my thumb over her skin, inching lower. Closer to where she wanted it. "For being such a needy girl in bed, you're so ridiculously low maintenance out of it."

"I don't want to rely on you for things that I know I can do on my own," she said, sucking in when my thumb made it to that spot between her legs. "And for the record, we're not in bed. We're against the door."

"Yes, we are." I chuckled lowly, but it morphed into a groan when Collins purposefully brushed her ass up and down my aching erection. This girl was asking for it. "And you want me to fuck you against it, don't you? Even though you said you didn't have time."

Her head rolled back as I relented and gave her a tiny thrust, pressing her into my hand. "I can't help it," she breathed, a tad wispy.

Now that I understood.

Logic zoomed out the goddamn window when we were together, and it would be so easy to give in, grant her what she wanted even though we both knew it would cut her way too short on time.

What I didn't fully understand was her insistence on not needing me, but maybe that was just something that would take time. Maybe this was a reassurance for her in a way. I sighed. And gave in. But not in the way I wanted.

"When you come back, I'll fuck you however you want. And if you don't come back...." I smacked her ass hard enough that her knees buckled a bit, and I had to tighten my grip on her hips to hold her up. "You know what'll happen. I won't be as gentle as last night, either."

After a long pause where the sounds of Collins' heavy breathing mixed with mine, she spun in my arms.

"Is that what you're worried about?" Her soft eyes searched my face. "That I—that I won't come back?"

I shook my head, looking away. "No, not really."

Lies. Lies. Lies. Lies that Collins saw right through. Her hand came up from the tangle of fabric, cupping my face.

"Beau..."

She forced me to meet her gaze again, and I got lost in them for a moment. In their depth and their warmth. Reassurance. This was reassurance.

"I'll be back in an hour," she said with quiet strength. "Every time I leave this apartment, I can promise you that I'll come back. I meant it when I said I wanted to sleep in your bed every night."

"Okay." There was suddenly a lump in my throat that I had to figure out how to talk with. "Maybe some nights we can sleep in your bed, too. Your sheets smell like your hair, and I kind of love it."

And you.

"Deal. Now, I'm going to go get ready, and if I'm not back in time for lunch, you can punish me however you see fit."

Collins darted into the hallway before I could reply, winking once over her shoulder and leaving me to wonder if I wanted her to make it back for lunch or if I wanted her to miss it. My palm was already aching for the feel of her ass.

Either way, I decided I should probably get started on making something to eat.

****

"You can cook?"

Fuck, she was back. God, my poor heart was practically doing jumping jacks in my chest at the sound of her voice.

Collins dropped two filled bags onto the ground. The thud they made told me they were filled to the brim with textbooks, and it made me wish that I'd pressed harder to come with her just so her back didn't fucking break from the weight of carrying those books.

Her heavy breathing didn't seem to be on account of her trek back from campus, though. Collins scoured me with her eyes as I turned around at the stove, looking over my shoulder, which had a flour sack towel tossed on it, its whiteness contrasting with my black shirt.

The aroma of bacon filled the air. I'd opted to make a big brunch because there had to be something in this mix that Collins liked. Not to mention it was kinda hard to fuck up bacon, eggs, and pancakes.

"I can cook a few things, yeah," I said.

"God, you're so fucking hot," she groaned as she haphazardly kicked off her shoes—rain boots, I couldn't help but notice—before crossing into the kitchen.

I grinned. "You think?"

"No, I know," she said before grabbing the back of my head and pulling me down for such a fierce kiss that I dropped the spatula in my hand so I could properly tongue-fuck her mouth back. An hour. It had been an hour, and I had already been missing this. This perfect melting of my lips against hers.

"Collins, baby," I gasped, "the stove is on."

Her hands slid beneath my shirt, burning my skin. "So turn it off."

With another grin, I did. And as soon as the fire hazards had been eliminated, Collins tugged me over toward the kitchen island.

Hello again, kitchen island. Already well-acquainted, aren't we? Let's see what other fun we can have with you today. Okay? Okay.

Pushing me up against the countertop, Collins began rocking her hips against mine, clearly communicating what she wanted. Not that I was surprised after how we left things earlier. I was dying for it, too. Fuck, I—

Oh, shit. Right. Except there was one little thing I'd forgotten about.

"Sweetheart, hang on," I groaned.

"You told me that—"

"I know. I know." Believe me, baby girl, I was very well-versed in everything I had said. It killed me to cut off cravings when they were clearly so wild at the moment. "But Nessa's on her way back with Grayson."

"Goddamnit. Like right now?"

Nessa texted me at least fifteen minutes ago, so...

"Yeah, like any second." Seeing how Collins deflated, I promised, "I'll make it up to you later."

She stepped out of my arms, flattening her palms over her dress to smooth it out. Walking calmly to the other side of the island, Collins situated herself on a barstool before picking up a fork to stab a pancake with, sliding it onto an empty plate.

She cleared her throat and answered me with the most regulated tone I'd ever heard. "You'd better, Beau Martin."

Her eyes flicked up, and even though she was the picture of coolness, of unbothered, straight-forward Collins, heat still burned in those dark irises. I was the one who knew how to ruffle her usually unruffled maturity, and for some reason, it made me damn proud.

I cleared my throat, mimicking her. "I will, baby girl. I will."

Nessa broke the moment as she walked into the apartment, which honestly made me breathe a sigh of relief. If Nessa hadn't come in the next few minutes, then Collins would only have more reason to be annoyed that I'd stopped our hot kitchen make-out session, which I felt reasonably sure would have turned into hot kitchen sex.

Oh hell, sex. With Collins. Sex with Collins was so fucking good, and now I was thinking about it, and Nessa was walking into the kitchen, and shit, shit, shit. I backed around to the other side of the island, by the refrigerator, needing to hide how fucking turned-on I was.

"Hey!" Nessa had a bright, mischievous grin as she looked between Collins and me, separated by one corner of the countertop. Grayson strode in behind her, and he caught my eye with a smirk. Cheeky bastard. "How was date night?"

"It was good," Collins answered, all demure and cute like I hadn't flown her to a different state and then fucked her into exhaustion when we returned home.

I shot her a glare. Good? Come on, baby, give me something better than that.

"Really good," she amended with a slight laugh when she caught how I was looking at her. "We went to the beach."

"In Oregon," I added beneath my breath.

Nessa heard. "In Oregon? How the hell did you get to Oregon and back in one night?"

I picked up a piece of bacon and bit into it. "In a plane, Nessie."

There was a short moment of silence before Grayson broke it.

"Wow, man," he drawled. "All those times I had your back, and now you're gonna pay me back by making me look bad, huh?"

He said the words while smiling, though, and that grin only grew as Nessa turned around, trying to give him a little smack on his arm that he caught and used as an excuse to hold her hand.

"You know car rides with you are my favorite," she said, exasperated. "We don't need planes."

"Trust me," Collins cut in with an adorable giggle. "I don't need planes, either. Beau's just very...." She smiled at me, putting her hand up, palm flat to wave in circles around my face. "Beau."

Very precise, sweetheart.

"And you like it," I said, unable to resist rounding the corner to stand beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and placing a kiss atop her head.

Collins' face crumpled slightly, like she realized how desperately she did like me, before turning into my chest. "God, I do," she mumbled, and it did unbelievable things to the pace of my heart.

Quickly dodging the urge to say screw it and bring Collins into my room again, I looked up at Nessa and Grayson, whose grins were ridiculous as they watched us. "Help yourself to some brunch," I said, waving a hand over the spread of pancakes, bacon, fruit, and eggs.

They quickly tucked into the food, Grayson plopping down onto the barstool next to Collins and pulling Nessa into his lap. After turning on some easy Sunday tunes, I made myself a plate, too. It wasn't long before I realized there was an excessive amount of food and texted Bren to get his ass over here with Madie.

By mid afternoon, the six of us were overly full, sprawled out across the living room while a marathon of action movies played in the background.

I half-expected for this Collins, sober and sensible Collins, to be wary of showing affection in front of the others, but she didn't hesitate to lean on my shoulder on the couch or tangle her fingers with mine. She even kissed me on the cheek and whispered in my ear while everyone's eyes were on the TV.

"Am I allowed to thank you now?"

I glanced over at her. "What?"

"Last night you told me not to thank you yet. How about now?"

Shit, she really shouldn't reference anything that happened when we got home last night. I needed my dick to chill until everyone else left.

After taking a deep breath, I smiled gently at her. "Now's good."

"Thank you, Beau," she murmured. "This weekend...it was amazing."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I wish it didn't have to end."

Did I sense a bit of dread in her, too? A bit of wondering if this was real, if this would stay.

Leaning down, I knocked my forehead against hers. "Nothing has to end, Collins."

Nothing would end. We were together now, and I'd fucking fight dragons for her. Or penguins. Whoever, whatever it would take.

"Good," she whispered with a smile that made me absolutely fall.

✨

it was time beau and collins got a little fluff

thanks so much for reading

xoxo