The Deal Taker (Book III)

Chapter Fifteen - Breathe

                                                                                      Chapter Fifteen

                                                                                             Breathe

Oh crap.

My eyes slowly, so slowly, peeled open and stared at the face resting peacefully inches from mine.

Oh crap.

I scooted slightly away from him so I could evaluate the situation properly. Part of my thought maybe I had some wild dream last night and it all didn't happen. But the evidence was all here. Matthew was under the comforter with me on the floor, next to the fireplace that went out hours ago, and yes, I may have checked to see whether we were wearing clothes in case it was some sort of dream, and no, we weren't wearing any.

Damn it, Joanna! You did it again!

Why can't I be the type of person to make rational decisions? Sometimes I just get swept up in the moment and don't think about the consequences until I wake up. I'm fairly certain I've done this with every guy I slept with.

But the other ones were nothing compared to last night.

My head got a little fuzzy when I remembered last night, and my heart might have given a few hard thumps in my chest. I mean, on a morality scale, it wasn't the worst thing I've ever done, right? It wasn't like I only knew him a few hours like most of the guys I've been with, and technically we were in a relationship already unlike when I was first with David. We're married, in fact! It should earn me a few morality points or something. But then there's the whole Matthew being a vampire and having killed my boyfriend a year ago out of jealousy.

You've screwed up big time, Joanna.

Matthew had given me an unlimited amount of time for us to take things easy, and yet I didn't even wait two weeks. I'm such a ho!

But it was so amazing.

It was almost ironic how my inner voice was both scolding me and giving me a mental high-five for last night. I was so conflicted, and so hungry. As in literal hunger, as in I don't think I've eaten actual food since last night's breakfast.

I looked back at Matthew, who seemed to either be an amazing actor at pretending to be asleep or truly was still knocked out. My eyes went to the clock and I immediately realized the sun was close to setting soon. It was difficult to tell the time when all of the windows were sealed tight to keep the sun out. When was the last time I had seen the sun? Has it been a month already?

My stomach made a strange whale call and I immediately got to my feet and began pulling on the t-shirt and sweatpants Matthew had brought me last night. My legs were a little wobbly, and my back hurt from sleeping on the hard floor all day, making it a challenge to get to the kitchen. I was relieved to have some time to myself for once. I tried not to think too hard about what had happened and instead busied myself by digging through the cabinets and freezer for food. My mouth watered when I saw a frozen meal, clearly prepared by a chef, labeled "Chicken and Spinach Pizza." I popped it out of the container and placed it in the oven, actually double-checking to make sure I was reading the instructions correctly so I wouldn't make the same mistake Matthew had made.

With the pizza popped into the oven for breakfast, I turned to the coffee pot and began loading it nearly to the brim with dark roasted coffee grounds, hallelujah. I went to the fridge and began snacking on cheese as I waited for both to be done, my thoughts eating at my brain as I stood there in silence.