J.

..

I woke up with a groan.

Where the hell am I?

I froze as I realized I was pressed up against a warm body.

Not just any body.

A hard as rock, toasty warm, very male body if the stone length nudging against my ass was anything to go by…

I lifted the covers slowly and relaxed as soon as I recognized Lisa's tattoos.

And this is why I don't drink.

I couldn't remember much past arriving at the club for the after party. I could remember teasing Lisa with rock puns… something about Destiny's Child…

Oh hell.

I groaned again.

This was not good. There was a high chance I'd made a total fool of myself in front of a whole room of people, Lisa included.

A deep chuckle took me by surprise.

I turned slowly so I could look at her, she slid over a fraction to give me room to turn, but she didn't let go of me.

I groaned yet again as my eyes took in the sight before me.

That is not fair.

She looked like she'd had a stylist come over, muss her up to sexy perfection and then leave again.

I was willing to bet money on the fact that I looked like something the cat had dragged in.

I was that wasted last night, I knew there wasn't a chance I would have cleaned my face and I was willing to bet my hair would be doing some crazy morning-after business too.

I didn't have a clue what I was wearing and I was too scared to look down and check.

"If you look that good every morning, we're seriously gonna have to rethink this thing," I grumbled as I snuggled into the pillow, trying to hide as much of my face as possible.

She shook her head. "No can do, you threw up on me, there's no backing out now."

My eyes widened and I froze.

"I did what now?"

She smirked. "Puked." She grinned. "Everywhere."

I closed my eyes and took a couple of deep breaths.

Making a fool of myself, level one hundred.

"All down my front," she carried on. "My fault really, I wasn't quick enough."

I could feel my cheeks staining bright red and I turned to bury my face in her pillow again.

"Then you and the toilet went a couple of rounds, and Bob's your uncle," she finished. I could hear the amusement in her voice.

"Fuck my life," I muttered back. "I'll clean it up, the bathroom and your clothes," I promised. "I'm so sorry."

"It's all good, I took care of it already."

I didn't know what to say to that. It would appear that she'd taken care of everything, me included.

I turned so I could see her – haggard appearance be damned. She was looking at me with warm eyes and a wide smile. She didn't look pissed off or disgusted in the slightest.

"You should have just stuck me in a cab and sent me home."

Her eyes narrowed and turned hard. "There is no way in hell that I'd ever leave you alone in that state," she half growled at me. "Not a chance in fucking hell."

My pulse raced. "Why not?" I asked timidly.

This conversation was veering into new territory for us. We both knew it, but it was time we talked about what this thing going on between us was.

I was falling for this girl, hard. And not because she was a famous singer who'd wooed me on a world stage… although that certainly didn't hurt, but because she was kind and sweet, and caring and protective.

And sexy as hell.

I noticed for the first time that she was shirtless. I'd missed this view of Lisa. I hadn't seen all of her since the time we'd shared at my place.

Well, not that I can remember anyway.

She was magnificent. She really was a work of art. The tattoos covering nearly every inch of her flesh made her more defined. She would have been glorious to look at without them, but with all that ink, she was on a whole other level.

I licked my lips absently as I trailed my eyes over the designs and pictures.

"Why not?" she demanded, repeating my question and pulling me back to our conversation.

I nodded my head slowly and forced my eyes back up to her face.

"Because you're my girl," she replied, exasperated. "And I'll take care of you no matter what, Jennie. Even if that means holding your hair back while you puke."

My heart thumped in my chest.

"And I will never, and you better fuckin' hear me when I say never, leave you when you're vulnerable."

Her eyes had softened despite the warning tone in her voice.

"Hell, I have enough trouble being away from you when I know you're tucked up safe in your bed."

"I'm your girl?" I breathed, so shocked I could barely speak.

"You wrecked my favourite Rolling Stones shirt, so you damn well better be."

Holy shit.

I could have sprung up off the bed and happy danced the day away at this news.

Wow.

"Quarter of the population is in love with my girlfriend… I'm not sure how I feel about that," I teased.

"Pffft," she scoffed. "More like half."

Her reply was light hearted, but I didn't miss the heat that flashed through her eyes at the mention of being my girlfriend.

I wanted her more than I'd ever wanted someone in my entire life. And I wanted her right now.

"I want to kiss you," she murmured, stroking a soft path down the side of my face with the tip of her finger.

Read my mind.

But there was no way I was doing this without a shower and some stolen toothpaste and she obviously knew that as well as I did.

I grimaced.

She gestured to the door off to the side of her bedroom. "Take all the time you need," she replied with a smirk.

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