Between Breaths (The Seattle Sound Series Book 2) by Alexa Padgett Page B

ow about this ?” Hayden asked, pulling away just far enough to brush my hair back, his eyes roaming my face.
    I wasn’t supermodel material, but at least my features were symmetrical. My eyes and mouth were a bit too big for my narrow face, but my nose was straight and small, my chin softly rounded. I spent way too much money keeping my eyebrows thin and arched. My lashes were long but not as thick as I’d like, my eyes a boring blue. Lia said my coloring was striking, and because I’d never lacked for dates, I guessed that was at least somewhat true.
    “I want to take you on a date tonight. A proper one. No hat and sunnies. No eating on the couch.”
    I nibbled my bottom lip, still plumped and sensitive from our make-out session. Hayden’s kisses were addictive. I wanted more.
    “If you’re worried about the pap, we can eat in my suite,” he said, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. “But we’ll do it at a table. With candles and real glasses.”
    I blinked, forcing my train of thought away from all the places I wanted to lick, suck, and nuzzle. “I hadn’t thought about the media.”
    He smiled, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Says the journalist.”
    “No, seriously I—”
    “You’re not much of a yabber either.” He pressed a kiss to the sensitive skin right at the corner of my eye. Who knew that spot was such a turn-on? Or maybe I was just turned on because Hayden was touching me.
    “So. Tonight?”
    “I’d love to, but what about Princess?”
    Hayden glanced down, staring at the fluffy ten pounds of fur wending between our legs. “We’ll feed her again before we leave this morning and then stop here on the way back to my hotel. Does that work?”
    I nodded. “You’re sure you want to be seen with me? Written up with me in the media?”
    He kissed the other side of my face, in the same spot. I couldn’t suppress the shiver. “Yes.”
    “Then I agree.”
    “Smart woman.”
    I snorted. “I want some coffee.”
    “Then a run. A good ripper to get our blood flowing.”
    “My blood’s already flowing,” I said. “Has been since you’ve been in just your boxers.”
    He tugged my hair. “I planned to make you brekkie. But I couldn’t find the coffee or the cackleberries.”
    “What?”
    “Eggs. For an omelet.”
    “I like omelets.” I licked my lips and leaned into his chest. “But I’d like to eat you more.”
    “Behave. The cat will rip me to shreds.”
    I opened the canister with the coffee and turned on the electric kettle. After pouring the boiling water carefully over the expensive ground beans, I handed Hayden a cup.
    “Never seen a cuppa made like that.”
    “How do you do it? Straight up on a drip machine?”
    He snorted. “I order out when I’m in Melbourne. Everywhere you go, even the shitty milk bar on the corner will have a fifty-thousand-dollar coffee machine on the counter. We list our coffee in terms of notes and accents and terroir . Like Napa does its wine. That would be annoying if the coffee wasn’t so amazing. Sydney’s not quite as good, but I haven’t been spending much time there, even if it is where my mail goes.”
    “Well, now I’m worried about serving you coffee,” I joked.
    “I have to say my local coffee is better than the stuff I drank in Italy, and on par with that in Spain.”
    “Do you like the traveling?” I asked, hesitant.
    “Not as much as I thought I would,” he said, his eyes broody. “Cheers.” He raised his mug in a salute and took a sip. “That’s bloody fine,” he murmured.
    “As good as your Melbourne stuff?”
    “Not likely, love. But good for a Yank effort.”
    “Keep talking to me like that and I won’t go to dinner with you.” I rolled my eyes.
    He slid in close to my back, his hips bracketing mine, my head falling back into the solid wall of his chest. His free arm wrapped tight around my waist while he continued to sip his coffee.
    “Hush. This is the best morning I’ve spent in years.