Born in Sin [BOOK 1]

Chapter 18

Jacquelyn slowly slipped from the dark of her dreamless slumber. She became aware of her surroundings and knew she was in her bed however she refused to open her eyes. The soft snoring of the man next to her only helped her remember the night before and a smile crept on her face. She listened silently, refusing to move a single muscle until the anticipation became too much for her. She peeked through an eyelid and was greeted with the view a well toned torso. Her eyes traveled up the contours of his skin, mentally imprinting the sight into her memory. She followed the veins on his arms with her eyes, the scars on his chest, the fading bruises from his carelessness. She smiled to herself for having witnessed one such bruise where he had missed the door and walked into the frame of the door instead. She rolled her eyes then, and she rolled her eyes now as her grin grew wider.

Finally, she landed on his sleeping face and she felt her heart flutter. He slept peacefully, his breathing was strong and steady and if she held her own, she could hear the strong pounding of his heartbeat. She watched his pulse throb in his neck for a while, among many things, simply taking in the scenery. Sometime during the night he must have left her, his jeans being proof and for the fact he was laying on top the comforter instead of under it was another supporter to her hypothesis. His arms were crossed over his chest, most likely in an attempt to stay warm.

You could have just got back under here, she thought with a sigh.

She pulled a hand out from under the blanket and touched the air outside, shivering at the cold it held. She frowned and gently touched his shoulder that nearly matched the temperature of the room. Her frown deepened, finally deciding to take matters into her own hands. She pulled the blankets off of her, fighting the cold that whipped against her naked skin, and crawled over his chest after having surgically moving his arms so he wouldn't wake.

She bit her lip and forced her body not to shiver as she warmed him. She crossed her arms over his chest and rested her chin so she could stare at him. She reached out and pushed his bangs out of his eyes, completely content. She was beginning to doze off again when his hands found the small of her back and held her to him.

She looked up to see him smiling at her, his eyes still closed.

She felt herself smiling with him when she pushed herself forward and kissed him. He breathed in deeply and returned her kiss almost greedily. When she went to pull away he grasped the back of her head and held her, creating muffled laughter to come from her until he finally let her go.

She was still laughing when she said, "good morning."

"Good morning," he replied. When he spoke his voice was soft, the tenderness that shown itself last night forever on his face.

"Where did you go?" She asked while making a gesture to his jeans.

"I had to land the ship. We arrived quicker than I expected." He reached over to the port side window and moved the curtain, revealing cement walls instead of the pitch black of space.

"Why didn't you wake me?!" She exclaimed, suddenly rushing to her feet and grabbing a fresh pair of clothes.

She heard him laugh behind her and the bed squeaked. "You looked so happy, I didn't have the heart to," was his reply.

She turned, holding a top in her hands while she faced him. She saw him watching her, his smile soft and kind. It was something she wouldn't have expected him to be able to do, to hold such tenderness. It still amazed her and she wondered to herself if it would ever stop.

"You were sleeping so soundly, of course you were also exhausted." She saw a twinkle in his eye and she scoffed. Sweet and emotional he may be, he was still Neo. At least that would never change.